One Giant Step…Is All It Takes

$49,744.71

That’s the big number. What it cost for us to put our jobs on hold, sell our home and car, say goodbye to friends and family and travel around the world for a year (326 days to be exact). That’s under our predicted budget of $50,000 – and no I didn’t cook the numbers to make it look good! You can look at the raw numbers here.

It seems like a big number doesn’t it? But what would it have cost to stay home for the year? Let’s say a modest mortgage payment of $2000/month – that’s $24,000. Then our regular weekly spending budget of about $400 – that’s $20,800 and we’re at almost $45,000 already not including any vacations, insurance, utilities, car payments etc. Sure, we weren’t making money while we were away, but it certainly didn’t cost us a whole lot either and I got to travel around the world for a year! Seriously, why doesn’t everyone do this!

The number does not include any pre trip costs such as clothing or equipment that we bought especially for the trip, vaccinations which we also paid for pretrip, or the Spanish lessons we took to prepare ourselves for three months in South America. These costs came out of our pocket as we were planning and preparing. During this time we didn’t buy ourselves new clothes, stopped eating out as much and sacrificed more than one mountain biking trip so that we could better afford to spend the money on trip focused items. There is a ‘PreTrip Costs’ tab on the spreadsheet that shows that these items totaled just over $6500. A good chunk of change but money we would have likely spent during this time anyway.

It does include every penny we spent after we left Canada. We carried a small notebook with us everywhere and wrote down every single item we paid for every day. It was not as onerous as it sounds and, when the only way money is flowing is ‘out’, there is incentive to track it all! We used a page per day but I have seen other travelers budget books and have marveled at the teeny tiny print they used in order to squeeze a week or more onto one page! Some even have complicated coding systems to categorize expenditures on the go.

The numbers really don’t mean anything though if there is no idea how we spent the money. It’s fine to say that we averaged $21/night for accommodation in Thailand but were we sleeping in a bug-infested hut or ensconced in a 4 star hotel? I’ll try to shed some light.

Accommodation

Accommodation varied greatly. We always had our own room (no dorm rooms) with a private bath (most of the time). We stayed in hotels, hostels, guesthouses, huts, cave rooms, boat cabins and desert camps. Sometimes it seemed like we were paying a fortune for a sh*t room (San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, or the ‘prison cell’ as we call it in Rio de Janeiro) and other times it seemed like we were getting the deal of a century (‘the beach’ room in Thailand, or the 5 star hotel in India which wasn’t cheap but compared to what we would pay for that in Canada was a steal!). I would say that we stayed in average ‘Flashpacker’ accommodation and, on average over the whole year, paid about $30 a night for a room.

Food & Drink

Some variety here from country to country although our eating habits stayed pretty much the same. Breakfast was often included in the room charge, or we would eat a small breakfast out. Then we would typically have one large meal in a restaurant of some sort and a smaller snack maybe from a street vendor or with a beer somewhere. We always ate local food and tried to shy away from ‘tourist’ restaurants. We would certainly have a drink with every meal (okay, not breakfast…often) and probably one or two more besides – it would be interesting to see food and drink broken out separately but, because they are so intrinsically linked for us, it became impossible to keep track. It looks like, generally, we spent more on food and drink per day than we spent on a room to sleep in. That makes sense to me because we like to eat and drink and use it as a form of entertainment.

Ground Transport

We did not take that many flights during our year – only 12 actually. We did, however, take a lot of buses, a few trains, a couple of boats and occasionally a car.

Taking public transit, buses and trains cuts down on costs dramatically. We spent a lot (and I mean a lot) of time on buses and I find them great value for money. I love travel days and we had the time to spend so they were a great option for us. We took trains in Germany and, although they were famously reliable, they were also expensive. We never did rent a car as it always seemed expensive although we did share long distance taxis in Jordan and hired a car and driver as part of a package in India.

Sightseeing

Trying to see what we wanted to see, do what we wanted to do and being able to afford it all was a constant struggle.

Included in this category were any entrance fees to sites or museums, any tours we took (whether short city tours or multiday region tours), cooking courses, and bike rentals etc. Some of the longer tours were a set price including transport, room, site fees and food but we tracked the cost in just this one category.

Miscellaneous

Pretty much everything else. You know…all that other stuff that doesn’t fit in one of the definable categories. Bathroom fees, buying books, toiletries, tour guide tips, internet fees, ATM charges, laundry, new clothes, postage…a litany of miscellany that doesn’t fit anywhere else.

Souvenirs

We purposely did not buy too many souvenirs. I did not want to worry about carting around, or mailing home, tons of trinkets and treasures. It all looks so wonderful while on vacation but I know me and it’s very likely I won’t like whatever it is once I get it home. That’s not to say that we didn’t buy anything while away – we picked up these nice things that will always remind us of where we went:

• A beautiful woven belt from Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca in Peru.

• A kilim (carpet) from Turkey that I love as much for its story as I do for its beauty.

• A Buddhist mandala print from Nepal.

• A stunning woodcarved wall hanging from Thailand – the artistry and workmanship is amazing.

• Silk wall hangings from Lao. In the end I think maybe they are knock offs from China, but that is just part of their story.

• Two very small, but interesting, paintings from Bali.

Visas

Eight of the fourteen countries we visited required visas, although only two of them required that we have one ahead of time. We had neither before we left home and so applied for, and received them, while we were on the road.

