Make the Dream a Reality

Another frequent question/comment from people has been - How did you manage to take a trip like this?! While I wouldn't say it was easy, the hardest part was certainly just making the decision to do it and then coordinating finances to make it happen.

I've gone over alot of the practical specifics on a separate blog, but here are some general tips to help you take the trip of a lifetime too.


TIME - Wait until you're at a transitional point in your life. Are you ready to change jobs or just got laid off? Are you in your last few years of being childless, or before your child enters school? Did you just get booted from your rent-controlled apartment? Time is a hard thing to come by and you may never get the opportunity again so plan for as long as possible.

MONEY - Do not travel if you're in debt. Mortgage on a house is o.k. if you can rent it for something close to what you're paying, but credit card debt or payments on a vehicle are a no-no. Get yourself out and quit buying stuff so you can spend your hard-earned cash on something much more enriching like travel :)

LOWER YOUR STANDARDS - Life in the U.S. and other developed countries is exponentially comfier than the lives of the majority of the people on the planet. A big reason for traveling is to see firsthand how the other half lives. You can't see this on package-tour or by staying in 5-star hotels. You've got to do it yourself to allow for local interaction. Also, your money won't last very long going this route either. I personally find it the most interesting taking budget accomodations and traveling overland when at all possible. While this might not be the easiest way to see things, it certainly packs alot of experience for the buck.

BE OPEN - Throw out all your preconceptions. Some of my most-loved destinations have been the places other people panned. And some of my least-liked have been those that were raved about (typically they prove to be tourist ghettos). Keep a sense of openness + adventure, though not to a fault (remember that some people are unscrupulous so trust your instincts). Reply like an Indian to interesting opportunities - Sure, why not?!

WHERE TO GO - It's a great big, interesting World out there, but don't pack too much in. We've met more people than I care to count who are racing around from one place to the next like they're trying to check destinations off a list - 1 week in Rajasthan, 2 days in Varanasi, 2 days in Kathmandu and only 4 days for a trek (that could have bee stretched to 3 weeks) before hoping on a plane to Bangkok, Chiang Mai + Ko Samui (the three most touristed spots in all of Thailand), then on a plane to Bali for 2 weeks, then Australia, then... you get the picture. I'm not saying this is wrong, but you're going to blow right through your money and only have fleeting memories of every place you've visited instead of a deep understanding of any one place. As a rule of thumb I wouldn't allow less than one month in each small country or in a state/province in a large one. Note: I've listed 2-3 week itineraries for all the places we've visited (See Recommendations) for those working stiffs... of which I soon will become again.

Any other questions? Just ask. We are more than happy to encourage people to travel and can recommend places to suit your taste.

Gear that Stood the Test, or Not

Packing for a trip of indefinite length was certainly a challenge... What to bring???

Believe it or not, except for just a handful of items, during the past 3 years I've gone through four entire changes of wardrobe. Clothes just aren't designed to be worn day in and day out, and washed again and again, and again. I wore everything until it disintegrated, and then searched for some cheap, new item to replace it. And then repeated that cycle again 6-8 months later. Fortunately, that's pretty easy to do on the road if you average-sized.

The one item that stood with me every day and didn't give out 'til the last month were my shoes. These Salomon Amphibians are amazing! Comfy, lightweight, breathable, easy to get on and off in a country where no one wears shoes indoors + extraordinarily durable, they are the ideal shoes for travel. Very fortunate as good quality outdoors shoes are one thing that is actually quite difficult to replace on the road. If you're planning a trip, besides your pack, this will be your #1 item of concern, so chose wisely.

Speaking of packs - I loved my Lowe Alpine, and Darin dug his Arcteryx pack. Both are great picks, and so are many other well-made brands that REI carries. The trick is to try on the pack in the store, with weight, and wear it around for an hour while you're shopping to really get the feel for it before committing.

On the outs list for equipment were some of our electronic gear. I blew through two digital cameras - a Minolta and a Casio - that each died for unapparent reasons. On the other hand, Darin's digi - a Canon Powershot A620 - is a workhorse. Even after ten of thousands of photos it's still going strong. Consequently, I purchased a Canon Powershot A570 in Mumbai to replace my last casualty. Also on the electronic front, both of our 80GB I-pods have died or are on the fritz and need to be replaced. Both were brand new too when we left. That seems pretty par-for-the-course with those though, which is crazy to me considering that they're not cheap! We loved our Altec Lansing inMotion portable speakers for the I-pod though and couldn't have lived without them. A good pair of sound-blocking headphones would've been nice too for those long, loud bus rides.

Do you have any gear that's stood the test? We won't be going on a trip anytime soon, but next time...

The New News

To all my lovely, loyal readers -

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the planet or met with some untimely fate now back within the safety of my home country (though oddly enough, parts of SF do seem more menacing now than most of SE Asia). I/we have just been incredibly, incredibly busy trying to catch up to speed (which I not-so-secretly hope never to) with life back in the States. Just getting a phone without an existing phone number was a hurdle that took AT+T three, long weeks to figure out. But enough of our bureaucratic woes. The short of it is - I'm back! And, I'll continue this blog as long as I feel I can voice noteworthy + unique views of comparison + contrast between what I experienced as a very fortunate third-worlder to what is now my current reality as an average first-worlder. So, when you have the time + inclination, it'll be worth scrolling back as far as June as I finally post all the drafts I've not had the time to edit and post until now. Many more photos will be forthcoming too, as well as a brand new San Francisco series, because I do have the good fortune of living in one of the more unique + photogenic cities on Earth. And with that - Happy reading!

Note: I love to get comments posted directly on the blogs for all to share instead of a direct e-mail (well, I love the latter too, but let's try to keep this a more open forum going forward). Thanks! And in the words of S.N. Goenka - Be Happy :)