Three Little Needles

Voila! It's done! I got my vaccines against most of the really bad diseases which could attack me in the far corners of the globe.

The Traveler's Clinic, it was an excellente idea. With the list of the countries I wish to visit, they looked at all the diseases I could get. The future tourist, me, can than choose if he accepts or not the vaccines recommended. Because some of them are really expensive.

Meanwhile, the nurse gave me a lot of flyers on what to do and what not to do to prevent myself from getting infected by anything. Diphtheria, tetanos, whooping cough, hepatitis, typhoid, yellow fever, etc. could all be combined in three vaccines.

Very expensive, the rabies vaccine can prevent you from getting a sort of blood transfusion you might not want to get in some countries that are less developped. You need three injections, the last one being 28 days after the first one.

Once I got my vaccines, I saw a doctor who gave me a flyer for each country I want to visit. Each one describes the risks for malaria, for example. The doctor filled a list of prescriptions to renew the medicine I already am taking.

They include Imodium, Cipro and Zithromac against diarrhea, Malarone to prevent me from getting malaria, and gastrolyte. They recommend to bring Benadryl againt allergies and pristine, a pouder to treat water to make it drinkable. Don't forget the spray against mosquitos, Gravols, sunscreen and Polysporin.

Tip
For prevention, you can bring syringes. If you need an injection, you could demand that the doctors use your clean and sterilized syringes. It is better if you can get a letter from your doctor which confirms you are allowed to transport syringes.

My God you're lucky!

First reaction : "My God you're lucky!" That is at least the message I received the most since I announced that I would be leaving for a trip around the world.

Let's set things clear right now : chance has nothing to do with my decision to leave. A long trip, on paper, is extraordinary. Like having Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux, Kris Letang and Jeff Skinner in your hockey pool at the job. On paper, it's perfect. But in reality, it's not that clear.

I didn't win at the lotery. Nobody offered me for free to discover exotic places. I made a decision. And it would be hard to leave without having thought it throught. The list of tasks to do is huge. But the secret, actually, is to make lists and to check or cross stuff as you go.

Vaccines
I managed to make an appointment to get my shots. The Traveler's Clinic is amazing : an appointment two weeks after the phone call. They promise to update my vaccines and they'll suggest everything I need according to the countries I will visit. They analyzed my itinerary. They will renew my prescriptions. But the bill could be hard to pay. 

Cats
I also found a place where my cats would be fed and taken care of while I'm gone. And I won't need to separate them. I realized that while you stress for things like that, you ignore that a lot of people would agree to take care of your animals for a temporary time while you're gone. Less responsabilty for them than if they had to adopt.

ATM
Leaving your home to fly to a different country can pose some problems on the budget or trying to get some foreign currencies. Joy! Technologies are helping. ATM saves you a lot of headhaches. You can usually withdraw some money as soon as you get in a new country.

But one needs to know there is two types of debit cards : Plus and Cirrus. A symbol behind your card tells you what system your card is compatible with. Some will tell you that you need a four digits PIN in some countries. Not with the Plus system. That one will recognize automatically your five digits PIN. My bank told me so.

International driver's licence
Other thing to do : get the international driver's licence. That's a traveling document that gives your details in several languages. It doesn't replace the original driver's licence, but makes it easy to read for the authorities. It costs around 30 $ in Quebec and it's good for one year. I don't know yet if I plan to drive abroad, but I don't want to take chances.

Be careful. Some countries won't let you drive, even with the international driver's licence. It is the case in Cambodia, where it is not advised to drive. Note that it could be a good idea to study the signs also, since they may be different from the ones you see at home.

Flags
To conclude, to challenge you a little bit, I added a section on my blog where I will put the flag of the country I will be visiting. You'll see, without cheating, if you can guess where I am.