I was still sitting in Ubud, Bali having the most amazing 10-day experience. Reconnecting with my thoughts, myself, and thinking about what I hold dear and what I’m passionate about. The thing that kept playing repeatedly in my mind was, “I don’t want to let go of this feeling” The feeling of freedom, the feeling you get when you are travelling, of having new experiences, of meeting people that are strangers for a minute and then in an instant, your friend. Why should I let go of it? why should I go home and get some random job because that’s what people and society expect of me? No thanks. Not interested!
Making the decision
That set into motion this fantastical idea of going travelling for an extended period. Heck, I was going to take 3 months long service leave at the end of the year, and with my redundancy from work, why not bring that forward. Even better yet, if I go to South East Asia I can really stretch the time out to 6 months and not have a huge impact on my budget. And just like that, the plan was hatched!
I decided once I was home I would give myself until the end of May, approximately 6 weeks to sort my life out in Adelaide before taking off on this grand adventure.
When you have a house, a mortgage and pets to think about, let alone building a website, launching a blog, finishing an online course and planning an epic six-month adventure, 6 weeks was barely enough time. I pulled it off though. There was seriously nothing that was going to get in my way of going. And when you want something strongly enough, you make it happen, no matter what.
So, how did I go about wrapping up my life in Australia for 6 months and plan my trip?
I bought a notebook!
If I was going to sort out my thoughts and make sure all my plans came together I had to have somewhere to record everything. All the different things swirling in my head about what had to be done at home, what had to be done before the trip and what I wanted to do on the trip.
There were lists and more lists. And lists to remind myself of lists I had to make…I’m serious!
The Home Stuff
6 months isn’t long enough to turn my house into a rental and I really couldn’t be bothered moving all my furniture out of the house again. I had only moved back in 12 months earlier after having some major renovations done. So, with that decision pretty quickly, it came down to a house sitter.
My parents were the first choice to move in. They were putting the final touches on their house in preparation to sell it and then starting to build their next house, unfortunately, the timing was off, and they weren’t quite ready to move in, which would’ve been perfect for us all.
In the end, I found a great guy that was happy to house sit, AND petsit for about a month, which should also see my parent’s house sold and them ready to move in. Tick, tick, tick. House sorted, pets sorted, parents sorted.
I had no job to worry about (fist pump to the air!) and I was given a nice little payout for my 12 years of service with the company, so home loans and budget for the trip also sorted. I also paid some bills in advance, so I didn’t have to worry about them cropping up whilst travelling
The Fun Stuff
Having travelled to 49 countries I knew what I had to do, I just had to get my lists written down, to not forget anything and then just bloody do it. Travelling for an extended period takes a little more organisation than a short little holiday.
I reckon half, maybe not half, but a lot of the fun is in the planning and the anticipation of the trip. Thinking about all the possibilities and letting your imagination run wild with the things you’re going to see and do and the people you’ll meet and experiences you’ll have.
The most important things for me were:
Where to go
Deciding which countries to visit is the best fun! As an Australian, it’s also very important because of visa requirements. I was tossing up between SE Asia and Central America but for stretching the budget it was an easy choice in the end to select Asia.
The Weather
Checking the weather for the time of year I was travelling in Asia was important due to the low, rainy season. Even though it’s hot all year round, some parts of the year can be unbearably humid and wet. My first plan was to travel to Sri Lanka and India, however, as soon as I started to investigate it I quickly discovered that June-September is their monsoon season and not ideal for backpacking. I was able to adjust my starting point and will make my way back to those countries later in the year when the weather has cleared up.
Visa’s
We need visas for a lot of countries and some require your passport to be sent to the appropriate embassies in Sydney or Canberra. It’s important to work this out really early in the planning stages because of the 14 countries I put on my first list, 11 required visa’s and 3 needed to be sent interstate. That list has since been revised down to 10 countries, and all those countries needing visas can be done electronically or on arrival.
Once you know what countries need Visas to apply for any that you can, electronically, if you know the dates you are going to be entering the country, otherwise record in your calendar, on your phone, pop up reminders a few weeks before you suspect you might be entering the country.
You can’t be lax with this as some countries have certain time periods that you have to apply within eg India will only let you apply within 33 days of your expected entry date, Sri Lanka asks that you apply no later than 4 days before your entry date.
If you’re sending your passport interstate then you are going to need to have at least 14 days before you leave Australia, to send it and get it back in time. (I would be doing these types of visa’s months in advance)
Check out my post on crossing international borders and visa requirements
Photos for my visa’s
Get updated passport-sized photos taken. Photos cannot be older than 6 months for visa purposes. Just head to your local post office and purchase the relevant amount for the number of visas required.
