Travel Map

The map below illustrates our route, courtesy of JD. Click the icon on the map for more information. We'll be updating this as we go along.

Reading up

For some strange reason, I seem to have developed a strange fascination for electric plugs whilst trying to work out how to recharge my camera along the trip. I have to say http://kropla.com/electric2.htm is riveting.

We've also been reading up on our destinations and generally jotting down places we don't want to miss. For travel tips, http://www.walkabouttravelgear.com makes for interesting reading (see Trip Tips). Just don't listen to 'Micky' who advises against preplanning, quote "...the fun is in the freedom,do whatever you want whenever.."Sure, imagine going round the world only to return and realise you didn't see or do half of things you should've. I don't think so.

Other good sites that will furnish you with gems like various ways of getting fleeced by the Chinese on one end of the continent and the Indians on the other include travelindependent.info, bootsnall.com (my fav), virtualtourist.com and tripadvisor.com. Check out en.xian-tourism.com with its 'leader's message' (and no I don't think its a Babelfish jobbie. Fyi I suspect its original version, in chinese, would have actually included the words 'illustrious' , 'refulgence' and 'light of wisdom') ... but don't ask.

Wildlife sites also provide a wealth of information. I shall be looking out for those cute little marmots on the Mongolian Steppes... and avoiding them (they are carriers of bubonic plague). Note to self: Do not eat 'bodok'.

Tips: Checklists

This section is just a brief write-up on the thought processes that we've gone through for this trip. It starts off with the planning process and finishes with various checklists which one may find handy. I've produced and integrated the plethora of information out there into the points below, but if you're the type that prefers to do this yourself, look away now...

Planning: Start with a rough idea

Planning your trip really just means you need to work out the following:

• Where you want to go
• When you want to go
• How long do you intend to be away
• How much is it going to cost
• How you’re going to do it

Gapyear.com provides excellent information. See http://www.gapyear.com/travel/four_steps_to_planning_your_trip.html. The following sections describe a way to work out the above. As "Checklist-Girl", I've provided a template below as a guide. As always, use is obligatory.

Date	Destination	Sights	Duration	Budget (Accom, Expenses)
	London - Moscow
	Overland to Beijing
	China
	Australia
	Singapore
	India
	Back to London

Your Route

Having decided on the Destinations you’d like to visit, list them in the Destinations column in the order of the route you’re likely to take. You may find this is an iterative process as the destinations in a round the world ticket cannot backtrack (it’s illegal apparently). Check and discuss with your travel agent. It may be that you’ll need to purchase additional flights in order to visit these places. For example, part of my chosen route was …Sydney > Singapore > Delhi > London. The Singapore > Delhi flight had to be bought separately and was not included in the round ticket.

Note: You don’t necessarily need to buy these tickets immediately – it may be cheaper to buy these locally at the destination itself. Ask your travel agent, friends and/or Google to find out typical prices.

Snippet: Note lingo used. ‘Overland’ refers to other modes of transport other than flights. When you purchase your round the world ticket, it only contains flights to specified destinations. ‘Overland’ travel’ refers to other means of transport (train, automobile etc) and needs to be arranged.

Duration Fill in an approximate Duration for each destination.

Date	Destination	Sights	Duration	Budget (Accom, Expenses)
	London - Moscow		1 week
	Overland to Beijing		2 weeks
	China		2 weeks
	Australia		1 week
	Singapore		2 weeks
	India		2 weeks
	Back to London		Total = 10 weeks

Sights and Dates

Start adding in the things you want to see or experience (e.g. see the Great Wall of China, experience the Pushkar festival) in the Sights column. You’ll find you’ll be able to fill in some of the Dates as well. For example, you’ll need to be in India in Nov for the Pushkar festival.

Date	Destination	Sights	Duration	Budget (Accom, Expenses)
	London - Moscow	Kremlin	1 week
	Overland to Beijing	Mongolia	2 weeks
	China	Gt Wall, Xian,	2 weeks
	Australia	Blue Mt	1 week
	Singapore	eat	2 weeks
1/11-15/11	India	Pushkar, Taj , etc	2 weeks
	Back to London	NA	Total = 10 weeks

Budget

I've (typically) compiled the following list as a guide for working out your TOTAL COST.

Round ticket (incl taxes)	£
Additional flights (incl taxes) /overland	£
Expeditions/tours	£
Visas, permits	£
Gear	£
Living expenses	£
TOTAL COST	£

The following should give you an idea of how to estimate the cost of each of the above listed items.

Round the world tickets cost about £1,300 per person for a max of 7 stops. It varies depending on airport taxes charged by different countries. Very few countries don’t charge tax, New Zealand being one of them.

