Preparing for travel

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30 Dec 2015 44 Comments

Packing for Long-Term Travel

It seems impossible.

But you’ve decided to do it.

You’re going to travel with one carry-on bag.

For a long time.

Whether you’re traveling for a month or a year (or longer), taking all your belongings in only one carry-on bag (plus the extra purse or small backpack you’re allowed on most airlines), can be daunting. I’m fortunate that I learned on my very first overseas trip at nineteen years old that one bag can and does work.

But long-term travel is different from a week or even a month. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where you remember all those things you packed before that never saw the outside of the suitcase. This is where you leave the mentality of “just in case” behind (with few exceptions).

First let me explain that I will be buying most of my clothes once I arrive at  my first destiny (Bali). This way my bag is lighter, I have more room for clothes, I will buy weather- and culturally appropriate stuff, and the clothes will be much less expensive than were I to buy them in the States.

So, without further ado, here is everything (almost; a few didn’t make the photo shoot) that is going into my two bags (the carry-on and its companion zip-off day pack):

Keep reading

by Vagabond Queen in Around the world, Bali, Long-term travel, Preparing for travel, RTW travel, Solo travel, Uncategorized, vagabonding, What to pack, World travel Tags: ,

31 Aug 2015 2 Comments

15 Tips for Dealing with Money on Your RTW Journey

You finally spotted it. That familiar sidewalk machine that magically spits out money.

BEWARE.

Keep reading . . .

If you are planning an RTW, at some point you must figure out how you are going deal with your money. Things have changed a lot since the days of travelers’ cheques and no ATMs. The ready availability of ATMS in foreign countries, and thus the ability to utilize your debit card(s),  makes carrying travelers’ cheques and large amounts of cash obsolete.

Yet, for long term travel, having plenty of backups and safety nets in place is crucial. The last thing you want is to lose access to your money because your debit card was lost or stolen!

Here are 7 tips I have compiled for structuring your money situation before your RTW and 8 tips for once you have arrived in a new country: Keep reading!

by Vagabond Queen in Around the world, Currency exchange, Dying while traveling, Money tips for travel, Preparing for travel, RTW, RTW travel, Travel tips, World travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

IMG_0954

18 Aug 2015 6 Comments

Taking Care of Details in Preparation for Departure

OUCH! I rubbed my arm where I had bumped the big bruised swollen area. 

Geez, how long is this going to take to go down?

Two days before, I had received the second of three rounds of vaccines in preparation for my travels. This one was the only shot I’d received that left such a mark, and the nurse had warned me about it. “The Tdap shot will feel like someone punched yIMG_0954ou really hard in the arm,” she had said. She was right.

My first round of vaccines included yellow fever, Hep A, and Hep B. Some countries in South America and Africa require a yellow fever card that verifies you’ve had the vaccine. On that visit I also received my prescription for malaria pills and Cipro. The second round of shots included the Tdap (tetanus, diptheria, and pertussis), Hep A and B boosters, and typhoid vaccine, which came in capsules I had to take for a week. I have one more round scheduled for this week, my final Hep A and B. I’ll also be getting prescriptions filled for a Z-pak (heavy-duty antibiotic) and a pain killer of some kind, probably Vicodin. It’s always good to go prepared. Rounding out my meds are Pepto-Bismol, aspirin, neosporin, moleskin, and band aids. I’m sure there’s more, but that what lists are for, right? Keep reading!

by Vagabond Queen in Around the world, Preparing for travel, RTW travel, Solo female travel, Solo travel, Southeast Asia, Travel blog, Travel planning, Travel tips Tags: , , , , , ,

Empty closet

20 Jun 2015 2 Comments

How To Sell Everything and Travel around the World

Empty.

It’s just . . . empty.

After my two-day liquidation sale, the house is emptier than it has ever been.

Empty closet
The result of my first liquidation sale.

One of the ways I am funding my trip around the world is by liquidating my possessions. People ask me all the time, “How does it feel?” That question is usually followed up by, “I don’t think I could do that.” (Continue reading to find a list of tips on how to have a successful sale.)

I am surprised, pleasantly so, at how easy it is to see my stuff get distributed to others, particularly friends. There hasn’t been even a moment of regret or sadness or longing or second thoughts, although I did get emotional describing what my dad’s books have meant to me. Keep reading!

by Vagabond Queen in Liquidating everything, Minimalist living, Preparing for travel, Selling everything, Travel planning, World travel Tags: , , , , ,

11 May 2015 12 Comments

Living in the Ending of Things

Where is that thing, I wondered as I dug deep in the back of the closet.

