For many international travelers, this is old hat. Making sure your travel insurance is in order (you better have it; your USA-based health insurance won't work well in, say, Serbia). Having the right currency, for the location(s) you'll be visiting. Visa for that far-away place? Check, times 3. Be sure the cell phone plan you have at home, can carry you thru the wilds of beautiful Downtown wherever. Obtaining new clothes, so that if you want to go out on the road, you aren't an embarrassment to yourself, your country, your religion (if you are so inclined), whatever.
And then, there's the information you need. The one piece of info you want is in one language, and that language? It's not yours. You have to use various interpretation websites (there are several), or you know enough of the language (one way or another) to interpret the info that is there and available. (Mind you, they'll come up to you later, and ask: "Where did you find THAT?" You will also have to sort out three different versions of the same info, to produce the correct info for your needs and desires.)
Our trip planning continues in earnest, as we are now under four weeks before departure day. The day that it all comes together. That the dream (well, at least mine) is realized. Or, that everything absolutely goes to hell, in the biggest fireball in the history of passenger transportation.
(Hey! I write; you decide.)
As we go on, I am like a newlywed; something old (my camera, which we unearthed in my disastrously messy den); something new (new suitcase, replacing my 15-year-old Samsonite); something borrowed (a copy of Lonely Planet's Best of France, courtesy of one of my wife's co-workers), and something blue (blue will be my predominant color on this trip). Hopefully this will bring good luck for all of us. I believe that luck favors those who properly plan, a fact that has borne itself out over many years of travel.
As the days dwindle relatively quickly, I try to make sure that everything is set well in advance, so as to leave nothing to chance, in the final week before departure. Get everything ordered so that nothing comes in the last few days before departure. This will be a very tightly weighted trip, as once we leave home we basically have to carry-on everything, for up to three weeks. Staying close to the starting weight, will be key to any hope for a good experience. You really don't need to take everything you have ever owned when you go on vacation, especially a trip when you will be 'on the run' for most of the first week. I just hope I can communicate that to everyone else.
Time to go to Walgreens, to hit up the travel-size health and beauty supplies...See you later...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment