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Published: March 22nd 2012
We have been back a few months now and it is time to try to sum up. I warn you now that this is a longer post than usual. Apologies for that but I have added sub-headings so that you can flick through to the interesting bits as you wish.
If you are planning a trip around the world there is a mass of information available. Blogs were a great source of information for us. Profiles of countries, regions, cities and attractions provided by all sorts of organisations are available on the net. Travel sites can provide some useful advice. There are sites that can find the cheapest air/train/bus option in a lot of countries and there are many useful sites that can assist with the booking, and review, of the variety of accommodation options. The problem is that there is just so much information and advice about that it can all become confusing, not the least because the information and advice can be contradictory. So now we will add to all of this information and advice. People can pick out what makes sense and dismiss the rest.
First, though, a bit of context so that you can assess
whether what we say is useful to you. We are an old-ish Australian couple who have travelled a bit. We are in the fortunate position these days that our time is not cluttered with the need to spend too much time finding an income, although there are a couple of important provisos that I will come to in a moment. The original plan was to travel for about a year. Before we left we changed that to about 3 years. We aren't 5-star travellers and not only because of the cost. For us travelling 5-star means that we miss much of what is good for us about travel. Not that a little bit of luxury every now and then isn't most welcome. But we also aren't desperate budget travellers. Been there and done that and don't need to do it now, although I should admit that there are those of our contemporaries who consider that our choices are definitely on the budget side.
The Guidelines Nothing too dramatic here but we thought it might be useful to include our planning, and travel guidelines.
• This is not about saving money. There will be a budget
but, if we need to blow it and have the capacity to do so, we will – always keeping in mind that we may just live a few more years and will need some for that.
• Air travel to be avoided wherever possible – you can't see much from up there.
• Travel the way that seems to best suit the locals and the country.
• Accommodation preferably in rooms with a bed that can take the two of us and with an en-suite toilet/bathroom if possible.
• Try to do it all slowly. No hard and fast itineraries and a minimum of fixed dates. Keep it as flexible as visas and any necessary fixed dates will allow.
• Don't try to see it or do it all. Be selective. There is always the Comeback List.
• Be ready to travel back home for births, deaths and marriages as necessary.
The guidelines were useful and we followed them most of the time. They were very handy in those discussions about options that crop up from time to time. Our greatest failure was in trying to do it slowly. We were able to avoid fixed dates and kept the itinerary pretty loose but
we still never spent more that 10 days in any one place, and that just once. So much for the thoughts of month-long stays where we would have more of an opportunity to get to know a place a little better.
The Plan Year One was to take in New Zealand – because it is there and we hadn't been – then on to SE Asia. We have been there a few times before but there is still a lot to see. Into India – refusing to try to travel through Burma/Myanmar until Aung Sun Syu Kyi was released (and it is great that she is now out and about). Depending on the situation in countries along the way, head for Europe where we would handle the higher cost by utilising savings found in cheaper countries of Asia.
Year Two was intended to be Africa and the Middle East with the remainder of Europe and the UK.
Year Three was allocated for Central and South America and the USA.
The plan worked well in the broad, more or less.
Countries Visited New Zealand was an easy and gentle way
to start. A lot like home. Travelling around there gave us the chance to test some of our assumptions, particularly those to do with budget.
SE Asia is pretty familiar territory for us. We hadn't been to Vietnam though and the month we spent there was well worth the time. Renewal of our acquaintance with Malaysia and Singapore was enjoyable. Six weeks in India was unforgettable. Pakistan was becoming more lively and a little more dangerous than normal so we flew to Turkey. After a month or so there we worked our way then through Eastern Europe and Scandinavia for a couple of months, visiting Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
There was a need for us to go back to Australia for a couple of months and we did that.
We returned to Europe and into the UK - mainly London - for a month or so then, skipping the Middle East for now, we flew to Egypt and travelled down through Africa for 5 months, mainly staying to the east visiting Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
From
South Africa we flew back to Europe to travel through Western Europe for another 5 months visiting France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium. On then to the UK where we spent a little over 3 months.