We obtained the India visa while we were in Ankara, Turkey where there is an Indian Embassy. The Brazilian one we initially tried while in Buenos Aires, Argentina but couldn’t get our sh*t together so we tried again in the border town of Iguazu Falls where the office was small and much more relaxed…they didn’t even want all of our sh*t and supplied the visa with no trouble at all…go figure.

All other visas were obtained at the border, either at the airport or the border crossing…for a fee of course. Some countries even insisted on us paying to leave…Bali charged almost as much to leave as to enter!!

Some Fun Budget Stuff

• Most expensive country. Per day costs in Brazil were the most expensive of the year. Accommodation was expensive (and crappy, except in Paraty) and food and drink were also costly.

• Cheapest country. The cheapest country per day was Vietnam and we certainly could have done it for much less even. We upped our accommodation budget to $30/night and slept in some very nice rooms but a normal room could be had for much, much less. The country is as cheap as legend says – I couldn’t believe it but it was true. One night J and I had dinner (in a restaurant not a roadside stall) and ate all the noodles and pork and springrolls we could fit in along with as much beer as we could quaff – the bill? Six dollars!! Seriously! I love Vietnam!

• Most Expensive Flight. The flight home from Bali was the most expensive. Not surprising as it was also the farthest flight.

• Least Expensive Flight. Zero dollars! That’s right…free. Our flight from Turkey to India was on Royal Jordanian Air and had a stop over in Amman, Jordan – it was free for us to stay for 10 days and continue the flight then. The flight from Singapore to Bali was also free. I don’t understand the economics of offering free flights but, yay for free!

• Most Expensive Drink. Without doubt it was the double Gin and Tonic I had to have in the New Dehli airport. Only one bar in the whole airport and it had run out of beer. I was getting on a plane!! $40…enough said.

• Totally Worth The Money. Some things are just worth the little bit of extra money (see ‘Most Expensive Drink’ above).

  • Getting apartments in Santiago, Buenos Aires and Berlin was totally worth the money – we loved settling into neighborhoods, cooking meals and feeling like a local.

  • Trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru was totally worth it as it stands as one of the highlights of my year.

  • I loved taking city tours or short term region tours as it gave me a chance to easily learn about an area and was a great chance to meet other travelers.

Balancing a budget over a year of travel when current costs are higher than expected and future costs are unknown can be a challenge. Remember that these are our numbers and that everyone travels differently. We met people who were traveling on half of what we were and know of others who spent significantly more than this for one person. Would I have liked to have had a bigger budget? Hell yeah! But at some point you have to stop saving and planning and just step out and do it!

I know it’s a little crazy to buy a big, bright, shiny, new camera after returning from the trip of a lifetime but I seem to do everything a little late. I went back to school late, started my career late, met Jason late, traveled around the world late, will probably have to retire late and will hopefully die late too!

We took some amazing photos while we were away and I have no complaints about the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 that we took with us. It’s compact, lightweight, and durable while still packing in some great features including a 10X zoom. It was easy to pack away and so we always had it with us.

There were times though when I wondered just how much better the pictures could be if I just had a better camera. I had an SLR camera back in the days of film and so know what they are capable of and what they bring to the party. Would I have wanted to tote such a big camera around all the time? Probably not but I think it would have been worth it for sure.

Why didn’t I just get one while we were on the road? Well, did you hear about my budget anxiety? There was no way I could have justified spending almost $1000 all in one shot! But now that we’re home, and the budget has settled down a bit, I realize that I am still interested in photography and so…why not?

The hardest part was choosing. Just like trying to decide which countries to visit, trying to decide between the 5,386 different digital SLRs was difficult. There are plenty of brands out there but, for me, it came down to Nikon or Canon. In the end I chose Canon because it was what I had in the past and I was familiar with how it worked. But even within the Canon line up there are about 492 options to choose from. The trick was to get enough camera for me to grow into but to not overdo it and buy too much.

The Canon EOS Rebel T1i was the perfect choice for me. There is plenty of room for me to remember and learn and it didn’t break the bank. It gives me the opportunity to figure out my style and see where it takes me. I’m excited to learn all about it and have already spent many hours poring over the manual with camera in hand.

The last thing I am looking for is a great beginner photography website. I know the basics of how the camera works, about aperture and shutter speed, and how the different settings work. What I need is some info about composition, lighting and style as well as some knowledge around digital processing (RAW vs JPEG etc). Know of one? Let me know in the comments or shoot me an email.

I had always said that, although a year seemed like a long time to be away, a year would pass anyway whether we did it or not. Now people see me and exclaim how quickly it seems to have gone by. Quickly indeed. We’ve been back home for more than a month now and we are settled in. Our routines have re-established themselves and that big, long year seems like just the blink of an eye.

It is almost two years since we tipped our hand to family and friends letting them know of our, until then, secret plan to put our jobs on hold, sell our house and car, and travel the world for a year. As I think about it, I can feel again the anxiety and nervousness I felt then…unsure of how people would react, scared that no-one would approve, worried that we wouldn’t be strong enough to see it through.

What a difference two years can make. I now feel strangely confident, strong and powerful…like I can do anything. I think success does that to a person – it finds a hole in self doubt and instead instills a sense of power. I’m slowly realizing what I might be capable of and, although it scares me, I am excited by the possibilities.