I know I have it. I’ve had it for years.

As I searched for the missing item, I realized how much stuff had accumulated on just three shelves in only one closet. 

Stuff, stuff, everywhere. And I am getting rid of it all.

Every single thing.

Item by item, I scan each room as I try to assess the value of everything I have lovingly, and sometimes unknowingly, collected over a lifetime.

I am no longer attached to the vast majority of these things, these representations of my life. In fact, everything I own is being reduced to just ten boxes, things I’m actually making myself keep, because I will eventually settle into one place again. I am keeping items that are, for the most part, sentimental: a painting, a family heirloom, a favorite sweater, my new pans.

I’m thrilled that my family was just visiting, because I gave a box to each of them, two adults, two teenagers, and a pre-teen, and had them fill their boxes with whatever they could find of mine that they wanted. I was thrilled when my beautiful great-niece chose my beloved collection of perfume bottles and antique trinkets from the top of some long-forgotten woman’s mirrored vanity. The tall, handsome 14-year-old snagged a stunning decorative knife, the youngest, still a sweet kid but looking more and more like a young man, got my first-gen iPad. Their mom and dad got camping stuff and keepsakes. They each got a box full of my memories. Keep reading!

by Vagabond Queen in Around the world, dreams come true, End of a chapter, Preparing for travel, RTW travel, saving for travel, Selling everything, Travel planning, vagabonding, World travel Tags: , ,

25 Countries in 12 Months? Good Luck with That!

31 Mar 2015 10 Comments

25 Countries in 12 Months? Good Luck with That!

Well, this is weird.We travel not to escape life, but for (1)

I was talking to a friend the other day. She pointed out that I had not written anything about what, exactly, my plans were for traveling the world, only that I was doing it.

I feel silly. Stupid. Completely missed the boat. 

So thanks, Julie, for helping me write my next blog post!

But what can anyone say who has a nebulous, grand, visionary plan to slow-travel—vagabond, really—across the globe for months on end? How concrete can a year-long adventure really be months before departure, if at all?

Still, the point is well taken. Surely I must have some idea of where I’d like to go, right?

Sort of, I guess. Okay, yeah.

While I still have a while to purge, prepare, and pack before I depart, I am collecting information on places I want to investigate further to see if they will make my final list of where in the world to go.

My general itinerary at this point is incredibly ambitious. It includes the following regions of the planet: Keep reading!

by Vagabond Queen in Around the world, freelance travel, Preparing for travel, Travel planning, vagabond, World travel Tags: , ,

Lists Fix Everything

22 Mar 2015 17 Comments

I Give UP! Details Overwhelm Sets In

I quit.

What have I been thinking?

Who do I think I am, chucking my entire life, pretending I can travel the world for a year?

I can’t even imagine how I’m going to deal with my stuff and figure out what to do with my house, let alone have enough money to live and work from the road.  I’m 58 years old, for Pete’s sake. I give up. I’m not going.

These thoughts pass through my mind whenever I think of everything I need to get done to realize my dream of traveling around the world for 365-ish days. And the more I read other world travelers’ blogs, the more I realize that this is perfectly normal, this not-knowing-what’s-going-to-happen fear, this there-are-so-many-things-to-do/plan/decide/buy overwhelm.

Yesterday I was feeling that overwhelm in a pretty major way. My mind whirled with the myriad details of what travel bag to choose, which walking shoes to buy, whether I should sell or rent my house, what to keep and where to keep it, how I’m going to manage mail, how I’m going to deal with taxes, and on and on and on . . .

Then I remembered about lists.

Before I started hyperventilating, I grabbed a pencil and notepad and began writing down everything that was streaming through my mind like a high-def Bruce Willis action movie. A peaceful calm immediately started trickling through my manic brain. Oh, right, I thought. At this age I have tools to deal with fears, anxiety, and overwhelm. I just have to remember what they are and how to use them when I need them most.

I realized then that I actually had a list of lists constantly running in the back of my mind. I am astounded that I had not yet started a real, physical, long-term list of things I need to do/research/buy before I go. So now I have the beginning of my list of lists and a place to jot down all the random thoughts that come into my head when I read a blog about dealing with taxes while traveling or what mail service to use. Lists Fix Everything

Here is the very beginning of my list of lists: Keep reading!

by Vagabond Queen in freelance travel, Planning a Year Ahead, Preparing for travel, RTW travel, saving for travel, Travel blog, Travel planning, What to pack, World travel Tags: , , ,

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