Year Three was for the Americas. We spent 7 months in Central and South America moving through Mexico, Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil. And our final leg took us to the USA – and the Eastern bit of Canada (we had been to the other parts before) – for the last 5 months.
On this trip we visited 59 countries. A number we visited more than once and there were some that we had been to before. We have now visited 70 countries, some a number of times. Another 30 and we will crack the magic 100.
We kept a reasonably good diary and, of course, loaded blog posts reasonably regularly so if you are interested in more details they are likely to be available and we would be happy to provide extra information if we can.
Transport We did
try to keep air travel to a minimum but ended up flying more than we had originally intended.
Our flights were:
Brisbane to Christchurch and return, Brisbane to Singapore, Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi to Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur to Bangalore, Delhi to Istanbul, Istanbul to Frankfurt.
London to Cairo,Capetown to Paris, London to Houston, Panama City to Cartagena, Lima to Cusco, Santiago to Punta Arenas, Ushuaia to Calafate, Fos de Iguassu to Sao Paolo, Sao Paolo to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Sydney.
In New Zealand we hired a little camper van. It worked well providing transport that dealt well with NZ's roads and also providing reasonable accommodation. Vietnam was bus and train country. Sleeper buses were not always comfortable but it was during Tet so they were busy. Very practical. Malaysia was also bus country for us this time.
In India we had a car and driver at a quite acceptable price for some of the time, organised for us by good friends with family in India. The rest of the time it was the trains with 'otos' in the cities and some spectacular trips in jeeps in the areas around
Darjeeling and Sikkim. A little more rubber on the tyres may have been useful. A time to concentrate on the view. In Turkey it was back to the buses and they have to be among the best in the world. Excellent service.
A leased car was a better option – more flexible and cheaper – than trains or buses in Europe under the very good scheme sponsored by the French Government and their car companies for non-European visitors. We covered a little under 20,000 kilometres on our first run through Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.
Through Africa we took one of the three organised tours of the 3 years. The Dragoman truck took us from Cairo to Capetown. It was a good option for us at the time and we might even take another trip on a truck in that part of the world. We used a hire car to travel around South Africa.
We leased another car for 5 months in Western Europe and put another 20,000 kilometres on it. A mix of rental cars, trains and buses carried us around Great Britain.
In Central America it was buses again, this time normally the famous 'chicken
buses'. They were fine and the system worked well for us even though, at times, we weren't too sure what was happening. A matter of going with the flow but keeping your wits about you a little. We did take a couple of rides on Tica buses that travel mainly from capital to capital. These are well set up buses that run to a reasonably reliable schedule. In Central America pick-ups were also used around some of the rural areas. Toeholds and even hand-holds were always available, but perhaps not two. Without doubt our most luxurious travel in Central America was in Cuba where we took the second of our organised tours. A 17 seater tourist bus with an excellent driver and guide for 10 of us spoiled us all.
South America is the bus continent and that is how we travelled most of the time. It is a large continent though, and we did take planes to pick up some time on a few occasions.
South American buses deserve a comment. Generally, we found the buses provided a very good service. You do tend to get what you pay for. On one overnight bus in Argentina we
scored meals complete with complimentary glasses of wine. A lot of the better ones provide meals, and some stop for them. In some countries you are able to book your bus according to the reclination angle of the seats. I don't think we ever took a full 180 but the seats on most of the better class buses were excellent. Even on the cheaper buses, most were reasonably comfortable. All provided allocated seats, many provided a luggage ticket for your bag and they seemed to us to be a pretty safe and reliable way to travel.
In the USA we hired a car and covered about 32,000 kilometres in our 5 month stay. The USA is car friendly and there was no difficulty for us getting to most parts of the country in our relatively small SUV.
Accommodation In New Zealand we hired a small camper and spent every night in it. The Kiwis do camping areas pretty well with most equipped with camp kitchens. Makes it easier with the washing up or if you are cooking more than a one pot thing. A month was all I was prepared to give the sleeping arrangements.
Our US transport
with accommodation on boardThe camper we hired was too short for me to sit upright comfortably so it was either lay down or get out.
