I always had an interest in traveling but had yet to discover my passion for it. As time went by, I did take a few trips abroad such as after graduating college, roamed around Europe for a while, which interesting lacked anything serious for cultural interaction. I also did a six month stint in Alaska in Denali National Park, which was great as it fueled my love for the outdoors and a place that I had always wanted to see. My parents throughout this time were surprisingly supportive despite the fact that I didn’t take my studies seriously. I much more enjoyed mountain biking and camping but there was definitely a pain and desperation in their voices for me to obtain a college degree and find work that would be respectful of becoming an adult. My older brother during this time had joined the Navy after high school and they felt they were losing another son to the American culture of having fun and doing what you please. They longed to see me become educated, which I couldn’t understand. In America, I could do whatever I wanted and finding a job wasn’t difficult.
Growing up as an immigrant, I came to the US at the age of 10 from Pakistan and grew up easily in my new environment, I made new friends, learned the language, and being a somewhat awkward shy but funny kid spent a lot of time not thinking of girls but playing outside with friends just like I did back home in Pakistan. This developed into a love for the outdoors and I discovered camping, running, and mountain biking. My East Coast living allowed me to visit many places to hike and to enjoy the silence of the woods and the joys of a campfire. I did eventually return to my studies and without a surprise ended up majoring in Geography.
My travel interests slowly began to grow outside the confines of my familiar surroundings as I started to have some money since I was now out of college after years of false starts and working. I used the money to fund a trip to Costa Rica followed by another one to Egypt, then came Panama, Mexico, and before I knew it I was starting to keep score of countries that I wanted to go to and began a count of the ones I had knocked off my list. The downside of a full time job is that it gives you the money to travel but saps away the time to explore and limits it down to perhaps visiting one or two countries a year if you save all of your vacation time. I knew I wanted to travel more so began dreaming of a long trip that would encompass spending more time in several countries.
Fast forward a few years to about June of 2009, a year that I was to meet my future wife Sabeen and a realization of our shared interests.
Modern man has traded in his nomadic past to a life of ease but along with that convenience comes a life of monotony, living a rat race, vicarious living from TV, and fear of outsiders. Comforts have taken away the urge to explore and instead have made us physically and mentally lazy to accept our fate as it is and not look over the horizon to realize what lies beyond.
I was starting to have serious conversations with myself and friends about taking off for a year long trip but like any newcomer wasn’t sure how to pull it off and gave up on this thought a few times as echoes of a wanderlust mind and talked myself back into sense of working and not quitting a good job and an income. I knew myself to be responsible and good with money and so during my working years had always put aside money for savings to serve not for travels but as a rainy day emergency fund for the house that I didn’t own. As thoughts of travel kept bubbling themselves to the surface of my mind, I started having a shift and realized that the emergency I was awaiting was self-defeating and that I better do some research and find ways to fund my travels.
The year I met Sabeen and the first time we met, I somehow knew that I would end up with her as my wife. We both had similar backgrounds and upbringing and wanted to break from our normal lives. Before the evening was finished, I had made up my mind and so August of that year we become engaged to each other. All the events and the wedding were a fun and raucous affair and it was amazing to know that it had all been pulled off in half a year with a few hundred guests some coming from overseas and many from out of town. With our lives in tow, started making a plan of our mutual exit from the US to a long enough trip that would afford us the ability to travel at a slow pace, make changes as necessary, and check off a few highlights that we mutually wanted to see.
Financially, we were fine but I still had doubts about quitting my job and worrying about what I would come back to? Also, what would happen if the money dried up, since we’d have nothing to go back to or move forward? We put aside these fears, kept reading some inspirational blogs of people who were doing exactly what we yearned to do and started with the purchase of a few tickets to book in advance for our initial destinations. Now the deed was done, we had taken the giant first step, had informed our sets of parents who were supportive but still reserved their enthusiasm as they worried about the same fears that I had.
Looking back, traveling was easy, it was the process of leaving home and the many steps involved which was taxing, frustrating, and self-doubting.
