by John Higham
September purchased hundreds of dollars’ worth of books for the kids before we left. She did a mountain of research and found historical fiction and other genres of literature that was set in the areas we were planning to visit. She separated the books into twelve piles, one pile for each month, roughly corresponding to the places we hoped we would be. Approximately once a month, we would send an e-mail to September’s mother letting her know where we would be in a few days, and she would FedEx a package of books to us. Sometimes we would have her send the books to a friend of a friend who was living in a city we were planning to visit, and other times we would have the books sent to a hostel or campground where we were going to be staying. It was always complicated trying to figure out where we were going to be a few days in the future, but getting the package of books was always worth it.
I will say all the effort and money required to purchase and ship all those books was always worth the trouble. The impact on each of us from reading Red Scarf Girl, about the Chinese Cultural Revolution, was much greater when read in China than it would have been if read at home in Silicon Valley. As there can be l-o-o-o-ng stretches with nothing to do when traveling, I can’t imagine going on such a trip with kids who couldn’t entertain themselves with a good book.
How Do I Buy Plane Tickets?
There are dozens of companies that specialize in around-the-world plane tickets. We used AirTreks and highly recommend them. Googling the string “around the world plane tickets” will help you find many others.
There is a product called an “around-the-world ticket” that generally allows you to travel around the world in one direction, make a specific number of stops, and have flexible travel dates.
One problem we found with around-the-world tickets is that you cannot backtrack. For example, the itinerary we laid out for ourselves had us flying primarily east, but occasionally we had to fly west. This isn’t allowed on a typical around-the-world ticket—those flight segments would have been simply out of pocket.
Another problem with around-the-world tickets is that they are generally all on one airline or airline alliance. For example, if you buy your around-the-world tickets on United, you can’t fly to Mauritius.
After doing much research on the subject, we finally committed ourselves to what are known as open jaw segments. Open jaw segments are a series of one-way tickets strung together, connecting the dots on the globe you wish to visit. In the post-9/11 world, one-way tickets are hard to buy, so a good travel agent who specializes in around-the-world tickets is invaluable here.
With open jaw tickets you build your own itinerary, and the only limitations are your budget and your imagination. The drawback is that you fix your travel dates in advance.
How Do I Save for a Trip This Big?
The easiest thing would be to marry well or arrange to inherit a trust fund. Failing that, plan on saving for years.
We started saving for this trip about ten years before we left. In those ten years we bought less expensive cars than we could otherwise afford and a smaller house than we would have, and we put the difference into savings.
Our kids had heard us planning this trip since before they could talk. Our family mantra became, “Would we rather buy this, or go on our trip?” This applied even to minor expenditures such as clothing, not so much for the economic benefit as the psychological benefit that as a family, we were working toward our goal. Both kids became evangelical about cost cutting, sometimes to the point of being irksome, but it showed that we were united in our goal. In the end, it was worth being scolded by an eight-year-old for going to the occasional Giants game at AT&T Park.
It isn’t as hard as you think. Funds for one backyard landscaping and a new minivan channeled into a different account would go a long way toward funding extended travel. The minivan will get old and the backyard will get overrun by weeds, but the memories you share as a family will last forever.
How Do I Carry Cash?
We didn’t. Only very rarely did I carry more cash with me than I could tolerate losing if I were mugged. For example, when we were in Tanzania we had to pay our safari operator in cash; after I had concluded using the ATMs over several days wasn’t going to work out, the tour operator arranged bodyguards to accompany me to the bank when I went for the cash advance on my Visa. The only other time I carried a lot of cash was in Bolivia when we took our Unimog adventure over the Andes. We had to pay for services along the way and there were no facilities for getting cash en route.
Nevertheless, when we found ourselves in certain places where we felt an elevated risk of pickpockets, such as the Covered Bazaar in Istanbul, we divided our cash and credit cards equally among the four of us.
How Do I Get Cash?
Mostly from ATMs. This worked great in Europe, Turkey, and the UAE. Unfortunately, this lulled us into a false sense of availability that backfired once we landed in Tanzania. After the Lushoto debacle, we learned to ask locally about ATM and bank availability before traveling into remote areas, because traveler’s checks aren’t universally accepted.
As noted above, relying on ATMs works well in Europe. It also works well in most parts of Asia, including China. We knew before going to Cambodia that there were no ATM services in the country, so we relied upon traveler’s checks there.
One big surprise was Central and South America. While ATMs are plentiful, our Cirrus and Star system cards were almost universally rejected continentwide, even at machines specifically advertised to be on those networks. Slipping a credit card into the same machine, however, would almost always work—even though the credit card was also on the same network.
