Trip Tips

Well we've made it to the final phase of our preparation for this trip. For any of you planning a trip around the world, you're in for some work! Here's a list of things, in chronological order, we've taken care of so far.

1. Make the decision to go. This is especially important for large groups of guys like us, who are unnaturally flaky. We made the pact in an Old Chicago, and then returned several months later to renew the pact over a pint in an Irish pub. If you're going to do this, you have to be dedicated.

2. Decide the places you want to go. This will invariably change in time for different reasons. Our original trip began in Western Europe, went through Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East, India, China, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. Western and Eastern Europe were cut for costs, Oceania was cut for practicality, and Russia was cut because they're too unwilling to let you in their country. However, in order to start planning the things you want to do and see, you need to know where you're going.

3. Research. This step encompasses a lot of areas and is the most time consuming, but you should begin with steps that are necessary for you to travel in these countries (visas, vaccinations, official documents, etc.). From there, research a possible route and whether the route is more feasible over land or through the air. We chose over land, because you feel more connected to the land and have a better sense of the distance you travel. Safety concerns are another element to take into consideration. Just as you would if you were traveling to Chicago, you would avoid dangerous areas, do the same abroad. This is a good time to confirm the places you want to go.

NB: Don't believe what you hear about countries. Countries demonized in the media are often safe for travel, and extremely hospitable. I've received so many lectures about my travel to the Middle East. Our original route included Iran until the protests broke out after the elections. Now Syria and Lebanon are the main topics of others' concerns. Before you decide to skip certain countries because of mainstream knowledge, do some research of your own. Go online, read testimonies of people who have been there, because they will know better than anybody.

4. Plan medication and insurance. If you're traveling to Asia, you will need malaria medication. Anti-diarrheals are another good idea. Altitude sickness pills are also common if you will be in areas of high altitude. Research these far in advance so you can prepare the necessary steps to obtain them.

Look into travel insurance as well. I tried to conceive every angle in which I would not need travel insurance, but every option was overshadowed by the possibility of serious injury. Travel insurance not only is much cheaper than getting hurt in another country without insurance, but it offers piece of mind.

5. Begin packing preparation. This is one of the most difficult steps to begin, because it's hard to decide what to bring. Everything I've come across says pack your bag, and then take half of the stuff out. Take a minimalist approach to packing. You will have to accustom yourself to washing your own clothes often. A t-shirt or two. One nice shirt. 1-2 pairs of pants. 1 fleece. Walking/hiking/clubbing shoes and sandals. Just remember that you have to carry everything you pack.

Begin writing down the things you will need other than your clothes. Toiletries, ear plugs, ziplock bags, etc. Also, items like an ipod and a phone. Customize your ipod with applications that will be useful for your trip. Read packing lists online to get a sense of what to pack. If you're using your phone to communicate with people locally while you're abroad (probably a good idea), you will want an unlocked phone so that you can insert local sim cards and be charged local rates. More on this later. Oh and don't bring jeans!

6. Get a new credit card and bank card. This is an important step. Most debit cards charge around 3% of every ATM withdrawal for an international withdrawal and 1% for a currency conversion. 4% of every withdrawal adds up! The solution is with the Schwab. Charles Schwab that is. They have a high yield investor checking account that has no international ATM fees. On top of that, they reimburse all ATM fees you acquire for withdrawing from ATM's not associated with your bank. Sounds to good to be true, but it is.

Capital One offers a credit card with no international fees on purchased items. With these two cards, you can withdraw from the ATM with no fee, and purchase items in stores with no fees as well. Sweet deal!

7. Buy a pack. You need something that fits (important!) and is large enough to accommodate your needs. Something between 60-80 liters is probably best, because any smaller and you wouldn't be able to pack everything, and any bigger and you'll want to pack too much. I bought the Northface Backtrack 70, listed here.

http://www.altrec.com/the-north-face/backtrack-70-adventure-travel-pack

This is going to be your best friend on the trip, so choose wisely.

8. Phone. Either buy one or unlock your own, which can be done simply if you call the company. Local calls can be made easily with local sim cards, and international calls (which should be few and far between) can be made with calling cards, skype and google voice. I bought the Nokia 6303, listed here.

http://europe.nokia.com/find-products/devices/nokia-6303-classic

9. Get vaccinated. After researching your vaccinations, set up enough time with a travel clinic to get vaccinated. Also, see how much of shots your insurance will cover. The common shots are Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, Japanese Encephalitis (if you are traveling to Asia), Yellow Fever (if you are traveling to South America or Sub-Sahara Africa), a DPT booster, MMR booster and a polio booster. Don't forget your malaria prescriptions.