We gave ourselves about ten months to make our exit, which seemed reasonable as we needed to pack our belongings, get movers, and rent out our house. In addition, we also needed a few visas for some of the arrivals and inoculations against tropical diseases. The first few months after our honeymoon in Ecuador were spent like most days with me going off to work and coming home in the evenings to spend time with Sabeen and perhaps head over to my parents house for dinner. We also took a few trips to New York to see Sabeen’s parents. During this time, we had one of the snowiest winters on record, which while beautiful after a few dozen shoveling of the driveway became old. On top of it, our house started to leak from every corner due the freeze thaw on the roof and pretty soon Sabeen had buckets lined up to catch the many drips. It turned out we needed a new roof as the leaks got worst and eventually resulted in flooding of a room. What a great way to welcome in a new marriage? I thought so, nothing brings out the best in people then stressful conditions out of your control. We both did fine despite our leaky home, we rented movies, made hot chocolate, played in the snow, and went out for hikes. Perhaps it was nature’s way of forcing us to acquaint ourselves with each other through trial by fire or ice in our situation.
They say if you set your mind on something, whether negative or positive, the universe conspires to make it a reality and so we felt in good company as lady luck kept offering us chances to fulfill our desires. Being of an itinerant mind, we took a few short get aways to Las Vegas and Jamaica; the trip to Jamaica was free as a courtesy for a delayed flight and in Las Vegas we had free hotel stays. In Sin City, we saw the strip but also camped out in the desert and in Jamaica, we avoided the resorts and instead stayed in a neighborhood and met many locals, many of which warned us of dangers from the people but all we ever saw were smiling Jamaicans ready to help out and interested in striking up conversations. These sorts of warnings would be offered later during other trips but the fears never materialized and after a while the shock and awe of popular news media and advice of experts were just mere distractions to limit movement and keep from seeing the truth for oneself.
With our to do list ready for the trip preparation, we began first by researching countries for which we would need to obtain visas in advance. It turned out, we only needed ones for China and Vietnam. Sabeen made a few appointments and after paying the hefty fees had our first few new stamps in the somewhat virgin passport. We knew that India would be a highlight of our trip, so figured it was better to buy a ticket now, which we did only to have it result in major regret later. Reading other bloggers, I thought it would be good for us to have a second passport since we could mail one to an embassy and still continue to travel, which could then be mailed back to us at our next destination with the new visas. Surprisingly, this wasn’t hard to achieve, we sent a letter to the State Department citing our reason and after paying a fee and a few short weeks later, we each had another passport. Check few more items off the list.
Both of us were starting to get excited about the trip and during our free time, would read about our intended destinations and during walks in the evening would discuss our wild and crazy idea and how we were the first ones in the family to do such a thing. I was concerned about telling my employer about quitting and thought about instead asking for a sabbatical, since I had been employed there for some time and had good relationships with my peers. The other thought we had was of finding suitable tenants and how we would go about collecting the rent and deal with repairs or any other house issue that would require our presence. I also thought about paying our bills, which was easily fixed as I transferred all of our accounts so that they could be paid on-line. Good thing, since I was using the snail mail method and this way would save time and money on purchasing stamps. With more items checked off the list, we still hadn’t told anyone of our plans except our parents as didn’t want a lot of questions asked of our motives and more importantly didn’t want to be criticized from well-intentioned family and friends. Also, we didn’t want to portray an image of wealth by giving the impression that we could leave our jobs and go on a permanent vacation. We knew we would be traveling on a budget and did not want to discuss our finances with others besides ourselves. The date was set for our departure of September 15, 2010 with the first stop being Indonesia. Our plan was to head to the furthest point east and then work our way back west with as many stops in between possible with the aim to do it going overland. This would both be cheaper as we would limit flying and would also give us the opportunity to see the land through the eyes of the locals traveling on buses and any other means of transportation. I needed to explain my motives to my employer and still hadn’t done so. I was a little nervous about explaining to them as I knew they probably wouldn’t understand my rationale. I had been with the company for five years and did good work so playing that card was easy. I also figured I’d take the safe route and ask for a sabbatical and not quit. So with that in mind, I called my colleagues and explained it to them. One of them to my surprise wished he could do the same and the other showed more concerns and talked about the dreaded gap in a resume. Inside, I was laughing and thought this is the worst that can happen? A gap in my resume? Fine. If they don’t want to bring me back after a year, then I’ll just go somewhere else. I was told to come in, sign a few papers, turn in my badge and computer and say goodbye for the time being. I set an appointment to do so.