Hotels and hostels were the order of the day in Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, most of India, Turkey and through Eastern Europe, although we did find short-let holiday apartments in the Czech Republic, Croatia and Slovenia which were a welcome change. In India we were very fortunate to be invited to spend time in the homes of the family of friends from Australia. This time was special and very much appreciated.
For holiday lets it is obviously necessary to book ahead but not so far ahead that it removed too much flexibility. There are a variety of holiday let sites on the net that we used, along with booking.com and hostelworld for hotels and hostels.
When we arrived in Scandinavia as the northern summer was kicking in, we spent some time in a short term holiday let, a few hotels but a lot of the time in a tent with some basic camping gear. This latter option worked well in Scandinavia where camping is normal and very much accepted behaviour. Our equipment cost no more than
Cuba
One of the many forms of transport there the cost of a night in an average hotel. Campgrounds were a mixed bag. Some clearly catered for people on their annual holidays – and these weren't so good for us – while there were a few that were a little more relaxed catering more for travellers.
Africa was camping and basic hotels for the most part. Most of the hotels weren't particularly flash but they were reasonable. Even the place at Wadi Halfa in Sudan with gravel floors and very basic ablutions was clean and friendly. A tent with our own bedding was a good option most nights even if the facilities were DYI.
We tended to use a mix of hotels and holiday lets in strategic locations in the UK. It worked well we think. Again, there are a number of sites on the net catering to people looking for a short term let. The holiday type places tend to be booked early but there are others in the less likely destinations that are more available and considerably more useful for us than those in the more popular places.
You can book ahead in Central America but it was just as easy to have a
few places picked out of a guide book or off the net and chase them up when we arrived. We used both strategies. Hostal Trails hostels were often a good bet in Central and South America but most of the places we found were at least reasonable. Some in rural areas of Central America were fairly basic but the price was also pretty low. Relative to Central America, accommodation in most of South America was up a notch or two in standards.
In the US we set ourselves up to camp for at least half of the time. We ended up spending more than 50% of our time camping and were able to much more than justify the cost of some pretty good equipment. We broke one of our rules here. People in the US tend not to camp as we did. They are more likely to have a fairly substantial RV. We were in a tent. A very flash tent for us but a tent nevertheless. Camping areas are well set up though and national parks, state parks and forests provide additional options. Unfortunately, the parks are a mixed bag in terms of facilities. In the US if
you are camping it seems to be assumed that you intend to rough it, so you don't necessarily need much in the way of facilities.
Hotels in the US were plentiful. We were able to get better rates booking ahead, if only by a few hours. Loyalty cards were of value. We rarely paid less than $50 or more than $100 a night for a room for the two of us.
Food Food, of course, is a matter of personal preference but, for what it is worth, we put SE Asia and India well up there with the most interesting, affordable food in the world with Europe receiving high marks for the most part. African food can be interesting and different but not consistently great. Mexican food is up there for us as some of the best but through the rest of Central America things tended to become a little more bland. Much of South America is carnivore heaven. Street food there can be very good. There is excellent food in the US but this is counter balanced by the desire to put most things on a bun of some nature and the tendency to
submerge quality in quantity..
You can tire of food prepared commercially and we did self cater wherever we could. We loved the supermarkets in Europe and give France the nod for the best. Aisles of cheeses and all manner of processed smallgoods and fresh foods. Overall, we ate a lot of interesting food. We collected local recipe books where we could. It will be fun to try them all.
Of probably greater importance for some travellers is that we were very rarely crook as a result of what we ate. It happened of course but not that often. We were not terribly picky about where or what we ate and followed just a few simple rules. For street food we ate only what was cooked in front of us and was hot. If the eating establishment was a little dodgy, we would normally order something that was likely to be prepared from fresh or that had a pretty high turnover. If a lot of locals are consuming the stuff it seemed likely to be OK.
Water is always an issue in some countries. Buying plastic bottles is usually safe enough provided you have a quick look at
the seal but plastic bottles can be a significant waste issue so we shifted to the use of water treatment tablets and then a Steri Pen. This was a much more reliable and simpler solution.
