 We got the majority of our vaccinations in the USA. However, two of the recommended vaccinations – the rabies pre-exposure shots and the Japanese encephalitis vaccine – were very expensive in the USA. I’m talking EXPENSIVE – $1,775 total for just these 2 vaccines! And that isn’t including the hundreds of dollars we spent on other vaccines. So… the solution? Get them done in Asia!
And of course, prime selfie moment outside the Hospital for Topical Diseases in Bangkok Thailand!
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Written by: Sara
I got this question pretty often before we left, and it's something I asked (and still ask) myself often as well. Colin and I read several blogs about what to pack, and I even have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to packing for travel (never used Pinterest for travel suggestions? Rethink your whole life!) When I backpacked in college, I didn't have any nice gear or special hiking clothes. I got my first travel backpack for my trip to Tanzania in 2010 on eBay for $30, and I continued to use it for the next 7 years. It was great, but definitely a $30 eBay backpack. Since this trip was for much longer, I wanted to do more research and spend a little more money on gear in the beginning to (hopefully) be more comfortable in the long run. Written by: Colin
I spent 3 full days shopping around for travel insurance ruining my recent lasik by pouring through countless pages of fine print. I had at least 50 tabs open to try to compare information but ultimately turned to good ol’ fashioned paper and pencil and cold calling the companies. In this post, I’ll cover how we chose our insurance, what level of coverage we chose, and pitfalls that I’d love for you to avoid. A strong word of advice is to become extremely familiar with the fine print of the plan you end up choosing because if you do not follow their terms and conditions perfectly, you will be left with the fat bill. Written by: Colin
Be free. Go minimalist. Whatever your mantra, parting with your home goods can be invigorating and frustrating. Our goal was to avoid needing to rent a storage unit for two years while we travelled and it was a good opportunity to simplify and reset furniture and wardrobe-wise. We used Craigslist, Ebay, and our friend network to sell most of our furniture and electronics. The rest we gave away or donated  Written by: Colin
Visas were by far the most challenging piece of planning for travel. We wish we’d started collecting these a year sooner instead of wasting time with Pokemon Go. Visas take a lot of precise planning, paperwork, and can get very expensive. We learned a lot of lessons in planning and tricks to help others out in the future. Another challenge is that countries are constantly changing their requirements. Reciprocity is the standard where if the US charges another country’s citizens to enter the US or has a lot of paperwork requirements, that country will do the same for American citizens. The era of Trump made visas even less predictable as countries mirror the travel limitations Trump enacts.
Written by: Colin
Gauge how connected you want to be. You can get away with not even having a cell phone like our ancestors or you can have access to Netflix streaming all over the world. Choose where you want to be on that spectrum to start off on the right foot. T-Mobile, Google’s Project Fi, and an unlocked phone with a local SIM card are the 3 primary options.
Written by: Colin
Make money off your spending! Be deliberate about the credit cards you bring with you on your travels. Make sure you don’t have a card that charges international fees. Balance the card types so that you get 2% to 3% returns from your spending. There are countless blogs and entire companies dedicated to smart use of credit card points and benefits. My simple guidance here is to work the numbers. Written by: Colin
Virtual Private Networks are essentially a security tool for anonymizing your connection to public internet by adding a layer of connection between your PC and the internet source you want to connect to. |
Sara & ColinWe are figuring out our travel as we go along, and we'd love to help you out with yours! Here are some tips, tricks, and how-to guides. Categories
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