I have felt a mix of emotions in the past two (and a bit) weeks. Contentment, excitement, sadness, optimism, pride. I feel settled…and unsettled. I seem to be more emotional now than I was before. I was sitting at my desk one day listening to all that was going on around me and suddenly I felt like crying. There didn’t seem to be any reason for my sudden sensitivity – I wasn’t thinking about travel, or being home, or anything really – I just suddenly welled up with tears. I find myself on the verge of tears more often now than I did before. TV commercials, magazine articles, news stories…all seem to affect me, it’s weird.

I don’t think it’s because I’m sad the trip is over - I was ready to come home when we did. Maybe I’m sad that the adventure is over. Every day was different while traveling and new challenges were constantly presented. The tasks, such as getting dinner or finding a room, may have repeated themselves but the logistics around them were always different - we were always in a new city and often didn’t speak the language. Every day was an adventure and that is not the case any longer.

And so I feel settled…and yet not settled all at the same time.

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Mini TBEX

The Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX) got it start in early 2009 as a place for travel bloggers and writers to meet and support each other. There are now almost 3000 members sharing their stories, experiences, photos and blog addresses. It’s a great place to get answers to all kinds of travel, writing and blogging questions and to join groups with wide and varied interests.

This weekend the 2^nd annual TBEX conference was held in New York City. I didn’t attend this year…but maybe one year I will be able to. It would be a great opportunity to connect up with follow bloggers, hear talks given by more successful bloggers, and generally mix and mingle with people who do amazing things.

We held our own Mini TBEX conference this weekend in Victoria. Granted, it was small with only OneGiantStep, ForksAndJets and ProjectRunaway in attendance but we had a wonderful time sampling local beer, eating fabulous food and laughing the weekend away. We and Lisa (from ProjectRunaway) live here and were happy to host Jeremy and Eva. They were on their Home Is Where The Hops Are tour and we did our best to showcase our local beer culture while still trying to preserve our livers. It was great to meet people that we have been following on line, talk about travel and places we have all visited, and discuss what it’s like to come home. I’m sure the NYC TBEX was this, and more, on a much grander scale…but we did pretty okay.

As we unpacked our packs for the last time a few weeks ago I realized how many of the items in there had stood the test of time and had earned their passage on our RTW journey. There were also a few new things we had picked up along the way and I quietly chuckled as I remembered those items that were ‘voted off the island’ and did not make the round trip.

Making the packing list was one of the most stressful parts of planning to leave. I read tons of blogs and referred to their lists endlessly, worried about packing too much or too little. When I finally posted our almost final version almost all the comments stated that perhaps we were over packing. They were right. Here’s a look at some of what worked, and what didn’t.

How We Carried It All

Choosing our packs was a big decision and, luckily, we were happy with our choices for the whole trip. J’s Osprey WayPoint 60 was a winner. He would stuff it jam packed and it always looked like a nice, compact package because the compression straps on it pulled everything together. My MEC Pangea 60 looked a little sloppier, but I loved all the pockets in the interior! Everything had a place and I always knew where to look for what I wanted. The straps at the bottom of the pack were perfect for carrying my small sleeping bag.

Inside we used packing cubes to keep it all organized. I labeled mine so I could easily identify what was inside then I could quickly find whatever I was looking for and just pull out the one cube rather than unpacking the whole bag. We used two of these for toiletries rather than a single, bulky toiletry bag. There was never any arguing over who would carry the heavy toiletry bag – it was always evenly distributed between the two of us.

I used the daypack that came with the pack and found it to be more than enough. It didn’t look very big but I managed to keep all I needed in it – I even used it for a couple of multi-day treks. J’s daypack was bigger so he took care of all the electronics (which we never kept in our big packs). We did find though that we wanted something a little less ‘backpackery’ for running around cities and towns and so we found a messenger bag that worked really well. We then used it as the main around-town daypack and it packed nicely onto the outside of J’s big pack for long haul travel.

What We Wore

Whittling a regular wardrobe down to a traveling wardrobe is difficult. It’s hard not to pack too many clothes. There are countless situations that can be imagined where this item, or that item are absolutely necessary and so must be packed. We did our best and, even though we left many items behind in hostel rooms, other pieces were worth their weight in gold.

Despite what was packed in the bags, we wore the same clothes over and over and over and over again. Just like home we gravitated to our favorites and other pieces made their way to the bottom of the pack and were seldom worn – these were eventually left behind. In the cooler climates we layered clothes to stay warm and, once we hit the heat, we picked up some lighter weight clothes to stay cool.

Some pieces were just bad ideas from the start. We packed running shoes and running clothes but didn’t run enough to keep them so we sent them home before leaving South America. I had packed some shoes for going out in but soon realized that even when we were going out the shoes looked funny with my quickly fading clothes and so I never wore them and eventually sent them home too.

Keeping Neat And Clean

We kept our personal care items to a minimum. Shampoos and moisturizers and lotions and potions are all very heavy and can take up a lot of space. We used shampoo for every cleaning need (body, hair, shaving, laundry, dishes), I packed only face powder and lip gloss for makeup (and hardly ever used either), we had only one small tube of moisturizer and we shared deodorant (always trying to find one that didn’t smell too ‘girlie’ or ‘boyie’). My routine has always been fairly fuss-free but this took it to a whole new level! It did show me though that I don’t need all those products to be clean and look good – our bathroom cabinets at home now are much emptier than they were before we left.

