We went to the travel doctor today... which was an experience. We were expected someone with knowledge of the world, who would think our trip sounded exciting and then jab us in the arm a dozen times. Instead we saw a deaf, blind and rude doctor who couldn't fathom why we were leaving Australia. He had a magnifying glass which he used to read the computer screen to find out where we would need malaria tablets. He spent an hour looking up malarial areas, despite the fact that we said that we weren't going to be getting those yet. He was then incapable of answering any questions!! We left frustrated and will have to rely on our GP to answer travel questions as I'm not paying to see a specialist again after todays experience.
After this we were in need of cheering up, so went shopping for trip items! I realised I could happily spend half our budget on travel books and special travel clothes and gadgets.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
The Route
The first question for an extended trip such as we are planning is where to go. If I'm ever really bored (maybe after we return and I'm looking for a job) I may post the evolution of our route... trust me it looks nothing like our current plan.
Bearing this in mind things may change drastically whilst we are travelling and this may be nothing but an inspiring sounding route for someone else's trip.
Stop 1 - Africa (4 months)
Ok, so this might not be everyone's ideal starting point but we have to come back to Australia in October so we will get a break from travel afterwards. Plus this is the top of the list, so if we only manage one continent I'm choosing Africa. The plan is to travel independently overland.
We will be travelling overland from Johannesburg to Kigali. This could take a number of routes but we expect it to be South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda.
Stop 2 - South East Asia (4-6 weeks)
The flight we have to Africa is via Kuala Lumpar, with a free stop allowed in KL... so that's what we're doing. This also gives us some flexibility with changing the dates of the tickets to extend or shorten Africa replacing it with Asia.
Stop 3 - Australia (2-3 weeks)
As mentioned above we will be coming home for my parents 60th birthday. It wouldn't have been worth ever coming home if we missed this, trust me. I have to do a speech... do you think they'll want to hear about Africa?
Stop 4 - South America (4 months)
This is also open to change, but currently we will start with some Spanish lessons before flying to the ends of the earth.
Argentina - maybe a detour to Antarctica if we can pick up a last minute deal
Chile - heading north
Bolivia
Peru - currently mainly for Macchu Picchu
Brazil - this is only a recent addition, we are thinking about coming from Bolivia into the Pantanal region, then travelling down to Iguasu Falls.
Stop 5 - Middle East (1 month)
Egypt
Jordan
Stop 6 - Europe (3 months?)
This is where things become really vague. We will definately spend time in England and Greece. Everything else is up for grabs. We may even end up travelling from Jordan overland through Syria and Turkey to Greece. We may also look for work in England as there are a lot more neuropsych jobs there and it would give us a chance to get to know my extended family.
Stop 7 - Asia (5 months?)
Russia - starting on the Trans-Mongolian
Mongolia - hopefully in time for the Naadam Festival
China
Vietnam
Laos
Cambodia
Thailand
So that's the current plan. We choose the direction as Asia is by far and away the easiest destination for us to get to so if we end up coming home early we can go there on shorter holidays.
Bearing this in mind things may change drastically whilst we are travelling and this may be nothing but an inspiring sounding route for someone else's trip.
Stop 1 - Africa (4 months)
Ok, so this might not be everyone's ideal starting point but we have to come back to Australia in October so we will get a break from travel afterwards. Plus this is the top of the list, so if we only manage one continent I'm choosing Africa. The plan is to travel independently overland.
We will be travelling overland from Johannesburg to Kigali. This could take a number of routes but we expect it to be South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda.
Stop 2 - South East Asia (4-6 weeks)
The flight we have to Africa is via Kuala Lumpar, with a free stop allowed in KL... so that's what we're doing. This also gives us some flexibility with changing the dates of the tickets to extend or shorten Africa replacing it with Asia.
Stop 3 - Australia (2-3 weeks)
As mentioned above we will be coming home for my parents 60th birthday. It wouldn't have been worth ever coming home if we missed this, trust me. I have to do a speech... do you think they'll want to hear about Africa?
Stop 4 - South America (4 months)
This is also open to change, but currently we will start with some Spanish lessons before flying to the ends of the earth.
Argentina - maybe a detour to Antarctica if we can pick up a last minute deal
Chile - heading north
Bolivia
Peru - currently mainly for Macchu Picchu
Brazil - this is only a recent addition, we are thinking about coming from Bolivia into the Pantanal region, then travelling down to Iguasu Falls.
Stop 5 - Middle East (1 month)
Egypt
Jordan
Stop 6 - Europe (3 months?)
This is where things become really vague. We will definately spend time in England and Greece. Everything else is up for grabs. We may even end up travelling from Jordan overland through Syria and Turkey to Greece. We may also look for work in England as there are a lot more neuropsych jobs there and it would give us a chance to get to know my extended family.
Stop 7 - Asia (5 months?)
Russia - starting on the Trans-Mongolian
Mongolia - hopefully in time for the Naadam Festival
China
Vietnam
Laos
Cambodia
Thailand
So that's the current plan. We choose the direction as Asia is by far and away the easiest destination for us to get to so if we end up coming home early we can go there on shorter holidays.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
We have tickets!!
It’s been a long time coming, but we have purchased our first tickets. So we have our departure date – 16th April. It’s a mixture of excitement, anticipation and sheer terror! There has been years of dreaming and then we set a target date of April 08; but as happens in life temptation stood in the way. For me it came in the form of a job I would have loved to have, working where I want to work. We wavered and faltered. We said we would wait and go if I didn’t get the job, but postpone the trip a few years if I did. But now after 6 months of indecision we have decided that the opportunity to travel for an indefinite period of time may never come again. We may already be in jobs we can’t bear to part from, we may have other commitments that make it impossible to leave everything to go travelling. So the countdown starts from today.
Of course, we now regret the indecision. Time is upon us. Not to plan the trip, no that’s been developing for years and no doubt the actual trip will bear only a passing similarity to our carefully prepared plans. But preparing to leave Sydney, that isn’t something we’ve prepared as well. What do we do with our furniture? Do we sell it, or do we store it? How do we sell it? The debate is between having extra expenses whilst we are away or having huge set up costs and hassle once we return. Then there are those few things we own that can’t be sold and must be stored…. anyone got enough wall space to hang a puzzle the size of a double bed for a couple of years?
We are keeping our flat and renting it out, so we now have to deal with being landlords as well. How do we choose a real estate agent? How much rent do we ask for, and will it cover the expenses in keeping the flat – we hope so!
Of course, we now regret the indecision. Time is upon us. Not to plan the trip, no that’s been developing for years and no doubt the actual trip will bear only a passing similarity to our carefully prepared plans. But preparing to leave Sydney, that isn’t something we’ve prepared as well. What do we do with our furniture? Do we sell it, or do we store it? How do we sell it? The debate is between having extra expenses whilst we are away or having huge set up costs and hassle once we return. Then there are those few things we own that can’t be sold and must be stored…. anyone got enough wall space to hang a puzzle the size of a double bed for a couple of years?
We are keeping our flat and renting it out, so we now have to deal with being landlords as well. How do we choose a real estate agent? How much rent do we ask for, and will it cover the expenses in keeping the flat – we hope so!
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