Malariaaaaaaaaaah!

Confusion.

How organized we are, getting ready to head off to Asia at the end of Janauary... but we're having real trouble deciding which malaria medication to take, and how much to buy. Mainly because we don't know exactly where we're going and for how long.

We don't fancy spending huge (and we mean huge) amounts of money on a 6 month course of Malarone, but we also want to be safe.

From what we can gather so far, most places are pretty safe unless you go off the beaten track - so safe in fact that most travellers don't bother with any medication, just using repellant and covering up in the evenings. To the best of our knowledge, genuine high risk areas are Lombok, and possibly also bits of Cambodia and Laos.

If anyone has any realistic advice about malaria risk in Indonesia/Asia/India, and what to do about it, please leave us a comment.

Ben

T minus 86 hours and counting

Our mini-tour of the UK is almost over. Zero hour approaches... and we're scared!

This whole World Trip project started in December last year, when one of us bright sparks came up with the idea. Then we spent a few months researching, planning and working out if it was feasible... and before we knew where we were, we had quit our jobs, let the flat, sold the car and flown the coop.

Now we're wondering: what the hell are we doing?

Amidst a frenzy of friendly expressions of jealousy or admiration, we're quaking in our boots.

For every family member who says, "how brave!" there's a gremlin in our minds saying, "you fools!"

Having failed to find any strong disincentives to dropping everything and buggering off for a year, we're not about to fall at the last fence, but, y'know - damn! - it's all gone a bit daunting.

Look! Here we are, looking daunted (well, kinda daunted, Debs looks half amused too):

Enough whining! Pull yourselves together, Blenches.

Ben

Buy before you fly

I'm sure you'll all be thrilled to learn that we have now bought our rucksacks - yes, I know! Awesome stuff indeed.

We spent a while getting all confused about what sort/ how big/ which brand/ etc. and after long debates and a couple of unsatisfactory visits to outdoor shops in Amsterdam (Bever, I'm looking at *you*), we went for these rather splendid Lowe Alpine "Cerro Torre" numbers:



Several people, including Giles from Travel Independent (highly recommended), told us to go ultra small/ compact - 40 or 45 litres - but in the end we decided we'd rather go for a pack that could comfortably hold a reasonable amount of stuff.

In other words, we didn't fancy going nuts, super-economising on clothes and stuff, sawing toothbrushes in half and having to fold everything to within an inch of its life to fit into an elaborately designed packing scheme.

So what we've got are a couple of 65 litre packs with the possibility to extend another 20, which I doubt we'll use. Deb's pack is red, mine's blue. I made the guy at Carl Denig go and dig it out, rather than a) have the same colour as Deb, or b) get a green one - totally not my colour...

Ben

Support // suspense

Moodswings!

It's a big thing, this: we're constantly vacillating between excitement and something like dread at the prospect of whatever the hell it is we're letting ourselves in for.

Good things!
Today I sent a load of emails to clients, letting them know what I was up to. I got some very gratifying and revealing responses - not only have plenty of people done this sort of thing themselves, but many are also planning similarly big things for themselves over the next few years. Not necessarily world tours, but - you know - big and exciting things, rather than the usual 9-5. Nice to hear.

Less good things!
This evening we did a bit of research into where to stay when we get to Havana. Ho! Tricky enough finding out about the exchange rate for their convertible currency units... and then we go to TripAdvisor to search for hotels. Whoah mama! "On the first night there was NO WATER and then it was cold for the next two days, but cold water's common for Cuban hotels" ... "[no] toilet seat, but this is common in Cuba" ... "food in cuba is not very good".

Pack your bags love, we're on our way! Heh. Nice to have a challenge - even nicer to have lots of challenges at once?

Doublespeak
Finally, there's this whole thing with Castro media blitzing his health and comfort. Being familiar with the way Communists manage their publicity, this pretty much certainly translates as "I'm about to die" ;-)


Oh yeah, and apparently the best thing we can take to give to people is PENS. Don't ask me why, but it seems that the Cubans pretty much fall over themselves for pens.

I quite like em too.

Ben

The itinerary

So, plenty of people are asking - about time we let on where we're going.