On the subject of credit cards, we carried three pairs of cards issued to both John and September, for a total of six cards. I would carry with me card “A” issued in my name. September’s card “A” was kept with our passports. In a like manner, September carried card “B” with her, and my card “B” was with our passports. The rarely used pair of cards “C” was also with our passports.
We developed this strategy to minimize our risk in the case of lost or stolen cards, but also to protect ourselves if a bank decided to freeze our account due to “suspicious” charges.
Finally, we left letters on file with our bank and credit card companies with our rough itinerary and contact information.
How Do I Pay Bills?
I set up all my recurring bills for auto-payment, and then managed my accounts electronically over the Web. My mortgage holder, for example, never knew I was out of the country.
For nonrecurring bills, I used Checkfree, a bill-paying service that my bank worked with seamlessly. Everything was managed remotely using the Internet. September’s mother handled our day-to-day mail and we kept in contact via e-mail for bills that might pop up.
All I needed to manage my finances remotely was an Internet café. The only country where I found it difficult to find an Internet café was in England. In fact, my experience was that the poorer the country, the more Internet cafes are available.
One Last Word about Money Matters
Before we left, I obtained a home equity line of credit, gave my mother-in-law power of attorney, and September and I each got our wills in order. Luckily, none of these were required although for the first few months after we returned, that home equity line of credit was mighty tempting.
How Do I Keep the Kids Entertained?
This is an important consideration for the mental health of the group. If the kids are bored, everyone suffers.
Kids aren’t impressed by the same kinds of things adults are. Furthermore, you simply can’t do something fun every minute or even every day. There were plenty of days where the only goal was to get the laundry done.
To combat boredom we deployed books. For this reason, I wouldn’t recommend a trip of this type with children who are not yet good readers.
For an unusual insight into cultures that a typical traveler never sees, we also visited local amusement parks. The irony of a grim-
faced Chinese man working the roller-coaster wasn’t lost on the kids; neither was the smile we finally were able to coerce out of him. The contrast between Wild Wadi Water Park in Dubai versus the water park in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania was a good catalyst for a lesson on how people are the same, yet different.
What Would You Do Differently?
In retrospect, I wish we had spent less time in a few places, so that we could have spent more time in other places. But there is no way to know these kinds of things in advance; it is one of the frustrations about traveling that anyone with limited time, even if it is a year, has to accept.
For some folks there may be a clear advantage to liquidating all assets before embarking on a journey of this magnitude. There were many, many occasions when I was pulling my hair out trying to manage affairs at home from afar; the notice I received from the IRS asking questions about the previous tax year was one of the more choice frustrations.
I do regret not being more aggressive with taking pictures.
What Medications Should I Bring?
Our family doctor helped us out here. We simply asked him for his advice and he gave us prescriptions for several future and likely scenarios: Cipro, for diarrhea, was the only thing we actually used. It is straightforward to buy Cipro in most countries without a prescription.
What Immunizations Do I Need?
We scheduled a visit to our doctor a month before we left to get inoculated against yellow fever, hepatitis A, and typhoid as well as getting boosters for tetanus.
We also needed malaria pills because Tanzania was a malaria zone. Our doctor recommended the drug Malarone to us. It was $200 per person for a one month’s supply. There were cheaper malaria medications, but they all sported nasty side effects.
On our doctor’s advice we decided to wait and buy our malaria medication overseas, where he thought it was likely to be cheaper. We found that Malarone wasn’t cheaper in Europe, and simply not available in Turkey or in the United Arab Emirates. So we picked up a supply of the inexpensive nasty side-effect kind of malaria pills before we left Dubai. Fortunately, we experienced none of those nasty side effects.
How Do I Stay Connected?
Being a geek, I agonized over this one. I wanted a computer. I wanted a satellite phone. Both would have been immensely useful. I brought neither.
It was a matter of bulk. The issue of bulk first reared its ugly head during one of our training rides. We had taken several long-distance, self-contained bike rides before we attempted to ride from London to Istanbul. One such ride was to circle the island of Maui. Anyone who has been on the backside of Maui knows how remote it is. Let’s just say that we realized we couldn’t eat a computer when we were tired and hungry and there were no stores around.
It was basically the same story for a satellite phone. I have a professional connection with one of the satellite phone services, and they offered a phone to me for our trip, but I had to decline because of size and weight. More than once I wished I had it, but we survived without it.
For a computer, I took a state-of-the-art PDA and a wireless keyboard. This was a fantastic solution and one I heartily recommend. The device I brought had Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. I used this “e.brain” for keeping a journal, playing chess, keeping documents handy, sending and receiving e-mail, Web browsing, and just about anything you can do with a computer.