Vaccinations
Getting the appropriate vaccinations is really important, some foreign diseases that you may be exposed to can be deadly or have lifelong consequences. I simply found a travel doctor, took in my vaccination record and he was able to advise what vaccinations needed a booster shot, any needed specifically for the countries I was travelling to and gave me a great website to use to check for malaria hotspots fitfortravel.nhs.uk
Travel Insurance
Researching and buying the right level of travel insurance is boring but necessary. I would also urge you to MAKE the time to read through their PDS statements, another REALLY boring exercise, but vital to ensure if an event does happen they WILL COVER YOU.
An added extra you may want to consider is the activities you’ll potentially be partaking in. I bought an adventure pack with my insurance that includes hiking, being around animals for conservation purposes, zip-lining etc. Again, you want to ensure you are covered for all events so dish out the extra dough for that peace of mind. There are also going to be a huge range of prices from a basic policy, to mid-range to fully comprehensive. Don’t just go cheap for cheap sake, you’re getting this insurance, so you are covered in all events. Spend the money
This can be mind-boggling and super boring, but it is probably THE most important thing you can do to ensure you’re protected. I simply wrote a list of the most important levels of cover that I wanted eg lost luggage, missed flight, hospital, electronics and personal effects, lost documents etc and used a couple of those compare the market sites such as comparethemarket.com.au and finder.com.au
Bank Card’s, fees and charges
Researching your current bank cards for international fees and charges and deciding whether they are suitable is vital for your budget. Most banks will charge you an ATM fee for withdrawals overseas, as well as international transaction fees and currency conversation fees which will add up quickly. Whilst you’re away take out large amounts, so you keep your withdrawals to a minimum, only take with you each day what you think you are going to spend and keep the rest safe in your room or locker back at the hostel.
Make sure you have done your research thoroughly before you go and switch products or banks if you need to. My bank charges $5 plus 4% of the total withdrawn as currency conversion at the ATM. So, I switched to a platinum card (on the same account), which has all international purchases free and applied for a currency card for my withdrawals.
A security tip as well, keep your cards at the hotel, only take them out when you need to withdraw cash. That way if you are pick-pocketed, or lose your wallet, you’ve only lost minimal cash and your cards are safely back at your accommodation
Currency Card and Foreign Cash
Researching and applying for a travel currency card. I researched this through comparethemarket.com as I did with my travel insurance. Make sure you know what currencies you can have, what withdrawal fees there are if you can load in one currency and withdraw in another and at what currency conversion cost. You can get hit with hidden fees with these cards, so again do your research.
I opted for the Qantas cash card. It has a withdrawal fee capped at $1.95 and no currency conversion fee. Of all the countries I am travelling to the only local currency I can load is Thai Baht, but with there being no currency conversion cost I have also loaded USD and AUD and will use this card as my main card for withdrawing at ATM’s
Getting some foreign currency cash. This is always helpful when you first land/arrive in a new country for transport, a bottle of water, or to pay for Visa on arrivals at airport or land border crossings
Back Pack (not your rucksack, you definitely need one of these for long term travel)
I’m talking about the right backpack for my camera equipment. Because I’m going to be blogging and doing daily social media, I’ve got a lot of equipment that I need to cart around. DSLR camera, GoPro, laptop, external hard drive, tripod and all the cords and adaptors that go with it all. It’s important that it all is safe and in an easy to carry bag/s
Rucksack Rain Protector
Purchasing a rain protector for my rucksack. I am travelling in the “green” season, called as such because it is the low, rainy season for much of S.E Asia, and no doubt I will be caught in the rain at some point.
International Drivers License
I decided, in the end, I really didn’t want to be trying to drive in any of the countries (insert utter road chaos) so didn’t bother getting one. But it’s important to make that decision before leaving home
Advising Government agencies of your travel plans
Register your trip with Smarttraveller.gov.au, or the equivalent in your country. This site gives you the most up to date information and travel advice and warnings about every country in the world. It also has really important information and links to entry and visa requirements and allows you to register your travel plans should a natural disaster or terrorist activity strikes. Smart traveller wants to know each town you are staying at, so I have chosen to do this on the road because beyond my first week in Malaysia, I don’t know which towns I will be visiting.
Booking Accommodation vs Winging it
I had to decide whether to plan your entire route, book all my accommodation in advance, or just wing it. For me, and due to having to apply for visas, I have a rough idea of the general route and the countries I will be visiting. I booked my first week of hostel accommodation in Malaysia and that’s it. Once I hit Thailand, who knows. And thank goodness because I’ve already met someone in Melaka who gave me an awesome suggestion, that I didn’t know about, which has already changed my plans.