1st of all we're spending a month in exotic England (malaria, rabies, chavs etc) - spending a decent amount of time with friends and family before we set off in August for a week or 2 in Havana (hopefully before Castro kicks the bucket). Then we nip over to Cancun, and overland through Mexico for about 3 weeks to LA.

From LA, we fly through the Pacific Islands, stopping off in the Cook Islands and Fiji for 2 weeks each before spending 2 months each in NZ and OZ. We'll be doing NZ North to South (Auckland to Christchurch), then Australia South to North (Melbourne to Cairns). Again, plenty of friends and family here, so hopefully we can save on accommodation, and spend instead on a camper van for cruising around.

After that, we really hit the backpacking trail - Lombok, Bali, Sumatra, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (2 or 3 months overland), then we finish off in India (Chennai to Mumbai) before coming back to Amsterdam.

That at least is the plan. Of course, plans are elastic, and if we like somewhere, we'll definitely hang around a little longer and adapt our future itinerary to fit. It might also be that halfway round the world we find somewhere amazing/ some awesome opportunity to do some really cool work, and just have to stay there for longer, so maybe Amsterdam will have to wait...

We're looking at this trip in several ways. One is that we're reversing our time/ money continuum. We're currently cash rich but time poor. For the next 12 months it will be the other way round. We're really looking forward to this - it will force us to not just take the easy way out and buy our way out of problems; instead we'll have to live by our wits and actually think about our decisions a bit more.

Whatever happens, we know this is going to be a life-changing experience.

Ensign, set a course for the rest of the world...

Engage!

What to take

Here's the list of stuff we're taking with us:

Documents:

• Passport
• Emergency telephone numbers
• ATM cards and 2 credit cards (Mastercard and Visa card)
• International driving license
• Insurance details
• 10 extra passport photos
• Eye prescription
• Vaccination book/ certificate

Stuff:

• Spanish phrase book
• Prescription swimming goggles
• GoSIM SIM card.
• Travel towels made of e.g. viscon, with tassles to hang it up to dry.
• Umbrella!
• Silk sleeping bag liner. We mailed then and they advised 2 singles is better than a doubel - more's the pity.
  
• Plastic cable ties
• Batteries for camera
• Camera memory
• Backpacks
• Daypack – maybe not necessary, rather take a shoulder of messenger bag and use main backpack on day trips if necessary.
• Money pouch/ belt
• Combination padlocks
  
• Large combination padlock for hotel door
• Cable/ wire lock
• Pen for filling in entry and departure cards
• Ear plugs
• Large paperclips to keep large wads of notes together
• Inflatable travel pillow
• Plug in mosquito repellent ‘mosquito vaporiser’
• Gaffer tape
• Ziploc bags
• DIY seatbelt: webbing and a clasp
• Pack of cards and 6 dice + 10,000 game rules
• Universal sink plug
• Superglue
• Gaffer tape
• Candles
• Lighter
• Swiss army knife
  
• Plug converter
  
• Travel washing line (twisted elastic, no pegs)
• Safety pins
• Torch
  
• iPod

Clothes:

• Shorts
• Bikini
• Shoes – trainers or ‘light trail running shoes’.
• Shoe bag.
• Something to sleep in – vest
• 1 t-shirt + 2 polo shirt (t-shirt can be worn under polo shirt if it gets colder)
• Sports bra
• Anti-bacterial liners for trainers
• Netted bag for underwear
• Few vest tops
• Beach towel – thin and long
• Long sleeve polypropylene shirt that can also be worn in a restaurant for Ben, at least one long sleeved top for Debs.
• Micro fleece
• Wrinkle free travel shirt – long or short sleeved
• Cheap poncho
  
• 3 or 4 pairs of socks
  
• 2-4 sets of underwear – travel underwear dries quicker and lasts longer.
• Ben: 2 pairs of trousers – 1st not black, but dark enough to hide dirt. Lightweight, wrinkle free, comfy, stylish, easily washable with deep pockets, 2nd pair hard wearing (converters if you like the look of them). Debs: 1 pair of trousers and a skirt/ dress.
• Thin cardigan to cover shoulders when wearing vest top (for temples etc). Alt. pick up a long tunic-like top en route.
• Teva sandals
• Collapsible hat
• Bandana
  