A note about feminine hygiene. I was able to find everything I needed everywhere we went. I had to be prepared, and public facilities abroad are not what they are here at home but I never had any trouble finding what I needed – supplies are easy to find, and not expensive, in any large town or city.

The Medicine Cabinet

We packed our traveling medicine cabinet to take care of any ailments that we normally treat at home – with a few exceptions. We carried all the normal pain relief, decongestant, antihistamine, anti-diarrhea and ‘can’t sleep’ medication plus some antibiotics ‘just in case’.

I agonized over anti-malarial medication and ultimately decided that we would take only enough to cover our time in Laos.  Not everyone will agree with my decision but, based on my research and consultation with a travel nurse, it was where I felt the greatest risk was. In the end we saw so few mosquitoes that we did not take the medication (but were diligent in applying mosquito repellant at dusk when they would be evident).

We had one other complication to deal with in our medical bag. I have Crohn’s Disease and so had to carry enough medication for the whole year as I could not be sure that the medicine would be available, or reliable, in other countries. I packed it all in original containers with original labeling and carried a note from my doctor indicating my condition and explaining the need for the medication. The pills held up well in all the different climates and I was only ever asked about it once during a Provincial border check in Chile  - the pill vials showed up on an xray machine and the guards questioned what it all was. I explained that it was medication and they gave me no trouble.

Geek Stuff

The EEE PC we carried was fabulous!! We used it to write the blog, do research, watch movies, play games, track the budget, Skype home…it was indispensable. The size and weight made it travel friendly, it withstood all the bumping and abuse, and the battery life (6 hours!!) was amazing. Not having to spend time in internet cafes was totally worth it – we could do everything ‘offline’ and then upload once we were in a wifi zone again. One could travel the world without one…but I wouldn’t.

Our camera was a Panasonic Lumix point and shoot and worked well for us. Sure the pictures aren’t as nice as those from a digital SLR but then we weren’t lugging a huge camera around either. This one fit into the daybag nicely and could be easily carried. I have no complaints about the pictures I took – in fact my only complaint is that I didn’t take enough pictures. I should have taken more – more street scenes, more daily life, more special shots, more people pictures – all too often the unfamiliar became familiar, the strange became not-so-strange and the weird just seemed normal and I would forget that one day all this would be unfamiliar, strange and weird again and that I would want a picture of it! That’s my advice – take more pictures than you’ll ever think you’ll know what to do with.

The iPod didn’t get as much use as I would have thought. I used it when flying and once in a while to listen to music on a bus but, mostly I feel ‘tuned out’ when I have it on and so don’t like it – I prefer to hear what’s going on around me. We did use it (with an earphone splitter cable so we could both listen at the same time) to listen to podcasts on long bus rides.

The ‘Bits and Bats’

• First Aid Kit. Didn’t use at all I don’t think…but good to have anyway.

• Steripen. We were very good about sterilizing our own water for the first half of the trip. I didn’t trust it to clean Indian water and then I think we just got lazy and didn’t really use it after that.

• Sleeping Bag. I used it quite often if I didn’t like the sheets (or none were provided) or if we needed just a little bit of extra warmth. It wasn’t big enough for trekking – we rented bags for the treks we did.

• Documents. We carried photocopies of our ID papers, passports, medical papers, insurance papers etc. We each carried a whole set of each others papers in case one bag was lost/stolen.

• Ziplock Bags. The value of ziplock bags cannot be overemphasized!!

• Cribbage/Backgammon Board. We played tons of games to pass the time. Often times people would gather to watch and we taught one or two people who to play – language barriers aside.

• Books. Book exchanges were our friend. We carried four novels and just switched them out whenever possible. It’s amazing what I will read when there is no other choice.

• Earplugs. There is always a crowing rooster and a barking dog. Enough said.

In the end, I think we did a pretty good job.  Sure there were items that should never have made it onto the original list – I know, I know…the ‘cute shoes’ - but not too many. Our packs were never over stuffed or over weight even on severely restrictive airlines in Asia…we saw plenty of people frantically weighing their bags and ‘repacking’ in the airport – we averaged about 14 kilos each. No packing list is ever going to be perfect but I think we did pretty okay. For a detailed look at what worked and what didn’t have a look here where I annotated the original list.

I returned to work this week. Admittedly, it’s been a slacker week – my supervisor and co-workers are fabulous and are easing me back into the reality they have been living while I’ve been gallivanting around the world. It felt, however, like I was just away for a long, long weekend.

I went to a meeting where a woman, who I had worked with often previously, kept glancing at me with a puzzled look. I could tell that she knew something was up but couldn’t put her finger on it. It wasn’t until someone else welcomed me back that she clued in to the fact that she had not seem me in over a year.

At first I felt like a little baby who knows nothing. I looked through documents and listened to conversations and was impressed by all the stuff I used to know. I knew a lot of stuff and had a tremendous amount of information available at the fingertips of my brain…I was smart!! It’s amazing how quickly one set of information can be usurped by another – how all the things I know about traveling will soon be supplanted by work again…I will be indoctrinated.

