Collect Experiences. Not Things. :')

February 27, 2005

Trip Details



Sponsored by Exodus

February 21, 2005

Mode of Transportation

The Overland Truck pictured below (lower right corner) will be my mode of transportation for the next couple of months. There is supposed to be cushioned seats in the interior of the truck bed and lockers on the exterior of the truck bed for storage. What else could you ask for?

Picture: The Potala, Lhasa, Tibet

World Weather

The BBC website was an excellent resource for anticipating weather conditions around the world. It provides month by month average high and low temps, record high and low temps, humidity, and average precipitation for numerous cities around the world. I was able to map out my trip and approximate the weather conditions in every major city during my travels.

World Power Sources

Wanting to bring my IPod on the trip, I’ve started checking out my options. For a portion of the trip we’ll be “overnighting” in hostels and other portion (greater portion) we’ll be at camp sites. In preparing for the hostels, I’ve found the attached international electrical system link to be an excellent resource. The site posts the voltage, frequency and adapter requirements for each country, and provides a good discussion of transformers and converters. When camping, I purchased a solar-powered “battery” from REI that produces up to 14 watts of energy. Hopefully, it will be enough to recharge the IPod and camera batteries, and possibly power a laptop computer. It’s a “SolarRoll” which measures 57 x 12 inches when rolled out flat, but it hasn’t arrived yet. Not sure if it going to work or not. Hopefully, it will. If not, I’ll have to rethink my power needs and sources before I depart.

February 20, 2005

Check List

Documents
Passport
Extra passport photos for country visas (16)
Vaccination certificates
Insurance certificate
Money and travelers' cheques
Credit card and ATM
Scuba P.D.I.C. certificate
Air tickets
Money belt
Journal

General
1 Long sleeved shirt
1 Short sleeved shirt
2 short sleeved T-shirts
1 Pair shorts
2 Convertibles (trousers with zip off legs)
Fleece jacket
Thermals (top and bottom)
Light boxer shorts (6 pairs)
Baseball and sun hats
Wind and waterproof jacket (Arc’teryx)
Wind and waterproof pants (Arc’teryx)
Merrell Lightweight Boots
CoolMax/wool hiking socks (6 pairs)
Tevas/sandals
Swimming suit
Sleeping bag and 2 inner sheet
Camp pillow with 2 pillow cases
Thermo rest and repair kit
Mosquito net and ground cloth
Water bottle
Watch with alarm
Small combination lock for back pack
Combination padlock for truck locker
Sunglasses (2 pairs – loss expected)
Flashlight & head lamp (extra bulbs)
Small sewing kit
Biodegradable soap for washing clothes
Small supply of strong plastic bags
Clothesline and a few pegs
Scrubbing brush
Penknife – Swiss Army
Backpack with rain cover
Duffle bag
PacSafe
Vacuum bags
Mesh laundry bag

Wash Bag
Bath towel
Tooth paste
Tooth brush with cap
Shaving cream
Sun block
Bar soap in plastic box
Crystal deodorant block
Shaver with extra razors
Baby powder

Personal Care
Lip salve
Sunscreen cream (lots: SPF15, SF30, SF40)
Insect repellent
Tylenol
L’Oreal skin cream
Malaria pills, (Chloroquine, Malarone, Doxycyline)
Imodium, Pepto-Bismol, Ciprofloxacin (prescription)
First aid kit
Reading glasses
Water purification tablets

Power Utilities
“SolarRoll” – 14 volt solar powered DC
DC to AC inverter
Plug adapters
Converter 220v to 110v
Surge protector

Items Needing Power
IPod
 Extra earplugs
 AC adapter
 DC adapter
Laptop
 AC adapter
MiniDV Video Cam
 1gb extra chip
 AC battery charger
Olympus Digital Camera
 AC battery charger
 USB download cable
AC Battery charger
 Rechargeable Batteries

Shipped to Friend (Naren) in Nepal
Replacement convertible pants/shorts
2 Replacement T-Shirts
Winter coat
Extra Toiletries
Additional Books

Personal Medical

Identifying the required vaccinations and immunizations was simple with the assistance of the travel clinic at George Washington University Hospital. For anyone that who lives in the D.C. metro area and plans to travel internationally, I highly recommend the travel clinic. Luckily, most of them are valid for at least 5-10 years, and I’ve had many of them from prior trips.
- Hepatitis A and B (2 or 3 vaccines)
- Tetanus
- Meningitis
- Diphtheria (DTP)
- Measles, Mumps and Rubella booster
- Didn’t need Yellow Fever or Cholera because not visiting Africa
- It’s best to log shots in your yellow vaccination certificate booklet

Estimating the appropriate malaria medicine took a little bit more of an effort. In certain parts of the world mosquitoes are resistant to chloroquine, the most popular malaria medicine. Referencing the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) website was critical in determining which areas of the world were chloroquine resistant.

Chloroquine has a long history of treating and preventing malaria. It only has to be administered weekly and it’s relatively cheap. Alternative malaria medications recommended by CDC in chloroquine resistant areas are Malarone, Mefloquine and Doxycycline. A downside to theses medications is that they have to be administered daily. When deciding which medication was best for me, I ruled Mefloquine (aka Larium) out as an alternative medication. Having taken Mefloquine during a previous trip to Africa, it gave me wicked dreams, a known side effect of the drug. The travel clinic suggested, and I concurred with, Malarone as an alternative. If side effects develop while on Malarone during the trip, I’ve also kept my options open by taking along a supply of Doxycycline. My previous employer had a prescription reimbursement plan. The costs to me were minimal.

