What's in a plan?

Is anyone out there a real logistics fan? Can’t get enough of the details and planning that go into a monstrous international trip? Wanna stay awake at night considering everything that could go wrong? Boy does Shriya have some tips for you.

In this post we wanted to outline the things we had to consider prior to taking a trip like this. More than likely, each thing on this list will turn into its own post, but we thought an overview might be a good place to start. For all you aforementioned list lovers (ahem, Shriya), I’m going to try to break it down into 4 general sections: where/how long to go, financial considerations, goals for travel, and general logistics. 

WHERE, HOW LONG?

The best place to start is just a brainstorm of places. We just put down everything that interested us and pared it down from there. For us, the places that were *necessary* were New Zealand, Thailand/Vietnam (and other nearby points in Southeast Asia), and Nepal (for a wedding). From there, I really wanted to check out Indonesia, then we both wanted to explore around the Mediterranean including North Africa, and Shriya definitely wanted to end the journey in Spain for La Tomatina. From there we just filled in the gaps and figured out what other places would make sense geographically. 

The other major considerations were going east or west, and what the weather would be like in particular seasons. From my experience and what we read online, it’s generally preferable to head west so you’re gaining time rather than losing it. I’m sure we would be tired either way, but I’m sticking to that line of reasoning. Additionally, that worked out to make sure it was always at least reasonably warm anywhere we were going. I like to think I helped plan this route, but the true guiding light was probably Shriya’s extreme aversion to cold weather… 

As for how long to go, a year was somewhat of an arbitrary figure for us. However, we felt it was important to put some sort of timeline on it to give us context for how long we might want to stay in certain places, and how many places it was realistic to get to (not to mention how long the money will last, but that’s another section). It may take a year, or more, or less. Part of the fun is finding out!

Wow, this is a doozy… I’m pretty sure there are entire sites dedicated to this, but I’m happy to sum it up in a few paragraphs. It probably goes without saying that we had to save up for a while and make this trip a priority as we thought about our overall financial planning. We both spent a little time chasing the dollar rather than our passions, tried to limit our housing costs, and avoided any big ticket items. We settled on a number for how much money we needed if neither of us were generating income, and we were lucky enough to be able to achieve it in a couple years’ time. 

That being said, I think one of the most important things was taking a full survey of our finances and asking some key questions: 

• How much of our money is available for this trip vs how much is off-limits?
• What do we NEED to buy before leaving? (flights, entry fees, vaccinations, travel insurance, etc.)
• What do we WANT to buy before leaving? (electronics, backpacks, clothes, etc.)
• What are our recurring costs at home?
• Do we have cash to cover emergencies?
• How much do we want to spend on accommodations abroad? (hostels vs. hotels vs. airbnbs)
• What can we do to make travel cheaper? (the right credit cards, bank accounts, deals)   
• How can I become an influencer with minimal effort and get everything for free???

And probably some others… like which countries are most expensive? Trust me, I’d love to go to New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Singapore, and the Maldives all in one go, but guess what - that’s going to be a much shorter trip. 

We are not campers. I will also (probably) not be doing a multi-day trek through the mountains. No offense if those are your preferred activities, but as such, our travel is more tailored toward great food, cultural experiences, and amazing locations (that are warm). Beyond that, we’re interested in different ways of living your day-to-day life. Shriya has experienced more of this than I have, but I think we both want to be able to take some time to absorb local culture and think about possibilities outside what we’ve experienced in the US. 

Additionally, we decided to be sort of middle-of-the-road with our expenses. We won’t be living in hostels exclusively, but we certainly won’t be staying in 5-star hotels. We will splurge on a few activities, but only the ones that are really important to us. 

These are the things that are necessary to get from A to B - like getting a visa ahead of time if it’s required. Nowadays, we also have to think about how open places are for tourists. For example, Japan literally just reopened fully for tourism (maybe some good deals to be had?). But in general, it seems not everything we want to do will be available to us at any time. 

Outside of that, we had to plan time and money for getting the necessary vaccines, getting travel health insurance, figuring out how big of a bag you can check, and how on earth you’ll be able to use your phone once you get there.

Admittedly, this is the least interesting part of all the planning, and I’m already running out of things to say about it. Suffice to say it’s quite important but not that fun.

QUESTIONS

Wondering about a part of the process? Ask a question! Hopefully you’ll identify something we haven’t even thought about, and you’ll save us a headache on the road!

Shriya & Peter