As the week wore on more and more of my memory returned and I found I could easily retrieve even small details from meetings and decisions made long ago. Next week it’s likely I’ll be expected to be a contributing member of the team again…I think I’m up to it.

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People have been asking how we are adjusting to being back home. It’s hard to answer without somehow feeling as though I am questioning the Great North American Ideal. I’m discombobulated by how un-discombobulated I am…how ‘the same’ everything is…work, shopping, working out, life…it’s all the same…like slipping on an old sock…like we’ve just been away for a long, long weekend. I’m bored with it and we’ve only been back a few weeks…how do I tell someone that? And what do I do about it? I don’t have the answer…yet, but know that I am not trying to be insulting; I’m just trying to figure it all out.

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I’m finding some aspects of daily life annoying. I am particularly annoyed by advertising, especially for those products that are trumpeted as must-haves if we are ever going to live a life of adventure, beauty or comfort. Wrinkle cream ads, home decorating magazines, Oprah…I seem to have no patience for anyone telling me that if-I-just-did-this or if-I-just-had-that I would be so much better off. I feel stripped down to the basics and, so far, I like it. I wonder if we wouldn’t all feel so much better about our lives if we weren’t constantly inundated with messages that tell us how much better it could all be ‘if only’.

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I’m trying to watch less TV than I did before we went away. Not for any high-and-mighty righteous reason other than I find that it can easily suck a lot of my time. I’m a natural procrastinator and, although I have embraced that fact in the last few years, I also don’t want to feed the procrastination addiction. Don’t get me wrong there are plenty of other ways to procrastinate and I think I’m creating new ones every day – but TV was a particularly bad one for me and so less is better.

There is plenty to do to keep me busy.

• For one, there seems to be an expectation that I show up at work every day – that severely limits the time I have for other interests.

• We read a lot while away and I would like to continue reading – not only novels but also non-fiction books and websites that challenge how I think and keep me moving forward.

• Although I edited my pictures as we went and posted them on Flickr, I would like to do some kind of electronic scrapbook that I could have printed as a physical memento of our travels. I made a scrapbook of our Greece trip in 2004 and we often look through it to ‘remember when’. There are plenty of options available out there and I think I’ve narrowed it down to one that is a)free, and b)gives me some good editing options. I don’t need too many doodads and thing-a-ma-hickeys – just some photo collaging, interesting backgrounds and an ability to add stories. It’ll be a fun project and so, obviously, gets to the top of the to-do list pretty quickly and becomes a procrastination tool in its own right.

• This American Life. I was turned on to this most interesting series by Dirk of MyMindsInk and have him to thank for relieving the boredom of many a long bus ride over the past year. The tales told are diverse, interesting, and entertaining. I’ve learned a lot about a variety of subjects and have had my interest piqued about many more. I want to keep listening to them but, while it was okay to listen to them while staring out a bus window for an hour, it feels funny to just sit on the couch listening and I find that I really can’t be doing anything else and pay attention to the storyline. Maybe I’ll listen while gardening or cooking or doing some other non-brain needing activity.

• I’d like to keep OneGiantStep going and have some thoughts of a site redesign. That would mean re-learning how to do that and then actually doing it. I really enjoyed setting it up the first time though and think it will be fun again. I have some ideas of where I see it going but need to work further on the goals and vision around it. On that note, if anyone has any ideas, thoughts or suggestions regarding the site feel free to let me know. Tell me what you like, what you don’t and/or what you would see change or stay the same.

The return home continues to be an interesting ride. In some ways more interesting than the trip itsself – I think because travel challenged what I didn’t know about myself and coming home is challenging what I thought I knew about myself. I’ll keep you posted.

Could you spend 24/7 with your partner for the next year? How about if you weren’t at home and were subjected to constant stress, unknown circumstances and outcomes beyond your control? No breaks, no ‘see-you-after-work’, no cool down period, no-one else to rely on. Although there were plenty of things we were worried about before our trip got underway, spending all our time together was not one of them.

We Like Each Other

We genuinely enjoy each others’ company and have tons of fun together - that can make all the difference in the world. We have similar interests and spend a lot of time together even at home so being with each other non stop was not something we had to get used to. There are plenty of times when spending so much time together that nerves can get frayed and patience tested – the fact we like each other makes us take a moment in these situations and stops us from saying things that can’t be taken back – I don’t want to hurt someone that I like this much.

Knowing What Is Priority #1

We are number 1 priority, the trip and everything else is number 2. We talked about this before we left and were very clear that if anything should go wrong between us we would return home to deal with it under more familiar circumstances. There would be no breaking up on the road for us – we’ve been together almost 12 years and consider ourselves to have a fabulous relationship – there is no way that traveling was going to come between us. In the end that is why we left India. We were miserable, not talking to each other and barely being civil – our decision to leave was about remembering Priority #1.

Set Up Task Responsibilities

Jason is amazing at navigation. I have been thoroughly impressed by his ability to find our way around any number of cities, either on foot or on the myriad of confusing public transportation systems (Note to self: never piss off the one person in the whole world who can get you back home!). I check out all the accommodations on-line and do all the route planning. J took care of finding and booking all our flights, trains and buses while I managed all the pictures, writing the blog and keeping up on email. We each have our strengths and weaknesses and we used them to our advantage. We also didn’t duplicate tasks – we trusted that we would each do our job and so didn’t have to waste time checking up on each other. It’s a system that worked really well and we use it now that we’re home too.

