Q: How long are you going for?
A: The original plan is to travel for a year. However, it could be longer or shorter. When we run out of money, we will return to the US, so it depends mostly on how well we stick to our budget. Who knows, we might get tired of traveling and want some stability and come home sooner. Or, we might find a way to work somewhere else to extend the trip.
Q: What area are you most excited to experience?
A: This is the most common question we get, and unfortunately one for which we don't have a good answer. The places we picked to visit are all ones that we have been wanting to see for a long time. If I (Jake) am hard pressed for an answer, I think it might be New Zealand. I know, it isn't very exotic, there isn't a deep cultural history, they speak English, and the food isn't very fancy. It isn't Europe, it isn't China. However, I love the outdoors, and the Kiwis invented the outdoors. I am looking forward to the hiking, fishing, and sailing.
Q: Where are you starting?
A: A quick stop in London, then to Scotland.
Q: Why Scotland (said with a surprised tone) ?
A: I think the surprise is because, like New Zealand, Scotland doesn't seem exotic and they speak English. I can't say specifically why, but somehow through what I've heard and read it is a pretty awesome place. Also, I've never been, so why not? Since I am in Scotland as I am writing this, the couple of hikes we've done have been incredible. Check out the pics.
Q: How do you pack for an around the world trip?
A: Good question. We've spent a good amount of time over the past months figuring it out. This merits a 2 part answer.
Part 1: The same way you pack for a week long trip, since we plan to do laundry once a week. We are going to be in somewhat similar climates for much of the trip, so that makes it easier. When we need to swap out articles of clothing we will buy new ones and donate the existing ones, or ship things back and forth to the States as people come and visit, or just post things back and forth. Thank you Deb Kennedy for letting us use your place as our address and being our home base administrator while we are away!
Part 2: We found great resources on the internet to help with this. First of all, we packed clothes that are versatile. This means we can wear them out to dinner or on a hike. Everything goes with everything (or close enough :)). We purchased some items that are wrinkle free, odor free, and fast drying. REI has a whole section of clothes like this now. Fast drying is important so that you can wash a few things in the sink and let them air dry overnight. We are also using packing cubes and folders from Eagle Creek. They help to keep your clothes organized, compressed, and minimize wrinkles.
Q: By what means are you traveling; plane, boat, train, car?
A: All of the above. We are using whatever mode of transportation makes sense, which usually means the least expensive. We are flying between continents, trains or planes between cities, ferries to islands, and renting a car when necessary to get to the places trains don't go. Interestingly, we are flying in a couple situations where I thought we might take a train. For example from London to Edinburgh and from Munich to Berlin. It costs about the same or less, and takes less time.
Q: Where are you staying: hotels, bed & breakfasts, hostels?
A: All of the above. We are also staying with a family in Florence while we take Italian classes. We might also camp at some point. We've been researching the locales on the internet and looked for the cheapest (yet suitable) accommodations. So far it is a mix of the above, but mostly hostels. The hostel experience will be the topic of a future blog post.
Q: How long have you been planning this trip?
A: We have been dreaming of this trip for years. We started talking more seriously about it a year ago, and started seriously researching last Fall. The actual booking of flights and places to stay started about 4 months ago.
- Jake