Trip Prep

Nerves

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Brooke

So, we are less than one week from the start of our RTW trip and I have a confession:  I’m nervous.  It is hard for me to pinpoint exactly why I’m nervous, but I am.  I’ve never traveled in this way before—we will be gone for almost four months and much of that time is unplanned.  Yes, we have hotels booked for each city we fly into, that way we have a place to go from the airport, but after that who knows what we’ll see and do?  That is awesome.  That is exactly how we want it to be.  However, I think that is also what is causing some trepidation.

I think it is inevitable that there will be days when we don’t know where we will be laying our head that night.  What happens when it is 9:00 PM and we still don’t have a place to stay?  Can I handle that lack of predictability?  Will I end up getting upset and will Phil and I end up fighting because of my discomfort with the situation?  I imagine when this happens we will end up having to stay in some real fleabag motels or we will end up shelling out too much money and staying in a far nicer place than we planned.  Ultimately none of this really matters—no matter what, everything will work out fine, and if it isn’t all smooth sailing, well it will make for a great memory.  Intellectually, I know this is true.  However, I think I won’t fully understand it until we actually begin our journey and have these types of experiences.

Don’t get me wrong, I am so excited for our trip.  We have been planning and talking about it for so long and it is finally here!  There is just so much that is unknown—I guess it is natural to be a little nervous.  Hopefully when I’m drinking my first Steinlager beer in New Zealand, I will take a deep breath, toast to my husband, and my nerves will melt away.

–Brooke

Categories: Budget, New Zealand, Random Thoughts, Reflections, Trip Prep | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Securing Visas for our Trip

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Phil

Truth be told, there are only a few things that one must do before embarking on a Round The World trip. Don’t misunderstand: there are boatloads of tasks that one probably should do to ensure an easier, lower-drama journey with minimal hassles. But one mandatory need that should be set before showing up at the airport is making sure that Visa and Entry Documents are all set.

Handy Visa GuideBy our math, our itinerary is sending us to at least twenty-three separate countries. We wanted to avoid any surprises and make sure we’re set lllllooong before arriving at customs. Lots of research ensued. The State Department has a handy, easy to navigate, up-to-date website that clearly lists the policies for Americans visiting just about every nation. We were delighted to find that the vast majority of countries we’re visiting have a similar policy: No advance paperwork or fee required for a 90 day tourist visa issued upon entry with a valid US Passport. Since we’re not planning on working or spending anywhere near 90 days in any one nation, this makes it easy breezy.

As with all things, there are a few exceptions. In remote and geographically isolated New Zealand, we’re told that officials often check that you have a round-trip or onward ticket (i.e. – a way to leave once your visa expires). They also check to see if you have funds to cover your time in New Zealand. Both Argentina and Chile have recently adopted a fee that reciprocates US Policy. In short, every American has to pay a $130 “Entry Fee” (not a Visa fee) as a sort of equalizing measure for what the United States government charges their citizens to enter America. Note that this Entry Fee is only collected at major International Airports. Sneaky, Sneaky. Therefore savvy tourists could enter through bordering countries.  Lastly, we learned that you seem to need passport sized photos for just about everything. Get a bunch because agency after agency keeps requesting them. Update:  just found out that it looks like the fee has gone up to $160. Joy.

In the end, there were only three countries that required us to secure Visas in advance of our visit: Vietnam, China and Russia.

Securing the Vietnam visa was a simple and intriguing process. We visited the Vietnamese Consulate in New York City which is right across the street from the United Nations in a non-descript office with other foreign government offices. Once in the office, we were directed to fill out some long forms that asked us to explain (in great detail) the nature of our visit.  They took our pictures, took our money (cash only), and told us they would have the Visas ready in a week. At first, they asked us to leave our passports behind, but we pushed back on that request a bit without a problem. In the end, the staff might have been a bit cold and not exactly helpful if you’re seeking any tourist info, but they got the job done efficiently and easily.  One week later, we picked up the visas and had them stapled into our passport. Total cost: $160 for both of us. In retrospect, we’re glad that we were physically in New York City and able to deal with the staff face-to-face. We are pretty sure that made things much easier.

The Russia and China Visa process were far more complicated but also a lot more interesting. They are deserving of their own blog posts that will be coming later this week.

We’re looking forward to having well-used passports stamped with the colors of the rainbow by the time we arrive home in November.

