Today we talked with our travel agency and planned the journey as far as possible. This is how it looks so far:

30.des - We leave from home and set the course for Buenos Aires in Argentina. The plan is to celebrate new years eve here and stay for a couple of days. Then we travel north to Foz da Igazu and later Rio de Janerio.

20.jan - We leave Rio and travel over the Andes to Lima where the plan is to join an organized trekking tour which in short involves this: Trekking in the Amazon jungle, Cusco, Inka Trail w/Machu Picchu and lake Titikaka.

3.feb - From Peru we’ll travel north to Costa Rica. We’ll stay here for about two weeks. There may be a short trip to Panama but this is not for sure.

19.feb - L.A. is the next stop. We’ll only be here for two days as we’re heading for Fiji as soon as possible. USA will be on our map another time.

21.feb - We’re sailing, by air that is, to Fiji. The plan is to jump from island to island and just relax in two weeks.

7.mars - From Fiji the journey goes on. The next stop is Auckland and New Zealand where we’ll stay for about two weeks.

It is not possible to order a ticket further along the road because it’s to far in the future, but our plan is to travel to Australia and stay here for a month. After Australia we’ll travel to Asia. Here we’ll also stay for a month, in Thailand for a couple of weeks. We have also considered the Philippines. If there is someone who has any experience from this country we’ll be glad to hear about it.

Today it is 8 months until departure! We’re looking forward to it!

When you are choosing your destinations, keep these things in mind:

Seasonal Weather - Many tropical areas can have months of continuous rain. It will be hard to get a tan or enjoy any diving if you visit during the wet seasons, although accommodation prices will be rock bottom and there will be few tourists.

Budget considerations - You will get way more bang for your buck in developing regions like Southeast Asia or South America as opposed to Australia, North America, or Europe. If you wish to start with Europe, start in the East where there are still some cheap places to visit.

Time of year - Other than weather considerations, you may want to time your visit around things like huge festivals and crowded tourists seasons. It would be a shame to arrive in a country, just missing a historic festival by days, but still paying the high prices imposed because of the visitors that were drawn to the festival.

Political climate - The mainstream news media seems to play up the dangers of traveling abroad, particularly for Americans, but in reality there are very few places that are too dangerous to travel provided you use common sense and take the necessary precautions. It seems like every day the US State Dept is issuing a new travel advisory, so many travelers opt for the UK’s version instead. You can find a list of places to avoid or to be cautious of here.

Language - Don’t let the local language, no matter how difficult, be a deterrent to visiting somewhere. English, of varying quality, is spoken almost everywhere that there are tourists. You should try your best to learn the basics in a local language when you get there, do not worry about studying too much before the trip, you will learn it exponentially faster once you arrive.

Once you have an idea of where you want to start your journey, go buy only the guidebook for your first destination. Books are too heavy and expensive to carry more than one destination’s worth. Besides, you can trade with other travelers that have just come from your next country or buy them locally.

Lonely Planet and Rough Guides are the 2 most popular series that focus more on the needs of a budget traveler and less on the tourist stuff.

Check the date and version. Make sure you are not buying a pre-tsunami book, etc. Once you buy the book, check the publisher’s website for updates and write them in on the appropriate pages to save the headache later of looking for a bungalow that is no longer operating, etc.

If you buy one of the gigantic consolidated versions like “Southeast Asia on a Shoestring”, feel free to tear out countries that you do not plan to visit. This will conserve precious space and weight in your backpack. Save the pages and staple them together for later just in case.

Do not get guide Book-itus. It is a useful guide, but do not make it your new Bible. Believe it or not, but there are places to eat, stay, and visit that are NOT covered in the guide books. In fact, you can almost count on the top several places listed for accommodations to be full during the busy seasons. If you live and die by the guide book, you will certainly miss out on lots of off-the-beaten-path adventures that you could have otherwise enjoyed had you not been too busy reading the book!

Watch out for the “Lonely Planet effect”. The LP effect can also be applied to other popular guidebooks. It is a theory that suggests too many backpackers are using the guidebook, so all the places listed with excellent reviews near the top of each section become saturated with traffic. With so much good business coming in no matter what, the actual quality of service declines at these places because they no longer have to try so hard. Sometimes this is true, so it is best to trust your own judgment about a place and listen to other travelers that have stayed there. The positive side of this is that if you are looking to meet other backpackers, these places are usually where the party is.

1. Money belt: A secure place to keep your passport, money, credit card and tickets is essential when travelling.

2. Wet napkins: The world is filled with dirt, rubbish and filth - which always finds it’s way to your hands and fingers. Good hygiene is essential to avoid illness when travelling.

3. Packtowl: The backpackers dream! Packtowl is a towel made of synthetic material which soaks up every single drop of water and dries within a few minutes. The towel is small and light and easily fits in your rucksack.

4. Travellers eating utensils: Eating utensils which is small and easy to clean deserves a room in your rucksack.

5. Silksheet sleeping bag: The ingeniousness of the silksheet sleeping bag is the weight and the very little space it occupies in your rucksack. In many hostels and other accommodations of various quality you might not want to lay directly on the bed because of missing bedclothes/dirt. In tropical regions this is the only thing you need when sleeping. But if it’s cold at night you will need a duvet or a regular sleeping bag.

6. Travelers cup: It’s always nice to have something to drink from, whether you’re making yourself a cup of coffe in the morning or enjoying a bottle of vine in the evening.

7. Raincoat for your rucksack: It’s not a bad idea to protect your belongings against rain. It’s is possible to get hold of special raincoats for your rucksack. When it’s not raining your rainncoat can be used for keeping clothes and souvenirs.

8. Padlock with wire: If you’re renting a simple bungalow on the beach you can’t expect that the door-lock is to much to brag about. A padlock with appurtenant wire enables you to lock doors and windows. It can also be used to lock deposit boxes on hotels and bus stations.