10. Buy your final gear.

11. Pack several days in advance so you're prepared completely when you leave.

12. Go!

This is the information I've acquired over the last 18 months of planning, but be sure to check other sites and info to be completely prepared when you leave!

Meet the Journeymen

When approaching the destination that so many had told us was the cornerstone of our personal and financial success, each of us came to the increasing realization that a life lived by an insipid path laid out before us, lacking the gnarls and sinews of a path carved by our own experience, was cheating. Each of us garnered the proverbial taste that whet our travel palate in separate travel experiences. Beddor found his moxy on a 3 month backpacking trip through China and Southeast Asia. Berken and myself both had divergent study abroad experiences under the auspices of the eternal city, and Alex spent a semester roaming the glens of Scotland. While one might think that 3 months to a year of consistent travel would sate our travel appetites, such a short period of time abroad has only given us a greater awareness of all that we haven't seen. Textbook wanderlust.

Rather than submit to the role we seemed destined to play in the work world, we made a pact 18 months ago in an Old Chicago that this trip needed to happen. Since then it has been a consistent barrage of plane tickets, immunizations, visas and excitement! Rather than a hurried segue into routine, we have chosen to discover that dominant primordial beast that gnaws at the feet of every man's spirit and calls us to do more. Some have called this trip an escape from the reality that we will necessarily have to confront. Perhaps true. But what about travel is not reality? How is complete extrication from the daily luxuries of the American lifestyle and the infusion of oneself into one culture after the next not real? Is vulnerability a disability? Is security the only true reality? The work force, degrees, graduate school, fiscal responsibility - are these the only realities? Only if the world has nothing to say. But if it does, an openness, even a vulnerability to its words is far more real than any job. This trip is not an escape, but our own personalized graduate school, an education that we hope will be the cornerstone of our personal success. While romanticizing travel is easy, there is a fleeting spirit that calls us. And it is this spirit that we intend to find.

Where Am I?

Our Route: Where Am I?

As it stands right now, the route is below. Nota bene: These plans are subject to change at any moment. Days ago, our route ran through Russia and 11 time zones into Beijing. So please, no tar and feathering if this information is inaccurate in 6 months.

September 2 - October 20: The first stops of our trip! After a grueling two days of travel that begins in Minneapolis and goes through Iceland, a night in the London Gatwick airport and ends in Istanbul. We'll spend several weeks in Turkey, breathing in the warm sands that filled the nostrils of Hector and Achilles on the fields of Ilium.

Next comes the fun stuff. We'll spend roughly 2-3 weeks in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The ancient and biblical road to Damascus juxtaposed with the modern edge of Beirut and the Jordan city carved in stone. Our trip to the Middle East will be one seeking an experience, a viewpoint that will no doubt rattle the base of our own and put the maligned region in a perspective that we can say we earned.

Finally, we'll spend 2 weeks in Israel and Egypt looking at big triangular things and Jesus stuff. Things that will no doubt exceed my colorful commentary...

October 20 - December 25: Arriving in India. India seems to be the most intriguing and mysterious of our destinations. With a guaranteed unparalleled culture shock standing aside the inceptive stages of globalization, it faces the cultural introspection that every developing nation must address - whether a sacrifice of traditional customs impedes progress into the modern world and at what point that line must be drawn. From the buzzing and crowded industrial cities of the north, to the slower and more scenic cities of the south, India will test the mettle of our traveling savvy.

For an undetermined amount of time, we'll trek into the high hills of Nepal and possibly into Tibet. Everest is likely not an option here, but one can dream...

December 26 - February 26: The boys hop a plane from Calcutta to Bangkok just in time for the New Year, making Thailand a fabled backpacker destination. The gorgeous and touristy beaches of the south and the sequestered, forested hillsides of the north will provide the most scenic traveling up to this point. Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam will follow in line after Thailand, visiting the picturesque and magnificent Buddhist temples like Angkor Wat, and encountering the obstacles of our first jungles.

February 26 - May 26: And this is where the trip regrettably comes to a close only to leave behind the inaudible whispers of four haughty and naive Americans who passed through. But not before three months in China! Chris Beddor speaks a good bit of Mandarin that should serve us well throughout our stay. On top of that, his three month backpacking trip through China will serve useful as well! China stands, much like India, in the midst of an economic spurt unmatched by any country in the world. As China leans on this precipice, it will provide one of the most interesting times in Chinese history. As the rapid flux of change forces either compromise or an obstinate resistant thereof.

End of May: Flight home from Beijing. The end of our trip will have come and passed and hopefully we'll all be the wiser for it. And still alive.