-Phil

Categories: Customs, Doccuments, Packing, Permits, Trip Prep | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

International Driver’s License

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Phil

Among the numerous “important documents” that we’ve amassed for our trip, the easiest to secure was the International Driving Permit. Fancy sounding, yes? The permit sounds more impressive than it actually is. I’d love to weave a fancy tale about how getting the license required me to meet up with a strict driving instructor named Sven who insisted I demonstrate International driving technique inside a 1992 stick shift Yugo. The truth is that it was a simple fifteen minute visit to AAA.

International Driver's Permit 2012

First, some background on what the International Driving Permit is. The permit works in conjunction with a valid US driver’s license but cannot be used for driving in the United States alone. The signed & stamped permit contains a number of pages in a number of languages that basically say the same thing: “The owner of this permit is legally certified to drive in his/her country and therefore should be allowed to drive in yours.” Since a car rental office in Ulaanbaatar likely can’t tell a US license from a library card, this gives us some legitimate street cred. The permit is widely recognized and good in over 150 countries.

The permit is good for a year from a start date of the owner’s choosing. The fee is a mere $15.00 and the application process is simple; all you need is a passport photo and your current license.  The permit is about the size of a passport, so a bit too big for the wallet but it is light and folds easily.

There are a few ways to secure the permit in the states, but a visit to a local AAA office is likely the easiest.  I stopped at the only AAA office in New York City a few weeks back. Although my AAA membership apparently expired last year, they were happy to assist. Oddly enough, almost everyone else in the office was also getting the same permit.  It is also odd that there is just one true AAA office in New York City, but that’s neither here nor there.

We’ve gotten some feedback regarding how much we’ll actually need the permit. Some have said that many places will probably just rent to us with our trusty New York state license.  But we subscribe to the better safe than sorry policy. Plus, this can serve as one more Picture ID as needed. We should be all set. Now we just need to get “Life is a Highway” on our iPhone so we can jam as we steer our Yugo down the Romanian Highway.

-Phil

Categories: Doccuments, Driving, Packing, Permits, Transportation, Trip Prep | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The First Leg

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Phil

We’re quickly closing in on the departure date for the initial leg of our Round The World Trip. While getting everything booked and set, we quickly found that, in this case, traveling from Point A to Point B is not even remotely close to a straight line.

The very first leg of our travel is going to be the longest by far. Probably not the most difficult (the two long-haul flights are in the soothing luxury of business class) or the most tiring since we’ll be very fresh and eager. But this segment certainly qualifies as the longest.

As you may have read, the first county we’re visiting is New Zealand. Far side of the World. God’s Own Country. Home of The Shire and Mordor. Getting to New Zealand is a bit of a haul from America even when flying direct. But since we booked our flights exclusively using a Reward RTW Trip Ticket paid for almost completely with SkyMiles, we’ve been booked on quite the circuitous route: Dayton, OH to Minneapolis, MN to Los Angeles, CA to Guangzhou, China to Auckland, NZ.

Route of our first leg

To be fair, we’ve been referring to the Dayton to LAX leg as “Flight Zero.” This first flight was not covered as part of our Round the World ticket due to some ticketing restrictions.  We could only begin the flight in Los Angeles and end months later, in Cincinnati. So, we booked a one way ticket from the Mid-West to the West-Coast via Minneapolis. We used some Delta “we’re so sorry” travel vouchers received from a bad flight experience a few months earlier so these flights only cost us $75 a person. Not bad.

Los Angeles is where the real fun begins. Late in the evening, we board China Southern flight CZ 328 (a Boeing 777-200 for those who care about such things) for at 15 hour flight from LAX to Guangzhou, China. A major city (formerly known as Canton) that we knew nothing about in advance of planning this trip. Why in great green grasses do we land in Guangzhou? Because China Southern has no direct flights between LAX and New Zealand, it is their main hub (and China’s third largest airport) and this was the only airline available to take us to New Zealand.

That's a long flight

Flying west and overnight, we lose a calendar day while in the air because we’re crossing the International Date Line. This International Date Line thing has been explained to me a half-dozen times but I still don’t completely understand the finer points of the implications of crossing the line and losing a day. But I don’t fully comprehend how electricity works either, so I’m not going to sweat it.