Additional flights/overland - Any additional flights or overland transportation you may require. Speak to your travel agent and research on the web. If you're travelling to South America for example, look into the various Air Passes to fly from one South American country to another. If travelling within Japan, get a Rail Pass (only available to foreigners, much cheaper than what the locals pay and can only be purchased outside Japan).

Expeditions/tours such as booking the Trans Siberian require some lead time.

Visas/permits - It is usually cheaper to get the visas yourself (as opposed to paying an agency to do it) but time consuming. So allow yourself plenty of time (months) in advance if doing so. Certain places require permits. If you’re planning to visit Macchu Picchu for example, you’ll need to apply for a permit at least 3 months in advance. We didn't (duh!), so we're not going.

Gear will vary depending on the countries and activities you’ll be taking on. Having toiled at the grindstone for years, we aren’t about to rough it out, thank you (hence the absence of tents for instance). Beware! Gear is not cheap - a rucksack will set you back by at least £100, basic clothing for cold climates will cost ~£300) so allow a couple of hundred quid per person. Our Gear Checklist shows the items we’re taking with us (note: yours may well differ for reasons previously explained) and useful information (courtesy of Joss, our resident travel expert) on what to look for when buying this stuff.

Living Expenses are pretty easy to estimate. Speak to people, read up or Google to get an idea of how much you’ll need per Destination. For example:

Accommodation	£
Transport	£
Food	£
Tours	£
Other	£
Living Expenses per destination	£

You may enter these into the following template in order to derive your Total Living Expenses.

Date	Destination	Sights	Duration	Budget (Accom, Expenses)
Dte	London - Moscow	Kremlin	1 week	££
Dte	Overland to Beijing	Mongolia	2 weeks	££
Dte	China	Gt Wall, Xian,	2 weeks	££
Dte	Australia	Blue Mt	1 week	££
Dte	Singapore	eat	2 weeks	££
Dte	India	Pushkar, Taj , etc	2 weeks	££
Dte	Back to London	NA	Total = 10 weeks	Total Living Expenses= ££

You can now add up your TOTAL COST.

Just do it - So, you’ve now established where you want to go, when you’d like to go, how long you’d like to stay in each destination and how much this whole thing is going to cost. The last point is a key factor (money always is) and the solutions will become pretty obvious to you (e.g. work placements, save up, sell up, sell the kids etc). The checklist below lists the things you need to do prior to your trip .

To Do checklist:

1. Check Passports (expiry? banned countries?)
2. Check Permits (e.g. for Galapagos, Macchu Picchu)
3. Check Visas
4. Book tickets, expeditions, tours, work placements
5. Obtain Visas (6 weeks++ in advance)
6. Book accomodation (atleast for first night or so per destination)
7. Jabs (4 weeks in advance)
8. Bank (inform bank, open travel account, check direct debits, bills)
9. Wills
10. Travel insurance
11. Bank account and credit card limits
12. Ready cash, travellers cheques, credit cards
13. Arrange for house sitter or rent out property
14. Pack (see Gear checklist)
15. Photocopy and email copies of important documents and information to self and to family (se Email checklist). Keep copies separate from wallet
16. Inform contacts at destinations (if any)
17. You're off!! Don't forget, in some places you may need to confirm your flights 72 hrs beforehand, even if you have the tickets.

Gear checklist:

Clothing

• Base layer top (merino is best)
• Fleece (microfleece and none of the Topshop stuff)
• Outer jacket
• Waterproof jacket/poncho
• Ski pants (for -10 Celsius or warmer, you can get away with base layer leggings and jeans)
• Base layer bottoms
• Light trekking pants with zipoff
• Jeans
• Sleeping pants
• Gloves
• Beanie hat (microfleece)
• Hat/cap
• Thermal socks
• Trekking socks
• Shoes
• Flip flops
• T shirts
• Long sleeve travel shirt
• Scarf
• Underwear

Hygiene

• Sleeping bag (if camping)
• Mummy/rectangle liner (use silk ones for cold and hot climates)
• Travel pillow
• Pillow case
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Cotton buds
• Soap/shampoo
• Gel handwash
• Sanitary towels
• Wet wipes
• Shower cap
• Microfibre towel
• Loo paper
• Laundry wash/powder
• Shaver
• Deodorant
• Contact lenses
• Spectacles
• Ear plugs
• Lipstick
• Hair gel

Medicines

• First aid kit (antiseptic cream, plasters, muscle gel)
• Iodine tincture
• Medicines (Immodium, Charcoal tablets, antacids, Panadol)
• The Pill
• Vitamins
• Mosquito repellent (min 40% deet)