Health As we noted earlier we are not young and there are more of those joints that ache and squeak than I ever knew existed before I turned 50. Accordingly, we maintained good travel insurance for the time we were away from Australia, paying particular attention to insurance that would get us to a place where we could get good care if needed. In the event we did pretty well. A couple of dental appointments and, apart from that, no need to see a doctor for the entire period.
Before we left we spoke to a Travel Doctor. We took the advice we received and a booklet that turned out to be particularly useful in letting us deal with any issues that did arise. We had a medical kit with the basic medicines needed to stop the runs and deal with stomach problems along with painkillers of varying strength and anti-inflammatories. We had both attended an advanced First Aid course
before we left Australia. This wasn't specifically related to the intended trip but it did provide some additional information and training on how to handle a range of more urgent issues. Fortunately, we never really had to swing our skills into action.
I should note that, in a lot of countries, there is quite ready availability of a lot of drugs that, in Australia, would require a doctor's prescription. This was handy for us.
Crime Unlike some other travellers we met along the way, we have come back without much of interest to report in our brushes with the world's criminals.
The only thing we had stolen was a pair of sandals taken from my pack on the Eurostar between Paris and London. Nothing else anywhere for 3 years. Very dull.
We were scammed twice on our credit card though. The first time while we were travelling in Peru. Somehow someone was able to arrange that, whenever we tried to withdraw funds from an ATM, those funds were delivered to their account in the Dominican Republic. We received a full refund. The next time in the US was similar but this time it
seems that my credit card details were taken in a restaurant and used in a spree for a few hours. Our bank reacted very quickly. Again we received a full refund. Apart from the inconvenience, we had no real problems.
Budget As I said earlier, this was never intended to be a 5-star trip nor an exercise in winning the prize for the cheapest travel. We wanted to travel comfortably, experience what we could, eat and drink the 'specials' of every country and take back things that could help us maintain the memories.
We decided to develop a budget that aimed to take every possible expenditure into account. This would include all air fares, souvenir purchases, urgent trips home and all of our living and travelling expenses. Every cost related to the trip was to be counted.
Before we left we estimated our budget at $260 per day, or $130 each. That was reviewed after 6 months. It had become clear that the target amount was higher than seemed necessary so we cut it to a nice round $100 per day each or $200 for the two. We had also allocated a fund for
the larger one- off souvenirs, gifts and the like that was to be in addition to the budget. Our intention was to stay reasonably close to our $200 per day but to be prepared to dip into the reserve if necessary.
We kept a record of all of our spending and, after the first 6 month, maintained a spreadsheet that broke that expenditure into some key categories of food and grog, transport, accommodation, entries/tours, personal equipment, gifts and souvenirs.
Our highest expenditure area was, as might be expected, transport at 35%. Next came accommodation at 22% and food (including grog) at 16%. We spent 13% of our funds on equipment. This included camping equipment, clothing and some of the really nice stuff we just had to bring back like carpets and rugs along with new cameras. Entries and tours, including the 3 organised tours we took, was 10% and a measly 4% on what we classified as souvenirs and such.
We have been asked how we would save money or if we could have travelled more cheaply. There are a couple of areas that may be obvious. If you sit still you cut your transport costs dramatically
Desert camp
Sudan again so selection of a couple of key locations in an area where you want to spend your time can free up some funds. Don't be tempted to buy things to take home is another pretty obvious way you can save. Other than those it is about the standards you are prepared to accept. Lower standards of buses and accommodation can bring costs down. Self catering, if it is possible, is a great way of saving cash.
At the end of 1132 days we came in at $12 per day over budget between the two of us We had dipped into our reserve but not to the extent we had considered might be necessary.
We were happy with the approach we took. It wouldn't suit everyone but setting a realistic daily figure and throwing every expenditure in made sense for us. In the end we were pleasantly surprised at how close we came to our budgeted figure.
