Jeffrey’s Journey

It’s almost exactly 24 hours till’ I depart for my trip.

I’m packed. I have all my documents, said some goodbyes already, and I think I’ve got all my last minute items. I’ve been preparing for my trip and preparing well, yet I don’t know why I’m feeling so… unsettled… yeah, I feel nervous, sick almost. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me too much if I turned to my side and threw up in the next 10 minutes. I couldn’t sleep last night, or the night before, when I swear I experienced a ghost attacking me in my sleep… I can’t even eat like I normally do, and that says a lot for those of you who know me.

Is this supposed to be happening? I mean, this is what I’ve always wanted, right? I’m not nervous about the actual trip because I’m excited, but I feel like how Uncle Jessie felt right before his wedding to Becky. He went skydiving. I, on the other hand choose to hallucinate and drink large amounts of alcohol to comfort myself.

But yes, I am very excited!

Something interesting happens the week before one goes on a trip.

I don’t know if this is a phenomenon that happens often, but it’s as if I am going to die. I find that some friends want to get together “one last time” before I go, to say goodbye or something. It’s kind of cool. And it’s also a two-way feeling. I myself treat it a bit like I’m going to die as well, so I make a bit more effort to see friends before I go. The cool part I guess is that my schedule is inundated with hanging out with friends. After my last week, it’s my recommendation that we should all think that we are going to die at the end of every week. If it was anything like my last week, there would be more alcohol consumption, happy times with friends, less stress, and a bit o’ no no.

I guess the con would be that my liver kind of hurts now.

So how much does it cost to go on a RTW trip?

I have to say I don’t know. But after reading about other people’s and trips, it seems that it can be between $10,000 to $20,000 depending on the level of comfort as well as the countries on the itinerary. A lot of people estimate a budget by planning how many days they will stay at a particular country and estimate the daily cost of that country. Besides being too lazy to plan every detail out on my trip, I don’t believe it’ll do much good even if I did becuause chances are plans will change.

This is how I’ve approached my trip:

- I thought about where I really wanted to go to. Ultimately, picking one destination means another will be left off for the most of us (this is opportunity cost, as I learned in Economics in college, haha). I believe that Europe will almost always stay the same, more or less. It’s remained relatively unchanged for decades now, and I’m sure in 50 years it won’t look too much different. I feel like its a natural inclination for Americans to first think of Europe when they have an opportunity to travel to but its also the most expensive cluster of countries on earth. Besides, there’s so many cheaper countries out there that give you incredible natural beauty and the nightlife just as awesome. I decided to go this route, Australia being the only country that is relatively expensive.

-There’s no way around it, Air Tickets/Transportation will cost a lot. There’s always the option of an Round The World Ticket which can be cheaper, but its also a bit too inflexible for me. I chose to buy my tickets leg by leg. I wanted to be able to go somewhere with the freedom of exploring at my pace, leaving when I’m ready.

-Even if it didn’t reduce the cost of a trip dramatically, I would still choose to stay in hostels and guest houses, eating street food from street vendors. How great is that! Street food is the best!

The following list is a run down of my pre departure expenses:

-Digital Camera (had already)
-Memory Card for Digital Camera ($50)
-Thailand 60-Day Visa ($28)
-International Driving Permit ($19)
-First Aid Kit, Shorts ($34)
-SE Asia Guide Book ($26)
-Money Belt ($20)
-Travel Wallet ($15)
-Travel Insurance 6 months ($240)
-Student Card ($22)
-Medicines, Misc. ($100)
-Flickr Pro Service ($25)

-Plane Ticket from US–Taiwan–Hong Kong– Bangkok ($935)

Total before I set foot on a plane: Approximately $1500

I thought it would be a good idea for my first entry to go through the things I am packing. I’ll list them out along with a picture of my backpack, since everything I bring will have to fit into the backpack (That would be the Taiwanese Flag in front).

1) Guidebook- SE Asia on a Shoestring by Lonely Planet
2) Digital Camera- Canon PowerShot S410
3) 1 Pair of Shorts
4) 1 Pair of Dark Pants, 1 Pair of Jeans
5) Sandals
6) 5 pairs of underwear
7) 1 pair of reguar shoes
3 pair of socks
9) 2 Shirts/Tank Top
10) Long Sleeve Shirt
11) Bedsheets (I don’t know if I’ll need this, but just in case)
12) Small Umbrella
13) Bug Spray
14) 2 Bandanas. I plan on using these for everything short of wiping my ass, including as a shower towel.
15) One small traveler’s lock
16) Money Belt!- This is actually a belt with a zipper in the back! Awesome tool.
17) Hidden Money Belt that goes underneath the clothes
18) International Driver’s License
19) Transcripts from School in case I want to teach English
20) A traveler’s pack for toiletries that hangs. This is a life saver.
21) Notebook to record daily spends/write in when I can’t blog
22) Diarrihea Pills
23) Small First Aid Kit
24) Small Bungie Coord for a Clothes Line
25) Small Flash Light
26) Bug Spray
27) Cell Phone is something I haven’t decided on yet.
28) Pictures of my Family and Friends
29) 16 Passport Style Photos
30) Sunglasses (really gaudy cheap ones)
31) Duct Tape, Nail Cutter, Scissors
32) Pad Lock

Things I chose to leave behind because they would hold me back:

- My beloved laptop.
- My Ipod. I know this is a shocker to some people, but I figure its an item that actually hinders one of your five senses, and I’d like to have all 5 of mine when experiencing a new place.
- Towels
- Formal Shoes, Formal Wear
- Relationships with Females

Money Matters:

I decided to bring a mix of traveler’s checks, cash, and plastic. I’ll bring a debit card for withdrawing cash as well as a credit card for emergencies/airplane tickets.