Travel Insurance

I’ve check out several Travel Insurance Companies. Good insurance is expensive, and all policies have their limitations. The one recommend by Adventure Center (an affiliate of Exodus) appeared to the most suitable policy for extended periods of travel and met the tour company’s minimum insurance requirements.

The policy I choose provides a $100,000 in medical evacuation, $1,000,000 in medical expense coverage, $5ooo trip interruption, $10,000 for emergency reunion, and optional “hazard” activity insurance for injuries from motorcycling, scuba diving, whitewater rafting, bungee jumping, surfing, parasailing, water skiing, mountain climbing and spelunking. The one downside of was the $250 lost luggage coverage. They didn’t have a higher option. My luggage would cost a lot more to replace.

What I did notice when reviewing travel insurance companies, is that the British insurance companies offering travel insurance are much more visible, because “gap” year travel – the year between college and work, as it referred too - is much more common in Britain. In my case its not quite a “gap” year travel, per say, but more of a mid-life sabbatical. Its harder finding U.S. companies that offer this type of insurance.

Reading Materials

Okay, the reading list might be a little ambitious - a bit analogous to selecting class at the beginning of the semester when every class offered looks interesting. Worse case scenario is that I have to “drop some books" during the trip without reading them, but then again I’m thinking… if I’m going to sitting in the back of the truck, traveling halfway around the world, there's going to time to read. There’s only so much I can talk to my travel mates. Besides I anticipate there will be space in my storage locker on the truck. I’m not taking a lot of clothes. And of course, as I read them, I can give them, or throw them, away to reduce the load. From previous experience, finding books that I have “wanted” to read while traveling has been a problem. Not this time.

Conventional Books

The Middle EastA Brief History of the Last 2000 Years – Bernard Lewis - Recommended by Lonely Planet and Amazon.com (Comment: excellent, well worth the read)
What Went Wrong? – A Clash between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East – Bernard Lewis (comment: basically repeats many of the topics in the book listed above)
Guns, Germs, and Steel – Jared Diamond (NY Times BSL and Pulitzer Prize)(Comment: Excellent!!! Read it. I kept thinking about it, even long after having read it.)
Neither East Nor West – One Woman’s Journey through the Islamic Republic of Iran – Christiane Bird- Recommended by Trip Company (Comment: a quick read; good intro to Iranian Culture from a female prespective. Ten other travelers on the trip also read this book after I was finished.)
Freedom at Midnight Lapierre and Collins The story of India's independence struggle, also covers the history and culture of the sub-continent – Recommended by Trip Company (Comment: good intro to India's independence)
Danziger's Travels - Beyond Forbidden Frontiers Nick Danziger- Recommended by Trip Company (Comment: book sucked. I don't like travelogues, and this book, once again, confirms it.)
The Operator – David Geffen (Biography) by Tom King (Comment: interesting guy - quite the deal maker)
An Unquiet Mind – A Memoir of Moods and Madness - Kay Redfield Jamison (Comment: it gave me a better understanding of manic/depression)
The Denial of Death – Ernest Becker (Pulitzer Prize) (Comment: excellent book, highly recommended)
Red Azalea -Anchee Min (Comment: it wasn't quite what I expected, nevertheless a quick read and an alternative perspective on China's history.)
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China: Jung Chang (Comment: a must read if you're visiting China)


Audio Books

Buddha – Karen Armstrong
Islam, A Short History – Karen Armstrong
History of the Arab People – Albert Hourani
Kiekegaard – Paul Strathern
Best Guide to Eastern Philosophy and Religion – Diane Morgan
One God, Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam – F. E. Peters

Guide Books

Southeast Asia- Lonely Planet
China – Rough Guide
Middle East - Lonely Planet
India - Lonely Planet
China - Lonely Planet
Tibet - Lonely Planet
Istanbul - Lonely Planet


Books I purchase while traveling and read.

Throwback by Tom Sharp (Comment: don't waste your time reading this book. It's about how stupid people cheat and are mean to each other.)
Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks (Comment: mildly entertaining)
Children of the Cambodia’s Killing Fields: Compiled by Dith Pran
Mandate of Heaven: The Legacy of Tiananmen Square and the Next Generation of China’s Leaders by Orville Schell (Comment: somewhat verbose, but insightful. A good intro to China's more recent history.)
Mao Zedong: Man, Not God by Quan Yanchi
The Chinese Revolution 1800-1985 by John King Fairbank
Wings of Fire: An Autobiography by A.P.J. Abdul Kalan with Arun Tiwari (Comment: inspiring)
The Essence of Hinduism by R.V. Bhasin (Comment: mostly facts)
Lady from Isan by Michael Schemmann (Comment: this book was realy badly edited, however the story was compelling, in a sad way.)
The Coming Collapse of China by Gordon Chang (Comment: I kept reading this book with the intent to learn how and why China was going to collapse, as per the title suggests. However, even after finishing the book I was no closer to finding out how and why China was going to collapse.)


Books I took with me but didn't read.

A History of Arab People – Albert Hourani - Recommended by Lonely Planet and Amazon.com
The History of God – Karen Armstrong (Almost finished, need to finish last few chapters) (Comment: never got around to finishing this book)
The History of the Bible – Incredible Adventure 4000 years into the Past to Reveal the Historical Foundations of the “Book of Books” (quotes added by me) – Werner Keller
The Sickness unto Death – Soren Kierkegaard