The next item to be checked off for renting of our house but before this could begin, Sabeen had already begun the process of packing up the house. I had placed ads on Craiglist and was able to successfully sell off my mountain bike and kayak, for which I felt a slight loss as many happy hours were spent using my bike to get lost in the woods and the kayak to explore the backwaters of many lakes and rivers. I was never one to collect a lot of things, so the packing seemed it wouldn’t be that hard but looking back, ask Sabeen and she’ll tell you the boxes upon boxes she had to pack, some from newly acquired items as gifts from the wedding and others that were in the house. Sometimes, I would lose my cool and wonder out loud what we were doing at the efforts of boxing up an entire house, moving all the items to my mom’s house, who had happily agreed to store for us for what? A long vacation, was it worth it? Deep in my mind, a voice would come back and say yes, be stubborn and do it. After the wedding, we had bought some new bedroom furniture, so now we would need movers to delicately take our new/former belongings and move them to my parents’ house. The mover I hired wasn’t a professional, he installed carpets. I figured we only had to go a mile or so down the road as my parents lived across the street and how hard could it be to move a king size bed, a solid oak or something equally as weighty chest drawer, several night stands, and a dresser? Really hard, first the guy’s van was stuffed with carpets and padding, old pipes, and tools. We both had concerns but crossed our fingers. He came alone but realizing the effort called his son, which even with the both of them took almost the entire day to move all the items to my parent’s basement.
Ok, check another item off the list. With the house packed and all the items moved out. It was starting to feel real and hit home that yes buying a ticket was easy but now we had reached the point of no return, we were doing it and it felt good.
Craigslist to the rescue again, I needed to place an ad for the house. With about two months to go, it was time to get proactive and start finding suitable tenants. We set a fair price for the rent based on looking at the market in the area and hoped for a quick response. None came; I had a few emails, which after the initial contact would drop off never to be heard from again. We adjusted the rent, made it lower, still a lukewarm response. Couple of folks came to look at the house, showed interest but again the interest would taper off. We were wondering that it may come down to us doing all the work only to find in the end that we wouldn’t be able to rent the house. There is no way, we would be able to leave and pay for our trip and the full mortgage with no incoming income. Ok, I needed to market the house better, so I re-wrote the ad, highlighted it best as I could with all the nice features that a family or a few singles could make use of and prayed. We finally got a hit, a twenty something group of friends who liked the house. They wanted to have their parents look at the house as some of the rent would be picked up by them. The parents came liked the house and were all set to sign the lease. We breathed a sigh of relief. Few days later, received a phone call and one of the girls was having a disagreement with the other at the fact that she was getting the master bedroom when she in fact deserved it. Her parents were paying the bigger half of the rent so it made sense. The girl threatened to pull out of the lease as the other one was being labeled as a rich girl. I thought they were friends? With the rent agreement in jeopardy, I made some calls to the ones still interested in the house and while they still wanted it weren’t sure if they could pay the rent with “the rich girl” leaving. We agreed to meet their parents again to discuss the money and after some deliberation decided to lower the rent once again to make it suitable for a party of three. They in turn promised to respect the premises, pay their dues on time, and in general keep the police from coming to the house. With no more drama hopefully to worry about, we gave the house one last look and went off to my parents’ house to spend a few days with them before leaving for New York to spend time with Sabeen’s parents and catch our flight from JFK to Jakarta.
I wasn’t really expecting a teary goodbye but at Sabeen’s aunt’s house, where we spent a night and in the morning as were getting ready to head out for New York, she hugged Sabeen and started crying. Naturally her twenty something year old son found the emotional outpouring funny and overly sentimental and started laughing, which lightened up the scene and so we all had a good laugh before parting. It was next off to New York to spend a few days with the parents before catching a long flight to our first destination. It was great to be done with everything and having nothing to concentrate on except updating our blog, writing to friends on Facebook, and amazing our parents with our minimalist packing, which consisted of one large backpack and a small day pack. Our only electronics were a camera and an Ipod. The neighbors were equally shocked but really excited to hear of our plans and all wished us well and wanted to do the same. After a few days, we left for the airport and due to Sabeen’s quick thinking got access to a lounge while we awaited our flight’s departure.
Showing posts with label backpacking start. Show all posts
Showing posts with label backpacking start. Show all posts
Travel Insurance
Face it, we need some money to travel and it's a good idea to use some of that cash to buy travel insurance. When we were planning for our trip, we weren't too sure about which company to go with and what kind of coverage one would need. We knew that since we would be backpacking without a fixed itinerary, we would need the kind of coverage that would protect us globally in the event of the unfortunate. Going to hospitals in Nepal would be another story but hey, at least we'd be protected.
Since backpacking also comes with its unique challenges, we wanted to make sure we were in good hands with an insurance provider. We decided to go with World Nomads as our insurer, as they gave us the global coverage we wanted, we could renew on the road, the rates were reasonable, and they had a lot of traveler testimonials, which meant they were plugged into the needs of independent travelers.