Once we get to Guangzhou, we board another long-distance China Southern flight to backtrack our way south to Auckland, NZ (CZ 305 – Airbus A330-200). This jaunt is about 11 and a half hours. Again, all in business class, so we’re not complaining. And then there is the 18 hour layover in the Guangzhou airport between the two flights. Land early morning and our flight doesn’t leave till after midnight. Not to mention the jet lag.We’re hoping – nay, praying- that we’ll have access to the International Business Lounge on our ticket. And that there will be showers. And snacks. And drinks. So many drinks. With any luck, we can venture into China for part of that time as well.

That's another long flight

All in all, it is a lot of time in the air. But we’re in no hurry and this flight is costing us very little. Good thing Brooke has packed Costco sized quantities of Dramamine and I have a lot of inflight movies to catch up on.

Total time in the air: 33 Hours

Total miles traveled: Over 14,500. For some perspective, the circumference of the earth is only about 25,000 miles.

-Phil

Categories: Flights, LA, New Zealand, Transportation, Trip Prep | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

International Teacher Identification Card

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Phil

Some of you may remember AIESEC from when you were in college—this was the organization where all of your friends who love to drink would host (party with) the foreign students who were studying at your university.  They also went on a lot of awesome trips abroad—again, mostly as an excuse to drink beer from many different countries.  Lucky for us, not only does being a student garner these benefits, so does being a teacher.

Okay, so it isn’t quite the same as in college.  For our RTW trip, I have procured an International Teacher Identity Card (ITIC).  The ITIC the grown up version of the ISIC and the similar AIESEC .  In order to get this card, I had to go to STA Travel, prove that I am currently a full time teacher (I failed to tell them that I was quitting my job for my travels), and pay a measly $25.00.  After a couple of weeks, voila!  My card was in the mail.

Teacher Discount Card for World Travel!

Of course the important question is:  What is the point of getting the card?  Well, it actually offers a number of benefits:

  1. It is proof that I am a teacher and in many places around the world, they actually respect and revere this profession, therefore offering a wide array of discounts and opportunities.  Many museums and major tourist attractions offer educator discounts and there are even occasional discounts on transportation.  Since we’re traveling on a budget, we’ll take any discounts we can get!
  2. It can be used as a pre-paid MasterCard.  We aren’t planning on using it in this way because we have other ways of accessing our money. But we could load money onto this card and access it easily from any ATM or use it like a credit card.
  3. The ITIC offers a very small amount of travel insurance that comes along with having the card.  It is not our primary source for travel insurance, but it offers some nice supplementary coverage.
  4. It is yet another form of photo identification that could be used in place of something else.  For example, if we rent bikes in Copenhagen and have to leave ID behind to ensure we return the bicycles, we could leave this rather than our driver’s license or passport. The thought of leaving those makes me a bit nervous.

Visiting the classroom in RTWReally though, what I’m hoping this card will help me do is to talk my way into different schools around the world.  It will be proof that I am a teacher and make me seem like less of a weirdo when I go barging into some middle school in New Zealand asking if I can observe a class or talk to some of their teachers (after all, New Zealand is ranked #2 in the world for reading scores…I could learn so much).  I am so excited by the prospect of seeing other schools and meeting other educators.  We will be visiting my cousin Gaye, who has been teaching middle school in Japan for the past 30 years.  Her first day of school is while we are there. Sure, she teaches at an American Air Base, but still: how cool to see their beginning-of-the-year routines.  Hopefully my ITIC card will help me get my foot in the door!

-Brooke

Categories: Budget, Discounts, Doccuments, New Zealand, Packing, Teaching, Trip Prep | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Final Packing

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Phil

A couple days before we left NYC, we made one last trip back to Paragon Sports at 867 Broadway just north of Union Square to pick up some final gear for the trip. We keep getting sucked back into the store like moths to a flame. Paragon keeps surprising us with an incredibly knowledgeable staff, impressive selection and price matching offers. Miles from Backpacks set me up with a nice Northface daypack to carry around and Zach from shoes helped me select my first pair of Tevas in years. Found out that they are actually pronounced “Tev (as in Bev)-as.” And Teva actually means “nature” in Hebrew. See? Full of knowledge. We can’t recommend Paragon enough. It’s a great place

Both Paragon and Eastern Mountain Sports have set us up with some versatile, good looking shirts, pants and shorts. Staples that are quick drying, wrinkle free and sweat wicking. The other night, we shopped until they closed down the store, checked off some final items on our list and gave the credit card even more action. Still waiting on my bank to give me a call and ask what exactly has been going on lately. We also stocked up on travel essentials: Ear plugs, clothes line and this Sea to Summit Dry Lite crazy towel. And the challenge from this pair of quick drying underwear? You’re on! Now we have jjjjjuuusssttt about everything we need.