• Sarong – can pick one up en route if don’t find one before

Toiletries:

• Toothpaste
• Toothbrush & cover for end
• Foot file
• Deodorant
• Contact lens fluid
• Lip balm
• Nail clippers
• Hand sanitizer (no water required)
• Brush
• E45 (works as after-sun too)
• Razor
• Sunscreen
• Wash bag with built in mirror and hanger
• Shower gel
  
• Shampoo
  
• Deodorant

First aid kit (make own by filling tupperwear container with:

• Blister plasters
• Elastic wrap bandage
• Pain killers
• Mosquito repellent - spray to apply to feet
• Click don’t scratch for insect bite relief
  
• Insect repellent spray for clothing
• Lidocain cream – for stings and bites
• Antihistermines – for allergic reactions
• Hydrocortizone cream – for rashes and skin irritations
• Laxatives
• Anti-diarrhoea medicine (Bismuth is an upset stomach and diarrhoea reliever).
• Iodine for sterilizing cuts and drinking water (few drops).
• Use water purifications tablets if iodine If tastes bad
• Rehydration sachets – 4 each is enough to start with
• Travel sickness tablets
• Malaria pills – Malarone, or is there a cheaper alternative? Doxycycline?
• Thermometer - electronic
• Tweezers – with sharp point for splinters
• Sports tape to keep plasters on
• Antiseptic wipes
• Tiger balm
• Antiseptic cream

The guy from the Tropical diseases centre in Amsterdam who gave us our jabs is going to check our first aid kit list for us, so we'll update after we've spoken to him.

Debs

How long is your back?

Rucksack research today - wowee. We went to two outdoor shops in Amsterdam - Beaver and Carl Denig. Totally confusing!

We've read everywhere that a smaller packs are the way to go - so were looking for 45/ 50 litre packs, but the guy in Beaver completely confused us by saying you can only get 45 or 65 litre packs Huh? Anyway, he showed us a few backpacks and told us it's all about back length, but he wasn't really paying attention or showing us what we want, so we ran off and decided to buy in the UK where it's all a bit more familiar and the staff are actually helpful..!

Thankfully, we persevered and went to Carl Denig and saw a great pack called the Osprey Atmos 50 - a 50 litre pack with a breezy back panel to prevent sweaty backs. It's streets ahead of all other packs we saw, in comfort and extras, and looks like the pack for us - mine a small in red and Ben's a medium in blue. The guy in the shop didn't really put the weights in properly when we tried it on, so we need to go back, but I think we'll do that next Saturday.

We're a bit concerned it's too small and we're following advice from experienced backpackers and we won't be able to fit everything in our backpacks, but I guess buying a smaller backpack will force us to take less, and we can share the loads between us, so it should be OK. I'll publish our list of things to take, so you can see what we have to fit in.

Debs

Several steps closer

We've spent the last couple of days sorting out all manner of things.

The following represents a tiny percentage of the stuff we've sorted out recently:

• Put together this awesome spreadsheet to work out our budget - go XLS!
• Got a new biometric passport for Ben (€185!) (!) ... !
• Canceled various insurances - there is nothing the Dutch take more seriously than insurance
• Switched our ADSL connection from a shared arrangement between XS4ALL and KPN (don't ask) to just XS4ALL - this allows us to cancel our phone line without buggering up the internets
• Found a storage facility to put all our fancy stuff in
• Got confused about various other insurances - are we legally obliged to continue them or not?
• Scanned all our important documents and put them in a special place for safekeeping
• Set up a postal forwarding system
• Researched a lot of stuff about a lot of countries: nowhere in the world is safe, but everywhere looks brilliant
• Put the car on the market - anyone want to buy Uncle Volv?
• Bought a global SIM card from the nice people at www.gosim.com
• Set up this blog and our special email address for while we're away: benanddebsyearoff (at) gmail (dot) com

When we first hatched this madcap scheme of ours - some time towards the end of 2006 - I had no idea how much paperwork and faff would be involved.

Now, several months wiser, I can tell you that as of today, we have processed precisely one metric ton of red tape.

Ben