For voice, I bought a simple “pay as you go” cell phone in London. I then bought a new GSM card for each local network as we made our way around the world. This solution worked okay. The obvious problem lay in the typical cell phone coverage issues. The not-so-obvious annoyance was arriving in a new place, needing to make phone calls for things like finding accommodations, but not being able to because the GSM card in my phone wouldn’t roam on the new network.
My rule of thumb “Don’t bring more than you want to carry, nor anything more expensive than you’re willing to have stolen” applies to zippy electronics as much or more than any other equipment.
What about the Language Barrier?
You’ll be surprised what you can accomplish with a smile and a credit card. Of course, that is of little help when you have to make a phone call. The best advice is to go over your phrase book before placing the call and hope for the best.
English, even if at only a rudimentary level, is spoken widely in the travel industry in much of the world. We found the exception to be China, but if we can stumble through, so can you.
An immense help is a universal picture dictionary. Don’t leave home without one.
What Were Your Favorite Places?
That is a very hard question. I love Switzerland, and I would heartily recommend it to almost anyone. I also love Bolivia, and would recommend it to a select few.
The four of us have our own favorites, and for different reasons. The only country that is in each of our “top five” is Switzerland. A lot of places come close, but if you love the outdoors there is no substitute for Switzerland. The following rounds out the remainder of our top picks with a short summary of why:
John
1-Bolivia: Raw, action packed with a little bit of everything for the adventurous.
2-Thailand: Safe, easy to travel in, very affordable, lots of variety and activities to do in the great outdoors.
3-Cambodia: Be prepared to be humbled.
September
1-Turkey: We could afford to eat out in restaurants, people are friendly, and the country is exotic enough to let you know you are no longer in Kansas.
2-China: Just like interplanetary travel, but without the inconvenience of leaving Mother Earth. The overwhelming and pervasive entrepreneurial spirit is truly mind boggling.
Katrina
1-Tanzania: The Serengeti—there is no place on earth like Africa to see big game.
Jordan
1-Costa Rica: Vulcan Arenal, the rain forest, the river taxis—there is much to love about Costa Rica.
APPENDIX OF
STUPID FACTS
•Country with weirdest sayings on T-shirts: Japan
•Most ubiquitous fast-food restaurant: KFC
•Most ubiquitous food product: Pringles
•Most ubiquitous product advertisement: Coke
•Most counterfeited food product: Oreos (Okeos, Oleos … the list is endless)
•Worst food: England
•Best hot dogs: France
•Best ice cream (ahem … gelato): Italy
•Worst ice cream: Turkey
•Most ubiquitous product: Microsoft Windows
•Best postal system: Beijing, China
•Most mystifying postal service: Sweden, where there are no post offices
•Worst postal system: Czech Republic
•Most illiterate taxi drivers: China
•Most repulsive toilets: China, with (dis)honorable mention going to the “hotel” in Laguna Colorado, Bolivia
•Most elaborate toilets: Japan
•Best roller coaster: Thunder Dolphin, Tokyo
•Most shoe shine boys per square km: La Paz
•Most Internet cafés per square km: Tie, between Thailand and Bolivia
•Fewest Internet cafés per square km: England
•Best Internet cafés: Japan—wicked fast upload speeds!
•Most littered plastic bags per square foot: Tanzania
•Most Rolex dealers per square km: Zermatt, Switzerland
•Best water park: Wild Wadi in Dubai
•Most aggressive beggars and touts: Arusha, Tanzania
•Most bang for buck: Thailand
•Most stunning scenery: Switzerland, although Machu Picchu and the Lake District near San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina are also fabulous
•Best chocolate: Forget Switzerland. San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina. Go for the chocolate and stay for the scenery.
•Most appalling gutters: Dar es Salaam
•Most colorful hair on old ladies: Japan
•Most aggressive carpet sale
smen: Turkey
•Most helpful people: England
•Most friendly people: France—surprised? Of course, we found friendly people everywhere we went.
•Best children’s parks above the tree line: Switzerland
•Best public swimming facilities: Germany
•Prettiest big city: Stockholm
•Most dazzling big city: Hong Kong
•Hardest to travel in: China, as the language barrier is huge
•Most pickpocket attempts per hour: Rome
•Most obnoxious coins: Sweden and Costa Rica (tie); forget stuffing them in your pocket. You need a wheelbarrow to cart them around they are so huge.
•Most on-time trains: Tie between Switzerland and Japan
•Hardest place to lunch: Dubai during Ramadan
•Coolest over-the-counter fireworks: Mauritius
•Most complicated bathing ritual: Japan
•Most blatant product counterfeiting: China, although Bolivia is a very close second
•Noisiest country: Tie between United Arab Emirates and China