However, I didn’t want to have a strict plan. I wanted to leave it loose enough, that if I ended up somewhere I really loved I would have the freedom to stay there, or if I met someone who had an amazing suggestion or was up for travelling with me for a period, I could do that.
Accommodation type based on budget
I have decided on hostels for a couple of reasons. But I couldn’t quite commit to dorms, so have selected private rooms and capped my per night accommodation at no more than $20. I like my own space, my privacy and really at my age, I’m not up for hearing 5-10 other people snoring, farting or having sex whilst I’m trying to sleep.
If this doesn’t bother you and you’re really budget conscious, I have seen dorm rooms beds for as little as $5 per night. Download the Hostelworld app or better yet sign up for Couchsurfing. It costs $84aud to register, but then you are able to stay with locals for free
Keeping to a low-budget and for the social aspect. Being on the road solo for 6 months, hostels are a great way to meet like-minded people. Hotels can be really isolating as well as expensive, so it was a no brainer for me.
Transportation Type
I have opted to be on the ground as much as possible and only get flights when necessary. Local buses and trains in Malaysia have been between 3-40 Ringgit, or $1-$11aud.
GRAB is also a must-have. It is S.E Asia largest ride-sharing app (their version of Uber). Download and set up your credit card and you’re good to go. A 15-minute GRAB ride in Malaysia cost me 7RM or $2.30aud. It’s great for convenience and ease of mind if you must get to a bus/train terminal quickly and don’t want to fuss with “local” transport or overpriced taxis
Deciding what to PACK. (Man, I hate this!)
You’d think after all my travel experience I would have this down to a fine art but no. I’m shit at it. I look at my wardrobe and grab shit that I haven’t worn in months thinking I will definitely wear it on this trip….I’m an idiot.
BUT this trip is different. It’s going to be hot the whole time, I’m not going to be out partying, so no fancy clothes or lots of makeup and jewellery. I just need comfortable clothes, nothing that needs ironing, can be hand washed and dries quickly. Consider items such as a lightweight rain jacket, handheld fan, travel towel. Leave enough room to purchase things on the road, and because you’ll be wearing the same things days in and day out, (trust me, you will be!) you can leave behind things that become worn out or you’re sick of and pick up something cheaply on the road.
So, a small selection of t-shirts, singlets and shorts. One lightweight jacket (in case), a couple of pairs of lightweight harem style pants, hiking boots, sneakers, thongs, a pair of bathers, a couple of dresses, socks, jocks and mini toiletries.
The best piece of advice, lay everything out on the bed, halve it and then halve it again. Honestly! You are going to be wearing your comfy shit day in and day out and trust me you do not want to be lugging it on your back for an extended period of time.
Technology and Electronics
Depending on what sort of traveller you are it might simply be your phone and your camera. Easy. Not a great deal to think about or worry about.
For me, as previously mentioned, it is a laptop for journaling, blogging and editing photos, my DSLR camera, a second lens, and USB cord for the computer so I can sync my photos on the road. My GoPro, plus attachments, tripod and charger, my external hard drive (to keep everything in one spot, safe and not using space on my laptop and phone), my phone of course and a small portable Bluetooth speaker (it’s nice not to have headphones on all the time)
That’s a lot of stuff and it is heavy and expensive (hence the right level of insurance) Carrying this much stuff is not for everyone but it’s important to have the right tools for me to give this blogging a real go and be able to do everything on the go.
Booking your ticket
It may seem beyond obvious that you need to do this but there is a sweet spot for when to book it and when to travel. Normally 50-60 days out from your intended travel date is when you should be ready to hit the purchase button. The closer you get to your travel date the more expensive it is likely going to become, unless you’re lucky and get a special deal.
Even if you are thinking about buying a one-way ticket, don’t. It’ll be more expensive in the long run. If you are going backpacking in a particular region pick a fairly central “hub” to fly in and out of. For me that’s Singapore. Purchase a return ticket and ensure that the return portion of the ticket is flexible with the change of dates or cancellations with limited or no costs attached. If you decide to stay longer than anticipated or well beyond the life of the ticket which is generally 12 months, you have lost little or nothing for changing the date of cancelling.
The other thing to consider is the day you fly out. You’re going to want to book a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday for the cheapest flights. Anything over the weekend, which is Friday to Monday for travel, is going to be expensive. Mid-week flights are also not always full, which will give you the freedom to move around the cabin and stretch out if you’re lucky enough
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