Money Management and Security For the most part we used credit or debit cards and used these to access automatic teller machines. Only in parts of India and a few countries of Africa did this present difficulties. In
Norway camp
no table or chairs - a pack served as both those places we used cash, normally in US$ or Euros which was exchanged for the local currency. We both carried three credit/debit cards each on two different financial institutions. As I noted earlier, we were scammed twice on our credit cards. There was no financial loss incurred but both cards were cancelled immediately we raised the issue with the respective bank. The banks weren't prepared to send replacements to us overseas so, by the time we arrived back in Australia at a reasonably permanent address we were down to 2 operating cards.
ATM withdrawal fees, foreign transaction fees and the application of less than favourable exchange rates were a frustration. One of our financial institutions, a credit union, we found to be the cheapest charging a flat $5.00 fee for all withdrawals. Others levied a percentage based fee on every transaction and that became expensive.
Our cards and any cash were spread around us and our gear to minimise the level of the loss if we did lose gear or were robbed. We tried to restrict the amount of cash we carried but there was a constant tension between that desire and the cost of withdrawal of funds
in relatively small amounts. We maintained a contingency fund of US$ sufficient to tide us over for a few days in the event that everything went wrong. We never needed it.
Luggage and Postage Given that we needed to be flexible in our means of travel we decided that we would use backpacks and that the two of them would carry a maximum total of 30kg. This was, I stress, an aim or even, perhaps, a desire. We achieved that target every now and then. Where we had a vehicle the amount of gear grew alarmingly whereas a flight in the near future put a lot of pressure on.
Clothing wasn't too much of an issue. Generally, the rule was one on, one clean, one drying. We weren't pure though. We tended to pick up a T-shirt here and there and one of us finds markets and clothes shops irresistible so there were regular additions to the load. Bringing the gear back to our capacity to lug it around required that we develop knowledge of the postal systems of the world.
We tried a few methods of sending stuff home. The lady at the
Rose petals on the beds
Flash accommodation in Hue Post Office in Hanoi took one look at my beautifully wrapped package, smiled, reached for a suitable box from the pre-loved pile behind her, repacked the lot, taped it and wound cord around it, wrote the necessary addresses in the appropriate places and passed it to me to sign the customs declaration. All with smiles and not a word of English. In Chennai you needed to understand the process. Find the desk of the officer who authorises overseas packages. Proceed to the people who wrap the package in calico, sew it up, and hand it to you for addresses etc. Go to the desk where you pay. Go to the desk of the customs declaration. Sign. All done. And one small hint – the speed with which the package is sewn is directly proportionate to the amount of rupees in your hand.
All post offices are different but there is a certain similarity, probably because they all have the same function. Some have rules about the size and type of packages, some want to re-wrap your package and some want you to open your carefully wrapped package and repack it in front of them. They all know how to
charge though. Postage tends to be expensive from wherever you are. South Africa was the cheapest but that seems to be because they still provide for sea mail. For us post offices were a better option than the courier companies we tried. The courier companies we tried routinely made us pay extra for goods to be taken through customs. They cost more than the post offices with a service that was no better.
The Rules for Travellers We came up with some rules that we think could be handy for most travellers.
• Never ever go out without your camera.
• Never forego a toilet opportunity without thinking twice.
• Learn at least some of the language of every country you visit.
• Remember to smile.
• If you are on the road for a long time, schedule in 'weekends'. You need to take a break from travelling/touristing for a time every now and then.
• Hand cleaner helps you avoid the runs, bog stoppers let you travel regardless.
Questions? We don't really want to bore those who have been following our blog for a while or those who have come across this post
so there are probably things we could say that we have glossed over or ignored. If you have questions or comments let us know and we will try to assist. We may also have said things that you think require correction. If so, let us know.
This was a long trip but it could have been longer. There are many more places to see and we will be off again. For now, though, we need to get a house built. That will take a little while. We are starting from scratch on that one, on a rural block in the Sunshine Coast hinterland of South East Queensland. We plan to blog about that experience as well. We will also be back here from time to time as we take necessary breaks from the building, fencing, weed removal, road building and other sundry tasks.
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Janet
non-member comment
Well done you guys
Great effort. Are you ever going to print it all out as a book???? Hope the house building is going smoothly. Love, JK