Travel Prep
30 November 2009 in TravelAfter being home one month, I’m already itching to get back on the road, and that means lots of preparation.
Today I looked at an old camper for my pickup in the hopes of doing a budget road trip to all 50 states. My dad suggested we trade my rarely-used 7mm rifle for the camper (hey, this is Utah we’re talking about), but the seller already had enough old guns. In the end, I didn’t think the camper was going to work for me, so we walked. Now, just hours later, with the US road trip looking less appealing, I have already made up my mind to go back overseas. My goal is to be overseas for New Year’s Eve, which is one month away, and I have an awful lot of things to get done.
To give an idea of the planning involved in longterm travel, I am putting my checklist below. Clearly, this is personalized. Your list could have more or less items if you have children or don’t have a vehicle, for instance. I wish travel were as easy as jumping on the first airplane, and that’s probably possible, but I like keeping my affairs in order to minimize problems. Keeping things in order takes time and effort, but it makes for nearly stress free travel. During this most recent 4.5 month stay in Asia, I did not have to worry at all about my vehicle or bills or checking up on anything. Everything was taken care of before I left.
Am I missing anything from my checklist? If you think so, please let me know because you might be saving me a lot of trouble down the road!
-Get fresh vehicle oil change
-Put vehicle back into storage
-Minimize insurance premium for a stored vehicle
-Suspend phone line
-Create packing list
-Pack
-Renew passport or get extra pages ASAP (only one page left!)
-Look for best airfares
-Create a general itinerary
-Research cool things to do in my desired travel spots
-Balance checkbook
-Ensure finances are safe and secure
-Ensure credit and ATM cards are activated for use in countries I might visit
-Check that accidental medical travel insurance is still valid
-Get medical checkup to ensure my liver is still healthy (my tuberculosis drugs give it a workout)
-Obtain big supply of doxycycline (antibiotic wonder drug)
-Duplicate laptop to external hard drive
-Quit procrastinating, and finish writing the dozen or so articles I’ve been meaning to publish
-Continue searching for American sponsors for my most expensive plans
Doxycycline – if you are planning to use this as an anti-malarial drug, I would highly recommend using something else. Most people I’ve come across have been unable to stay on Doxycycline because of its long term side effects. Amoxicillin, as long as you aren’t allergic is a good one to have for general use (Not anti-Malarial) and you can pick it up in most countries, especially in Asia over-the-counter.
Mike, thanks for visiting! What long term side effects have you heard of, with Doxy? I never had any side effects with the drug except upset stomachs if I didn’t eat at the same time, and my skin was extra sensitive to sun (I burned easier). Doxy, as an anti-biotic, defends against a couple dozen diseases and other issues, which is part of why I like it so much. I seriously think it’s a bit of a wonder drug. Also, as an anti-malarial, it covers a much bigger section of the world (because of the different malaria strains) than any other anti-malarial. I never got sick while traveling (except food poisoning on the flight from California to Hawaii—well before I started taking doxy). I like to think doxycycline helped me avoid illness. Most other travelers I ran into had some sort of medical issue along their travels, like diarrhea, vomiting, or something, but I was ultra-healthy the entire stretch.
I’ll look up Amoxicillin. I always like improving my immunity, especially with inexpensive over-the-counter options.