Meet Other People

Being introverts, this one was hard for us but still important. Although we may not have met as many people as other travelers do, we did meet  some great people, had some good laughs, and learned a lot too. Some travelers eschew tours thinking of them as too ‘touristy’ but we thought of them as an easy way to learn about where we were and a great way to meet other people. While on a tour we would rarely be together – it was a great opportunity to chat with someone other than each other! We would almost immediately separate and start learning about the people we were with. Many times we would meet people who had been where we were planning on going and got some excellent recommendations of places to stay or sights to visit. Meeting other people and sharing stories also helped us to understand our ‘traveling selves’ a bit more too. Hearing about other travelers ups and downs showed us that our ups and downs were perfectly normal and helped us relax into it a whole lot more.

Agree On The Plan

We’re planners and so did a lot of research before we got underway. We left plenty of room and possibility for spontaneity and changing of plans but we pretty much stuck to the original plan. It would have been madness had  we not agreed on how we were going to travel, or where we were going to go, or what the expected budget would be. Things were easier for us when we had a plan. I know that’s not the case for everybody but we were less frustrated and uneasy when we knew what was coming up.

It’s Not Always Easy

We were not the same couple while traveling. We lost some of the ‘lightness’ and ‘playfulness’ that is part of who we are. The first three months were definitely the hardest, while we were still figuring out who we were on the road. There certainly were times when we were ripping our hair out with frustration over the seemingly tiniest things. Sometimes we were just ‘done’ with each other and there was nowhere else to turn. We would just have to let it simmer for a while and wait it out. It’s not like at home where there is a chance to get some distance by going to work, or the gym or seeing friends and using the time to gain some perspective on the situation. On the road it really is 24/7. It did get easier though and we find that now that we are home we have returned to our normal selves.

But It’s A Lot Of Fun!

There is nothing like traveling around the world with a best friend. The giggles and the laughs, the knowing glances, the inside jokes, the endless games of cribbage and backgammon…having someone to keep me warm or tell me how cute I am even though I’m wearing the same outfit for the 276th day in a row and haven’t showered in 5 days…the memories we will share with each other forever. It was totally worth it!

We are lucky to have had a chance like this. We still love each other tremendously and have learned how much farther we can go together.

One of the things that I like reading on a travel blog are the updates people write once they get home. I think that coming home is as much a part of the journey as the planning and the traveling was and I like hearing how people adjust back into their ‘normal’ lives.

It seems to be about half and half as to whether a blog will post back-at-home updates or not. Some travel blogs don’t even make it to the end of the journey, petering out and leaving me hanging as to what’s happening. I understand, of course, that blogging while traveling can be difficult but I feel connected to these people somehow and I want to know how they are doing and so, even though I have subscribed to their RSS feeds, I continually check their sites to ensure I haven’t missed an update (I’m talking to you RunningTowards and WhereAreLizAndAdrian).

I have always planned on writing post-trip updates and, although it seems mundane to write about my normal life now, it will make me really reflect on how I’m feeling as we settle in and the trip becomes more memory than reality. I think what I’ll do is intersperse back-at-home updates with some other trip related posts that I still have in mind (gear reviews, budget wrap up etc) – that’ll be a good mix of how-is-Gillian-feeling vs end-of-the-trip tales…and Paula and Diane W can stop worrying that there won’t be any more posts.

We’ve been back in Canada for 3 weeks already and our reactions have been mixed. The first two weeks were buffered by visiting with family where we had a chance to catch up, meet new members of the family (hi Matt and Karen!), eat all our favorites (thanks Ma and Mom!), and slowly adjust to being back in North American culture.

And so we are ‘home’ now and have been for just over a week. It’s not really ‘home’ though as we are in a furnished apartment and are, once again, surrounded by stuff that’s not ours and are fumbling around much like we have for the past year. The neighborhood is familiar though and we have wandered around checking out what’s new and different and what is the same…and that’s where it starts to get weird.

There is nobody around. We are in a supremely walkable neighborhood with wide sidewalks, grassy boulevards, and close by amenities and yet the streets are devoid of people. I didn’t realize how much I had gotten used to being around people all the time. Almost everywhere we’ve been people live very public lives – the climate allows them to be outside all the time, the living density means that everything is out in the open, markets and shops are on or open to the street…even driving is public in many places as everyone is on a scooter and not encased in a metal casing. Granted the weather here has not been the best since we returned but that does not entirely explain the dearth of people – we just don’t live like that here and I’m going to have to get used to it again.

I expected that as soon as we got home again that I’d be all over nesting and being ‘homey’ but I seem to be fighting it. We only had about 7 boxes to unpack and it took us four days to do it – I didn’t even unpack my backpack until yesterday. I am a natural procrastinator but I don’t know why I’m being so resistant. I was excited to be coming home and was looking forward to staying in one place for more than 2 or 3 nights in a row but now I feel disconnected, frustrated and unfocused for some reason.

