1. Around the world trip - dream or reality?
2. Plans, preparation and budget
3. Jabs
4. First Aid Kit
5. Visas
6. What to take and what to leave behind

 

1. Dream or reality?

I also had a dream - to travel around the world. When I started to think about it, I figured I basicaly need tree things: 1. Time, 2. Money and 3. Courage. I earned the money and have been brave since childhood, but finding the time was a problem. The biggest problem was finding a friend who would travel with me. Because I did not find him, I had to travel on my own.

I never knew how common it was for young people from the west to travel around the world. I only found out when travelling myself. I met many nice people from UK, USA, Australia and Israel.

 

2. Plans, preparation and budget

I planned the Itinerary about 6 months in advance. At the same time I chose some interresting places that I would not miss out. My biggest friends were the Lonely Planet guide books. In each country I bought the guide book and read it thoroughly.

 

Although I planned to travel for 12 month I made it a bit quicker and finished it within 10 months. I wanted to come back to Europe in summer to start a paragliding course. Apart from travelling, trekking and history sites I also wanted to scuba-dive a lot. All these things affected my budget. Some countries are very cheap (India, Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia ...), others are expensive. I usualy managed to spend around 10 Euro a day. Throughout my round the world trip I spent about 10.000 british pounds.

 

I bought my round the world ticket at the Global village office in London. Although the ready made ticket were very cheap (around 900 pounds) I planned my own route. My customized ticket were twice as expensive.

Cheap round the world tickets look like this:

London - Dubai nebo Delhi - Bangkok - Singapore - Australia - New Zealand - USA - London
London - Delhi - Hanoi - Bangkok - Sydney - Auckland - Tonga - Los Angeles - Las Vegas - London

 

My round the world ticket was customized:

London - Delhi - Singapore - Bangkok - Denpasar - Darwin - Sydney - Christchurch - Auckland - Santiago - Lima - Madrid - London

 

3. The Jabs

You will need many jabs to be safe at distant countries. Find out about the mandatory jabs on the internet. Some jabs have to be applied 6 months in advance to be effective. When you start planning your trip, think about the jabs as well. There has been written a lot about anti malaria tabletts. Wether to take them or not. I prefer not to take them in advance but have them on me in case of a problem. You can use some of them to treat the actual malaria disease.

 

4. First Aid Kit

Apart from the usual items, always include the following in your first aid kit:

Broad spectrum intestina desinfikant (Ercefuryl, Antinal, Drotazide, Diax ...)

Something to make water drinkable: iodine drops or chloride tablets.

Painkillers: Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Algifen.

High quality repellent, at least 50% DEET.

To choose a selection of antibiotics, ask your GP. When getting ill abroad, don't hesitate to contact a local doctor.

Take some high quality Sun Cream with good UV protection.

 

5. Visas

When travelling abroad, always find out about the visa situation.

 

6. What to take with you

Travel light! The less things you have the better you travel. You can buy clother much cheaper in Asia than back in the UK or USA. I took a small bag (45 litres) and it was a good choice. I never exceeded the airlines bagage limit. Take proper clothes. More layers is better than one down jacket ... If you can manage to take a sleeping bag and a mosquito net, the better.