Travel Essentials

• Rucksacks (and Sackbag)
• Day sacks
• Stuff bags
• Money pouch
• Padlocks
• Duct tape
• Raffia string
• Sewing/repair kit
• Pen/pencil
• Notebook
• Camera, batteries, memory, connectors
• International adaptor
• Alarm clock/watch
• Calculator
• Torch
• Lighter
• Whistle
• Plastic bags, ziplock bags
• Swiss knife

Sustenance

• Travel mug/tin
• Sig flask
• Packet soups
• Instant noodles
• Instant coffee/hot chocolate sachets
• Sweets
• Biscuits
• Energy bars

Documents

• Itinery, flight details, hotel details, copy of passports, lost cards/emergency tel nos
• Flight tickets/printout if e-ticket
• Passports
• Health/vaccinations card
• Cash, travellers cheques, credit cards (take 2 types)
• Passport photos
• Reading book/playing cards/soduku booklet
• Guide books/maps/exchange rates

Email checklist:

This lists the info you should email to yourself and family/friends whom you'd contact in emergency. Remember to keep this in simple text format (i.e. not Word or HTML).

• Your travel agent details (in case of flight changes etc)
• Itinery - Destinations, date/time, flight numbers, places of stay (if any)
• Telephone numbers - Lost card, Family/friend's tel nos, contact nos at destinations, insurance (emergency no and your ref/policy number), your mobile number
• Scanned copy of passport (JPEG format)

Preparations

Preparations are well underway. Tickets have been purchased and the visas are being processed. But there is still much to do.

We've just been back from a shopping spree of sorts at High Street Kensington (good place for travel shops btw), hauling back bags of expensive and alas (to my mind at least), not very fashionable travel gear and clothing. Family have been sending useful chinese phrases, written phonetically ("Chia chien chih thwoh?") since I cannot read chinese and JD is making a nuisance of himself, constantly making silly high pitched "shrrhh shrrrhh" sounds trying to sound Pekingnese...

Oh, and if anyone's interested, I've written down the thought processes that we've had to go through when planning the trip. True to form, I've included checklists for everything.

Research

Last night we attended what we had thought was a talk on Trans Siberian expeditions but which turned out to include information for 'gappers' . So there we were sitting with these shiny bright 'twelve year olds' ... that sure made me feel young :(

Fortunately this was somewhat recompensed by the Trans-Sib speaker, Odette (interesting lady, forty-something and with a posh accent like GP) who didn't quite have it for the backpacking lot and would rather prefer people who genuinely wanted to see and preserve the place for what it was - the last untouched place on earth.

The Q&A session after was hugely useful - it's always good to know that the food isn't as bad (apparently you get apple pies and cheeses even) or expensive as various postings suggest (it's aboutUSD15 per day per person but one can always stock up from shops at Moscow). So, the good news is J (or JD as mr-no-name-policy prefers to be called now) no longer needs to pack in a month's worth of beef jerkies and do his Chris Ryan thing. Have also decided to go with the Trans-Siberian company (see www.trans-siberian.co.uk) instead of the vodka train (simply because they seem to have got their act together much better). Oh, and they take USD on the train (it seems Euros give a better rate but once you cross Mongolia towards Beijing, they only want dollars). I didn't bother asking about Rinminbins... hah! can just imagine the chinks telling me where to put it!

Well apart from dusting off my Michael Palin collection, preparations are now well and truly underway ... dates, itineries, budgets and key contacts (where exists) for each destination, visas, kit, wills, finances etc etc are being ticked off the checklist. For those of you who are planning of doing a similar trip, a word of warning -- they don't tell you to plan 6 months ahead for nothing. As we've effectively compressed that to a mere 3 weeks prior departure, let's just say it's cutting it real fine.

Just been to the India embassy this morning - they are good (if you're on a British passport, you get the visa within the day itself). I waited ~45 minutes to submit our applications (all forms ready filled, photos attached of course) and was told I could collect our visas in an hours' time. Pretty good huh? Then again at £30 a pot, even I'd keep it rolling too (I'm guessing they get at least 500 applications per day, which makes a nice little stream of revenue of about £15k a day..kerching!)

Can't wait!!!

Journey to the East

This is it!! Today marks the official inauguration of Tripitaka Perusals. We are finally about to embark on a 2 month roadtrip of our lives.

As this is a blog and mr-you-know-who has decreed a no-names policy, I'm afraid I'll have to resort to initials and first names to 'protect the innocents mentioned' (as Mr J explains). Hmmm one wonders...

Anyway, our route is looking like this:
London > Moscow > TransMongolian Railway > Beijing > Sydney > Singapore > New Delhi > London

So, there it is.. the Journey begins!! We'll be keeping you posted as our travel progresses.
Also, any advice from those of you who have been to these areas would be greatly appreciated.