We have solved part of the problem. It seemed that we had tons of ideas and plans floating around in our heads but hadn’t put any framework around all of it and so we were feeling like we were floundering a bit. One of the things we learned on the road (thanks to our new friends Keith and Amy from GreenAroundTheGlobe) is the value of setting goals and objectives. I know this is old hat to many, many people but it is not something that we had employed. Chatting with them over a couple of days (that seem so long ago now), we realized that we were missing out on the power of forward planning. So yesterday we sat down and put all of our thoughts and ideas and to-do’s down on paper and, where possible, attached a goal date for each. This helped to organize our thoughts, checked that we were both on the same page, and ensured that the harder tasks do not get procrastinated away in favor  of more fun tasks.

Re-connecting with friends and catching up has been tons of fun. Having the blog as a reference has been great as people have some idea of what the last year has been like for us. They ask questions about our stories giving us a chance to add in details and tell tales that didn’t make it into the blog posts. It’s funny though…we’re not ‘talkers’ per se and it’s hard to know how much people are really interested in. I don’t want to be blathering on and on and see someone’s eyes glaze over, but I also don’t want to stop short and give the impression that I’m not interested in talking about it either. I’m working on the premise that people want to hear about it…having friends return from long (or short) term trips I was always hesitant to ask too many questions or I thought my questions might be silly…now I’m on the other side and I’m saying ask all the questions you want – I’m eager tell my stories and to hear about what other peoples experiences are.

There are a few other oddities about being home:

• We aren’t cooking like I thought we would. Maybe it’s because we’re used to just going out for every meal, or that the kitchen (and it’s stuff) isn’t ours, or we’re just out of practice – either way we’ll have to get back at it, we may both have a bit of weight to lose but we still have to eat!
• I’m sleeping really well. I’ve slept right through every night since being home – that was a rarity for me while on the road. No barking dogs, no scooter noise, no roosters, and no thin walls with close neighbors means no need for earplugs and the nice soft bed and fresh linens means a nice comfy sleep.
• I know I joked last week about wearing the same clothes over and over again but it’s turning out to be true! Two reasons…it’s what I’m used to and so donning the same clothes as yesterday just happens, and because my old clothes don’t quite fit yet (need to hit bootcamp a few more times). I have been shopping a little though so although it may be the same few outfits, they’re not the same outfits I wore on the road.

It’s interesting being home. Just like being on the road it’s not quite what I expected and my emotions seem to be all over the place. It’s all part of the journey though and I just take it all in and figure it out as I go. I don’t start work for another week…that’ll be a whole other adjustment!

We’ve been back in Canada for two weeks now and, in many ways, our year away already seems like a distant dream. It’s amazing how quickly comfort and familiarity ingrain themselves again. We are enjoying being surrounded by culture we know and understand, are loving catching up with family and friends, and are happily getting back to our regular activities.

But, some days, it seems as though our re-entry into society is delayed…we keep regressing into on-the-road behavior.

• We want to take our clothes out of the dresser everyday…just to put them back in again.
• I still think about washing my panties in the sink every couple of days because I forget that I now have enough to last longer than a week.
• When I open my closet I gravitate to the same three outfits even though I now have a full wardrobe again.
• I find myself constantly stuffing toilet paper into my pockets in case the next pee break doesn’t have toilet paper.
• I still hoard plastic bags and napkins…never know when I might need them.
• We keep wanting to check out the Lonely Planet Canada to plan what to do/where to go the next day.
• In a public washroom I check the stall first to make sure it’s not a squat…and then I check the seat to make sure that no-one has stood on the seat to use it as a squat.
• When we go out for dinner we just about choke when the bill comes because we lived for 2 days on that in Vietnam/Bali/Thailand.
• When walking past fences and walls I hold my breath to avoid the disgusting stink of it being used as a urinal.
• I have to resist the urge to introduce myself to perfect strangers  explaining where I am from, how long I’ll be here, where I’ve been etc and then ask them for their favorite places and recommendations.
• We still write every purchase or expense in ‘the book’ to keep track of all the money…seriously…but that is a good habit to keep and we plan on continuing. Never hurts to know where all the money goes.

I’m sure, soon enough, these habits will fade away. Until then they are quirky reminders of the time we spent away.

Last day, last country, last international flight. We’re currently winging our way back to Canada three hundred and forty five days after we left.

We had so many firsts when we first set off that it was impossible to count them all. First time packing the bags, first long-distance, overnight bus ride, first time staying in a hostel, first time climbing a mountain, first time trying to communicate in an unknown language…it was all firsts. And it kept going as we kept going…first time crossing a border, first time being completely overwhelmed, first time being in absolute awe, first time sweating while standing in the shade absolutely still, first time using a squat toilet. I will remember them all and we will talk about them for years to come.

And then comes the time when we realized that we were doing something for the last time…and the ‘official last time’ list was started. Last time we would cross a border, last time we would speak Spanish, last time we would take a bus, last time we would swim in that ocean…last time we would pack our bags, on the last day, in the last country just before we board our last international flight. Last…for now.

We are not sad that the trip is over. It’s been an amazing year – one we will look back on as the year that started us out, pushed us out of our comfort zone and made us realize what we are capable of. We’re excited to see what our next Giant Steps will be.

‘Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.’      Shawshank Redemption

These are just a couple of my cravings
Everything it seems I like’s a little bit stronger
A little bit thicker, a little bit harmful for me

We’ve been away now for almost a year. A year without the comforts of home,  familiar culture, food and routine. We’ll be back in Canada in less than a week and as much as we’re looking back reminiscing about all the fabulous times we’ve had we’re also looking forward to some of the things we have missed.