There is a caveat to remember about deductibles. While in Cambodia, Sabeen had needed to see a doctor, so when we contacted the insurance, they told us that the bill would have to be at least or exceed $150 for refund, which ours wasn't. So, really the insurance is good for bigger accidents and not for penny pinching and filing for claims for day to day things like cuts, bruises, and the occasional bout of sickness.
The ironic things is that throughout our travels, thankfully we didn't really need much of the insurance coverage, except towards the end, when we had let it lapse as we were getting ready to turn around and I developed a skin infection on my hand in Singapore. It was good that at least it happened in Singapore, where the care facilities have high standards and are clean and hygienic. It wasn't too bad though, doctor visit, consultation, and medicine, all for about $100.
Since backpacking also comes with its unique challenges, we wanted to make sure we were in good hands with an insurance provider. We decided to go with World Nomads as our insurer, as they gave us the global coverage we wanted, we could renew on the road, the rates were reasonable, and they had a lot of traveler testimonials, which meant they were plugged into the needs of independent travelers.
There is a caveat to remember about deductibles. While in Cambodia, Sabeen had needed to see a doctor, so when we contacted the insurance, they told us that the bill would have to be at least or exceed $150 for refund, which ours wasn't. So, really the insurance is good for bigger accidents and not for penny pinching and filing for claims for day to day things like cuts, bruises, and the occasional bout of sickness.
The ironic things is that throughout our travels, thankfully we didn't really need much of the insurance coverage, except towards the end, when we had let it lapse as we were getting ready to turn around and I developed a skin infection on my hand in Singapore. It was good that at least it happened in Singapore, where the care facilities have high standards and are clean and hygienic. It wasn't too bad though, doctor visit, consultation, and medicine, all for about $100.
Money to Travel
Sabeen and I both wanted to follow our passion for long term traveling and knew that we needed to have enough money to be comfortable to do the things we wanted to do. We also knew that managing our budget was important to keep track as we continued through the months.
I'd like to share the thought process we went through in executing our plan and talk about the myths and fears that are common in this and following posts. Talk to anyone about traveling and images of laid back days spent on the beach come to mind, now we definitely had a few of these experiences but the message that I want to convey is that our plan was to travel and not be on a vacation. There definitely is a difference between the two, while vacation is usually a short stint at a fixed location, where no real effort is needed planning for food, lodging, sightseeing, and logistic; long term traveling however, is the opposite. When Sabeen and I left, we were in the category of the latter, a conscious decision because we wanted to experience life as much as the locals do and try and see the world through their eyes.
Mentally, we knew we were bound to have difficult days and we did, which I will follow-up with separate entries but also what is difficulty, in our case a voluntary decision to push one's limits with the hope of learning something about ourselves while still cherishing the moments.
OK, if you've read so far, you probably have realized that we had a pretty tight budget and glad for it but its not for everyone, so here is some advice for doing it for yourself regardless of how lavish or shoestring your inclinations may be.
I'd like to share the thought process we went through in executing our plan and talk about the myths and fears that are common in this and following posts. Talk to anyone about traveling and images of laid back days spent on the beach come to mind, now we definitely had a few of these experiences but the message that I want to convey is that our plan was to travel and not be on a vacation. There definitely is a difference between the two, while vacation is usually a short stint at a fixed location, where no real effort is needed planning for food, lodging, sightseeing, and logistic; long term traveling however, is the opposite. When Sabeen and I left, we were in the category of the latter, a conscious decision because we wanted to experience life as much as the locals do and try and see the world through their eyes.
Mentally, we knew we were bound to have difficult days and we did, which I will follow-up with separate entries but also what is difficulty, in our case a voluntary decision to push one's limits with the hope of learning something about ourselves while still cherishing the moments.
OK, if you've read so far, you probably have realized that we had a pretty tight budget and glad for it but its not for everyone, so here is some advice for doing it for yourself regardless of how lavish or shoestring your inclinations may be.
- First of all, clean up your life, I mean get rid of clutter and things you don't need because not only will you feel free but you'll realize you don't need much to enjoy life. We both had one backpack between us and that was plenty. Again, not for everyone.
- Second, get a hold of your spending, we both hate credit cards and only use debit since that way, we can only spend the money we have and if we do go over, the bank will promptly hit us with hefty service charges.
- Third, make savings a priority, I have always kept this as a habit and will pay myself first from my paycheck before I write bills. This way, I know I am focusing on my long term goals and will only spend on other things after I have put money in my savings account.
