Thanks

A simple, short (that is rare!) word to reiterate a big thank you to those who prepared a surprise for me in preparation for my departure.

I'll bring a little part of each and everyone of you, I promise. I will tell you every story as I go, somewhere between those lines, and I'll keep talking about it for years when I'll come back. I won't be shy to remind you that time I got lost in the desert or that time where the Earth shook in Hiroshima. Oh, or that time I almost missed my train. No, not that one. The other one. And don't worry about me. I'll be more than happy to start each and every sentence with "Me, when I was in Cambodia..." or "Me, when I was in Australia..."

Thanks again.

Thousands of questions

A baptism. Funerals. Lot of work to do. There is a long list of tasks I have to take care of before I can do my check-in in Burlington Airport.

But yet, I spend my time asking myself stupid questions. Will I get a haircut somewhere on the road or do I shave it all? (Stupid questions, I told you) Where do I find a map to find my way in Osaka? Is there an ATM in Petra's airpot? Will I encounter a place cold enough so I need to bring a warm jacket in my luggage? Should I bring my sleeping bag? Should I cancel my cell phone plan? Should I buy a bus pass in New Zealand or should I find my way as I go? Where is Jean Charest's forest in Adelaide? Will Olivier stay one more week on Star Académie? How can I find my way around if I was told not to talk to strangers? 

And there is all those people who wish to see me before I go, while I have so much to do. Maybe I'll need to use Skype to satisfy everybody.

Luckily, there are those nice people coming to me with suggestions. Vicky and Daniel told me about the JR pass in Japan, which is made especially for strangers. Marie Eve reminds me I should buy it fast before I leave. Louise, who tells me it is totally possible to get the chinese visa in Hong Kong.

Oh! And another thing. I need to review my itinerary, already, to limit the problems. And I need to make sure the plane tickets will stay as cheap as possible, even if I improvise on the way. Plan A, to link Sydney and Osaka, becomes Plan B : Sydney Hong-Kong. But I still want to go to Japan. We'll see how often it'll change before I get there.

Tip
This one is very simple. But still. It seems impossible to get anywhere without making a list. List of things to do. List of stuff I need to put in my luggage. List of the credit cards, bank accounts and other financial resources. But the most important is the list of things to buy before the departure date. Be smarter than I was. Put that stuff immediately on the list of things to bring too. I took notes left and right and I'm now very afraid of forgetting something because I didn't put it on the list. Probably for nothing.

Health is expensive

About one month away from the departure time, bills continue to come in. Looks like nothing, but making sure you stay healthy, when you leave for a long time, is expensive.

First big "kaching!" : insurances. You need to shop them around. Really! The prices varie so much it can double from one place to the other for the exact same thing. Obviously, the longest the trip is, the highest the price rises.

Good idea, when looking for an offer, to see how much more it'll cost to take a cancellation/interruption policy or to be covered for lost luggages. In my case, it was only five dollars more.

Each time, I was told my trip would last 183 days and that I wouldn't be covered anymore by the public insurance. The RAMQ website is on the other hand very clear that you shouldn't count the first and the last day as part of your trip outside the province of Quebec. Need to validate. To be continued...

Also, if you plan to visit countries where you can get sick of malaria, it is advised you get prepared for another big "kaching!" for the cost of the medicine. In some cases, each pill cost 5-6 $. And you might need to take one a day for multiple weeks. Still have to see if my insurances cover those.

Another surprise is to figure out all the room that medicine will take in my bags, since they need to remain in their original wrapping, inside the hand luggage. Happy!

Budget wise, I made sure the money I am planning on spending will be available when I need to. In Quebec, with Desjardins, Acces D makes it easy to organize. Think of getting a procuration too. Easy, fast, that can save headaches if you need someone to take care of your money for you at some point.

Finally, in the emergencies department, I still have to fin someone to rent my appartement. And find a way to get that chinese visa. That's a challenge.

The countdown accelerates

I'

I'm moving forward. Fast, but not too fast. I'm now done with the details for the beggining of my trip. I'll leave from Burlignton, Vermont, mid-February, for San Diego. After that, I'll take a train that goes along the Pacific coast to reach Los Angeles. I was told I would get bored in that big grey city. I have one project or two to keep myself busy in Hollywood or Beverly Hills.

For this first stop, I chose to go for the the obvious choice : hostels. Couchsurfing and other flats adventures should begin the next week.

I know, you think I won't be able to leave Hollywood once I get there. The american most jet set city will probably see all my potential and will refuse to see me go. But my flight is booked for Auckland, New Zealand, with a stopover in Nadi Fidji. Stay calm, jealous crowd! I will only see the airport in Fidji. Nothing to be excited about. 

I will now try to get my visa for Mao's country at some point. But it is not that easy. They want to know the name and the occupation of your family members, all the countries visited in the last 12 months, with the dates and explanations, who pays for the trip, where you'll stay, who invited you, the number of your health insurance...

Two new links :
The International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers. 
You can also resign your car immatriculation on the SAAQ website.

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.

Earthquake for Christmas

I don't know who chose the date for Christmas this year, but I'm not sure I agree with it yet. Ok for the holiday, the sleep you can get, but stopping to plan my trip... never.

My passport finally arrived at home. That is an important thing to start asking for visas. And to buy plane tickets. Because some companies want to know your passport number to sell you a ticket online.

So, my first destinations are chosen and have been put on the calendar. Hard to backtrack once the price of the tickets have been billed on the credit card. I will let you think a little more about where I'm going while I confirm I'll fly on the wings of United and Air Pacific. Oh yes!

I put my own advices to work, searching the best price on several websites. Discounts were not where I thought I would find them. But one thing that is logical is that crossing the Pacific Ocean brings you to your destination... two days after take off. Getting old very fast. The impression we're losing so much time. Eventually, coming back, I will get that time back. I'll get younger.

I now know where I'll be at the end of February. And I realize it will be difficult not to stay longer than what I planned at the start. I'm already "late" on my schedule. The beauty of it is that the schedule can go to hell. We'll see if I end up there too.

I also have my visa for a very friendly country that let you get it really easily on their website. No pictures, no questions about your income, your job, the age of your dog or your neighbour, or your favorite pizza brand. Just a big yes and big open arms (that reach directly in your wallet).

Hints
I started shopping for my trip. The hint of the day : find a cheap wallet. It can be useful if you get mugged. You can carry it with a couple of notes inside and it would probably convince robbers that you don't have anything more to offer. Haven't tried it yet but read it somewhere.

For all of those who are still wondering where I'll land later, let me tell you my heart broke, and I was a little stressed, when I read rumors about damages in Christchurch's airport after an earthquake.

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.