Here are some of our cravings, in no particular order because at any time any one of these could be the thing that is missed most:

Food. We have, for the most part, lived without ‘western’ food for the entire time we’ve been away. Mainly because we have wanted to enjoy the cuisine of the countries we have been visiting, but also because non-western countries don’t do western food all that well (unless there is a sizable expat community). 

We have also missed cooking. At home we both cook and enjoy trying new things. This isn’t possible on the road (outside of the couple of times we’ve rented apartments) and it’s amazing how much we miss cooking, and eating, even the most basic of dishes. The thought of having a kitchen again, and being able to have something as simple as a cup of tea and some toast fills us with joy at this point…I know, it’s the simple things.

In a great stroke of good planning, we are visiting both of our families before we head back to Victoria and so will have the chance to enjoy each of our mothers home cooking.  J’s mom is of German heritage and there we will enjoy fabulous schnitzel and rouladin, along with some great breads and cheeses. My family hails from jolly olde England and mum makes the best roast beef and yorkshire puddings in the world (I can say that now ‘cause I’ve been ‘round the world), plus her pancakes aren’t too bad either! Do you sense some buttering up and hinting going on?

Sleep. I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to sleeping in the same bed for more than 2 or 3 nights in a row!  I’ve actually done better than I thought I would – I was worried I’d be plagued with insomnia caused by uncomfortable beds, or weird night smells, or (heaven-forbid) bedbugs etc. It hasn’t been as bad as I thought, although there always seems to be a barking dog  and a crowing rooster wherever we are – I  will not miss that at all. The beds haven’t been too bad although I did abandon my take-a-picture-of-every-bed project about half way through – the pictures (and most of the beds) were too bleak to even think about looking at ever again and I’m sure my family and friends looked at some of them in horror.

Furniture. I have discovered that  the concept of comfortable furniture is lost upon most of the world. Either through necessity, or culture, or climate, or availability of materials, most of the world lives close to the ground or on hard, non-cushioned, furniture. Finding an easy chair or sofa to laze upon has been impossible and my European-soft bones and Canadian comfort ideals have not adjusted to how many people around the world lounge. Although I have great plans on what to do with my time once we get home I have a feeling it will be hard to get my ass out from within the deep folds of our sofa to get anything done.

Clothing. Okay, I commented a few months ago about  how freeing it was to be traveling with such a limited wardrobe and how I really didn’t mind wearing the same clothes over and over and over again, but I think it’s reaching it’s limit. Not  only am I seriously tired of the same look day after day but the clothes are beyond worn now – my pants and what-I-call-shorts are faded beyond recognizing their original color and both now have wear holes in the bum region. My one favorite blue t-shirt was faded, holy and so stretched out of shape that I had it remade (in both blue and green) while we were in Vietnam…but they still look exactly like the original and so I am already tired of them. I am looking forward to my old clothes, and some new ones too…something fashionable and stylish, or at least not grey pants and a blue t-shirt.

Clean. Our tolerance for cleanliness has reached a new low during this year – both our personal cleanliness and that what which we will live in. For the first 2/3 of our trip most of the rooms we stayed in were dingy and uninspired (Asia’s truly cheap prices have allowed us to afford better) and, although we have not slept on any truly dirty sheets, many beds have had graying bedding and slightly smelly pillows. Many of the ‘restaurants’ we have eaten in would definitely not pass health code at home and sometimes I wonder how we have not been sick (J did get Salmonella once early on in the trip but that was because we broke our own lax rules…raw egg white in a Pisco Sour in Peru..just plain silly!).

I will not miss the garbage that piles up everywhere we have been and, although pollution has not affected our health as it does some people, I think we will bend down and kiss the clean green grass once we land in Vancouver and smell the ocean scented breeze.

Bathroom. Bathroom luxury has, in recent years, been taken to new levels in North America…suffice it to say that this is not the case in the rest of the world. Squat toilets are the norm in many places, and I hate them. There is argument that they are cleaner and more hygienic than western toilets, but I don’t believe it. I am hardly ever able to ‘do my business’ while I worry about where all my clothing is, wonder if items are going to fall out of my pocket, and try not to pee on my feet. And I am unable, completely unable, to do #2 on a squat…my record is 5 days on the Inca Trail without pooing – we ate 4 times a day on that hike and not one ounce left my body…it was impossible! But, on the first day back in town? Five #2’s in one day…TMI, I know…but there it is. I will be happy at home if the toilet is not a squat and if it’s actually attached to the floor (TMI already, so I won’t explain that one) – toilet paper, doors and clean floors are all luxuries.

Our desire to shower is mitigated by at least three factors…how badly do we smell, how clean is the shower, and what are the towels like. This doesn’t take into consideration whether there is any hot water or whether we have any reasonably clean clothes to put on afterwards. A room with a great shower is worth any price and will find us showering 2 or 3 times in a day just for the sheer joy of it.

Routine. I know it seems weird but I miss the routine of my every day life. Traveling has its own routine but I always feel just a little out-of-sorts. I’m looking forward to having my own home again, working in the garden, going to bootcamp, shopping at the plaza, riding my bike and yes…even going to work. I’m sure it won’t last long and soon the wanderlust will return but right now I’m looking over that fence and seeing the green, green grass of home.