6 Weeks and One Pair of Underwear?

Nevertheless, shopping has been a bit hard because we don’t know precisely what we need. We’ve been going on best advice and things we’ve read. Adding to our indecision, we caught European Travel Guru Rick Steves on TV the other night reflecting on his one itty-bitty backpack that he takes on every trip and that it is all anyone should ever need. That did a great job of making us fear that we’re packing too much. But the bottom line: we won’t know till we get halfway around the globe, which is half the fun yet half the stress as well.

Also what has made it a touch difficult is that, in general, I’m not that big on spending money on clothes. In a dream world, I would simply spend five minutes tossing everything I like into a suitcase and go. Including the ridiculous polyester shirt with dice on it that displeases my wife and that I actually do own. But then I would be unprepared and look like an idiot. It’s strange: I can spend $260 for two visas on a country that I’m visiting for five days, but balk at the same costs for some great clothes I’m going to wear for four months. Dumb. But, I’m coming around. Now that the final outfits are set, I’m kinda looking forward to wearing them from Singapore to Santiago. Just be patient when you see a lot of pictures of Brooke and I in similar looking outfits week after week. Hey, for all you know, we’re just standing in front a green screen every few days with a different background.

-Phil

Categories: Clothes, Packing, Trip Prep | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

PODS Success!

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Brooke

As I stated in an earlier post, I was incredibly worried about fitting our entire apartment into a PODS unit.  For weeks in advance of our PODS arriving, I was mildly obsessed about loading everything up.  Not only was I worried about everything fitting, I was also scared we wouldn’t have enough help to get it done in 4 hours.  After all, we were doing this on a Tuesday morning when most of our friends would be working.  In fact, I even had a nightmare about loading the PODS and it was a total disaster.  Clearly, this was preoccupying my brain.

Luckily, there was no need for me to worry.  I can say with 100% confidence, loading the PODS was a total success.  First of all, they arrived on time which is always a good thing when you have recruited outside help.  They even called about 15 minutes before arrival to let us know they’d be there.  PODS offers a special city service that requires the driver, ours was David, to stay with the truck.  He was really knowledgeable and offered a lot of helpful hints and advice.  As soon as he opened the door, I breathed a sigh of relief.  I knew immediately we would have enough space, but the challenge would be organization and working efficiently to get done in the 4 hour “city service” time limit.  We had managed to recruit 4 of our friends, Dan and Dean (both who work, but didn’t have to go in until later) and Melinda and Violet (both teachers with the summers off).

PODS with David

David suggested we load all boxes first, but I didn’t listen and decided to start with some of the bigger furniture and fill in with boxes.  I should have listened to him.  He watches people load these things all the time—he knows!  But, I got cocky and decided to do it my way.  It worked, but as it filled up it got a little bit tricky and ended up less neatly organized that I would have preferred.   One of the really great things was that there was a lift on the end of the truck where we could just stand with the heavy stuff and David would raise us from the ground.  That was awesome for some of the bigger pieces and saved some difficult lifting onto the bed of the truck.

It may not have ended up as pretty as I would have liked, but, in the end, we made it all fit!  It took us about 2 and ½ hours.  We were so impressed with our hardworking friends—everyone said that it went so much easier than they expected.  Yay!

Done and Done!Now, our stuff is on its own adventure on the way to be stored in Louisville. (I sometimes like to imagine Toy Story scenario where everything comes to life and has its own storyline when there are no humans around.) As for the security of our items, they are locked in with two of our own padlocks and we keep the keys.  David cautioned us to make sure we do not lose the keys because replacing the door is some ridiculous amount of money.   When I asked him why we couldn’t just cut the locks, he said cutting them without damaging the door is virtually impossible.  Yikes!  The warning scared us enough that we are keeping the keys in a very safe spot.  As added security, he also had me sign an orange plastic label connected to a zip-tie.  This way when we receive our items we will know that no one has been inside the unit.

Now, we are able to track our PODS as it makes its way to Louisville where it will wait until we need it again.  I’d say the whole thing was a resounding success.  I guess the real test will be when we open it up and see if our stuff made it in one piece.  Hopefully it did, but if it didn’t…well, it’s all just stuff.  We have too much of that anyway!

–Brooke

Categories: Moving, Packing, PODS, Storage, Trip Prep | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

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