- Fourth, delay instant gratification, this is hard in a culture such as ours, where the latest fashion, gadgets, etc are always at hand. I don't frequent Starbucks but do once in a while like their coffee but even then, most times I'll deny myself a $3.00 cup of coffee and instead wait to come home, where I can have one for almost free. This also goes for dining out, which is fine every now and then but don't make it a habit.
- Buy stuff that you only really need. This goes in line with lack of clutter but also with grocery shopping. It's an easy habit to buy things for the moment or at the checkout aisle but its amazing all those little items add up.
- Perhaps the most important, having the courage, desire, and motivation to do it. We had many doubts ourselves and will be sharing these in later posts.....
Traveling as Muslims
I wanted to write about our faith and reflect on our experience traveling as Muslims, especially in a time where religious tolerance seems non-existent and xenophobia running high.
It was amazing for us both to realize just how many Muslims dominate the world from South East Asia to Central Asia to Africa. When we had initially began our trip in Indonesia, we knew we would encounter Muslims but in the town of Cianjur, we had some very warm hospitality. The town of Cianjur is small, kind of place where everyone knows everyone, just a few tourist attraction, so when you show up you draw attention. We were staying with a local family, who lived close to a mosque, so Sabeen and I decided to start praying there while in town. I immediately drew attention when I walked in the mosque with looks and a few whispers. As the prayers ended, few elderly men came over, first hesitatingly then outright questions of where I was from. When they learned that I was from the US and a Muslim on top, they were shocked, had no idea that first Muslims in great numbers existed in America and that second having grown up in the US, I still continued to practice my faith.
Well, lucky for me because from them on, every time I would go to this mosque, some gentlemen or other, would invite me to their home for coffee and sweets. Sabeen would often wonder where I had disappeared only to hear laughter or talk from a neighbors house and see me walking down the street with a huge grin on my face.
These sorts of interactions pretty much continued through out our year long journey, where we would end up in a new town, have some curious bystanders come around inquire about us and as soon as they would learn of our faith we were friends. The best part was seeing mosques and hearing the call of the Azan and listening to the Friday sermon in different languages such as Khmer, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Bahasa, Arabic, and Turkish.
In Central Asia, we had great interactions with locals to dine and to sleep in their homes despite the language difficulties. In Turkey, we again stayed with a few families in Mardin and at other times had a few people befriend us to drive us around and take us to really cheesy tourist sites. I think we also drew attention due to our brown skin and many just hadn't seen people of our background traveling, which again made our travels that much more unique.
We both miss the hospitality of strangers and long to get back on the road.
It was amazing for us both to realize just how many Muslims dominate the world from South East Asia to Central Asia to Africa. When we had initially began our trip in Indonesia, we knew we would encounter Muslims but in the town of Cianjur, we had some very warm hospitality. The town of Cianjur is small, kind of place where everyone knows everyone, just a few tourist attraction, so when you show up you draw attention. We were staying with a local family, who lived close to a mosque, so Sabeen and I decided to start praying there while in town. I immediately drew attention when I walked in the mosque with looks and a few whispers. As the prayers ended, few elderly men came over, first hesitatingly then outright questions of where I was from. When they learned that I was from the US and a Muslim on top, they were shocked, had no idea that first Muslims in great numbers existed in America and that second having grown up in the US, I still continued to practice my faith.
Well, lucky for me because from them on, every time I would go to this mosque, some gentlemen or other, would invite me to their home for coffee and sweets. Sabeen would often wonder where I had disappeared only to hear laughter or talk from a neighbors house and see me walking down the street with a huge grin on my face.
These sorts of interactions pretty much continued through out our year long journey, where we would end up in a new town, have some curious bystanders come around inquire about us and as soon as they would learn of our faith we were friends. The best part was seeing mosques and hearing the call of the Azan and listening to the Friday sermon in different languages such as Khmer, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Bahasa, Arabic, and Turkish.
In Central Asia, we had great interactions with locals to dine and to sleep in their homes despite the language difficulties. In Turkey, we again stayed with a few families in Mardin and at other times had a few people befriend us to drive us around and take us to really cheesy tourist sites. I think we also drew attention due to our brown skin and many just hadn't seen people of our background traveling, which again made our travels that much more unique.
We both miss the hospitality of strangers and long to get back on the road.
Lounging away
We arrived at JFK for our morning flight to Indonesia and after telling the airline associate of our extended honeymoon plans, were surprised to learn that our seats had been upgraded to emergency aisle (who can't use more leg room right?) considering our flight is 20 hours. God bless the airline associate who also gave us complete access to the British Airways lounge, from which we are updating this blog!Having never been in a lounge before, we are forever spoiled with having full access to a real Cappucino machine, complimentary meals, spa services, free WiFi, leather chairs, sofas, chaise, and to top it off a fountain with its soothing gurgling sounds in the background.
Less than 24 hours
We have less than 24 hours to go before we depart for Indonesia. But wait, let me tell you a bit more prior to us getting to this stage. We had set the stage for our departure, long before this date and so it all began first with the blessed month of Ramadan in August with us having returned from Jamaica (another story) and having started fasting. Before leaving for Jamaica, we had found tenants and had them sign a lease and so when we returned, we found out that one of the tenants now wanted to back out of the lease due to not wanting the rooms and the space she had desired. Needless to say, we were worried if we would have tenants by the time we were set to leave?
As luck would have it, the remaining two decided to stay and went ahead and finalized their lease for a year. Ok, step one out of the way. Now, to pack up a house, seriously, I didn't think we had that much stuff between my wife and I but things just collect. Ok, remember it's still Ramadan and we were fasting while moving and packing stuff away. Luckily, we didn't have to go far, as my parents who lived close by graciously offered their basement to us for storage. Ok, with the house move now completed, final bills paid off, mortgage set on auto pay, we felt a bit closer to our goal.
With now about two weeks before our departure, we moved in with my parents, which only felt weird for about a day but we then settled into a comfortable yet hectic schedule, as we still had last minute things to do. Our energy was kept by our parents feeding us well and Ramadan feeding us spiritually.
We wanted to make sure to spend time with both of our parents, so have now come to NY to be with Sabeen's parents but even here we had to do some last minute stuff like getting some visa work in order and believe it or not, still chasing a photographer to finally get our wedding album after almost 10 months!
We plan on having a relaxing dinner with the family tonight before turning in early for the night to catch our flight with the rising sun.
As luck would have it, the remaining two decided to stay and went ahead and finalized their lease for a year. Ok, step one out of the way. Now, to pack up a house, seriously, I didn't think we had that much stuff between my wife and I but things just collect. Ok, remember it's still Ramadan and we were fasting while moving and packing stuff away. Luckily, we didn't have to go far, as my parents who lived close by graciously offered their basement to us for storage. Ok, with the house move now completed, final bills paid off, mortgage set on auto pay, we felt a bit closer to our goal.
With now about two weeks before our departure, we moved in with my parents, which only felt weird for about a day but we then settled into a comfortable yet hectic schedule, as we still had last minute things to do. Our energy was kept by our parents feeding us well and Ramadan feeding us spiritually.
We wanted to make sure to spend time with both of our parents, so have now come to NY to be with Sabeen's parents but even here we had to do some last minute stuff like getting some visa work in order and believe it or not, still chasing a photographer to finally get our wedding album after almost 10 months!
We plan on having a relaxing dinner with the family tonight before turning in early for the night to catch our flight with the rising sun.
Innoculations
Sabeen and I have both completed our required vaccinations and have been administered protection against the following:
Hepatitis B
Typhoid
Tetanus
We opted not to get shots for Dengue and Yellow Fever and will instead use a healthy dose of mosquito repellent.
We also have a ready supply of malarial medicine just in case.
Hepatitis B
Typhoid
Tetanus
We opted not to get shots for Dengue and Yellow Fever and will instead use a healthy dose of mosquito repellent.
We also have a ready supply of malarial medicine just in case.
The Pull
The reasons are many for me choosing to live a life with a backup strapped around my back, giving up worldly goods, and choosing to live a life based on experiences and not material wealth. I came to this realization after a few hesitant starts; I always knew I enjoyed travel by visiting several countries. I would come home usually longing to get away again and never get felt satisfied with the amount spent abroad. The trip that finally won me over and really introduced me to experience culture and a new way of life was my trip to Egypt. Having visited Egypt, I came away wanting to explore further reaches from my home and to visit further exotic destinations. With this decision I made up my mind, I convinced myself to at least try and cover a continent starting Jan 2009. No one said this would be easy but then again I love a challenge and either way, I don’t have a choice, this is what I want and this is the price that I have to pay. I consider myself extremely fortunate and find myself in a cherished position to be able to take advantage of this opportunity when I can. I feel ready and feel the pull of the road at my feet.
Renting our home
Today, we placed an ad on Craigslist to rent out our house for at least a year, while we are away. We're hoping we can find either a family or a group of folks to take over.
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