9. Letherman: Multitool which can be used for almost anything. You won’t regret bringing one with you when you find out that it’s not possible to open the tin can with a stone.

10. Mini thermometer: No larger than a matchbox. Useful to actually know the temperature and not just guessing.

• Tickets and passport is obvious - without it you’re stuck where you are. Also remember to bring your visa, invitations and confirmations regarding bookings made before departure.

• Vaccination card. If you are going to Africa, Asia or South-America, you should bring your yellow vaccination card. It confirms that you have the necessary vaccinations and that you ain’t a health risk to the countries you’re travelling in. Some countries, like Cambodia, will not let you into the country without the yellow vaccination card.

• European health card from your countries social security. In some countries, for example Norway, you can order the card on the internet. The card gives you the right to threatment in hospitals if you should be so unfortunate to get sick when travelling.

• Travel insurance. If a thief takes your rucksack, passport or all of your money or if you get sick and needs medical threatment, then you are lost without a desent insurance. Make sure that your travel insurance covers the entire period that which you are abroad.

• Copies of passports, all your visas, tickets, credit card and a separate list of all your traveller’s cheque. Keep them in a secure place if you should be so unfortunate to loose the originals somewhere on the road.

• Make a list containing emergency numbers and other useful numbers before you leave home. This enables you to block your credit card, refund your traveller’s cheque or call your insurance company quickly in case of emergencies. Also bring the telephone number and address to your country’s embassy or consulate in the countries you’re going to visit.

• Again this depends on your destination, but as a general rule, it is smart to go for a combination of traveller’s cheque in US dollars, cash in local currency and a credit card.

• Never store all of this in the same place. Then you might have something left if you’re getting robbed. Most of the thiefs in developing country is pleased when offered a small monetary heap and you might get off easy. In any case just give them what they want. You can always call the insurance company and rob them later

• This depends on where you are travelling to. If you bring a light jacket which keeps the weather out and a woollen sweater you should be prepared for most of the regular backpacker tours. The main idè is to bring as little as possible. It’s better to buy a sweater or t-shirt when you find the need for it rather than stuffing your rucksack with clothes you just might need. NB: Many cultures consider showing shoulders and knees to be indecent - when in doubt, always dress conservative and respect the local customs!

• Warm underwear might do the trick if you are travelling to cold regions, high up in the mountains or spend the night in a desert.

• A pair of comfortable training shoes which offers good support around the ankle and a pair of sandals with quality sole should be enough for most of the regular backpacker tours. You might want to supply with a pair of havaianas for the beach or in public showers.

• Suntan lotion. It is very unpleasant and not very healthy to look like a red lobster. Wear suntan lotion every day. Even when the weather is cloudy you will need protection from strong UV rays in tropical regions.

• Sun glasses.

• Medications. Check with your doctor before departure to find out if you need tablets for malaria. Digestion remedy, for example Imodium might be smart to bring to prevent diarrhoea. Painkillers, travel sickness tablets and medications which you usually use is also something you need to bring with you. If you are going to tropical regions you should bring disinfectants as it is a lot easier to get an infection here than in cold regions.

• Plaster and compress.

• Mosquito repellent stick. Even if you are travelling to places which is safe with a view to malaria, the mosquito can still be a pain in the ass. Bring a mosquito repellent stick to keep the largest swarm of gnats away.

• Mosquito net. If you are travelling to regions with malaria you should do your best to protect yourself from the mosquito. A mosquito net will protect you during the night.

• Toilet paper. It’s always smart to bring a roll of toilet paper incase the public toilet has run out. Which by the way is quite normal in some regions of the world.

• Ear plug. Secure yourself a good night sleep in a noisy dormitory or when the neighbouring rooster starts screaming a 5am.

• Washing powder. When travelling as light as possible you need to wash your clothes now and then. The local laundry will usually wash your clothing for a reasonable price, but when travelling far away from the beaten track it might be nice to have the possibility to wash the clothes yourself.

• Toilet requisites. In addition to all the usual you might find a pincette and a nail clipper useful when travelling for a long period of time. Also remember to bring a tovel.

• Travel guides. When in possession of a travel guide you rearly need to worry about where to spend the night, transport or missing the best sights.

• Photo and video cameraRemember to back-up whenever there is a chance for this. It is very unfortunate to loose all of your pictures after a few month on the road.

• Chargers and adapters.

• Sewing things. Needle and thread might become of great use. Maybe your favourite trousers tear apart and maybe you loose a button. Solid thread (e.g. fishline) may be used to repair your rucksack if it gets damaged.

• Pocket knife. You never know when you might need this. Some examples might be if you need to slice up a bread, open a tin can or cut a rope.

• Headlight with extra batteries. You never know when the light suddenly disappears. In that case a headlight will do the trick and you still got two hands free to do whatever you where doing.

• Sheet sleeping bag, or a regular sleeping bag, dependent on where you are travelling. Hostels may require you to bring your own bedclothes and you might even get a bed which is far from clean.

• Universal wash plug. If you are considering washing your clothes in a washstand or you just need the washstand filled you might find that, in poor countries, they are never equipped with a wash plug. Annoying? Yes.

• String. Can be used to a lot of things. Use your imagination (e.g. dry your clothes).

• Toys. During a journey it might be a lot of waiting, long bus-, train- and flying trips and long nights without amusements. In this case it might be a good idea to bring a deck of cards or a trevellers game of some kind. This is also a nice way to get in touch with other travellers or locals.

• Cup, deep plate and eating utensils. Sometimes it is practical to eat on the bus or the train. Light eating and drinking utensils might come in handy in that case.

• Ballpoint pen and writing pad. When entering or leaving countries you need to fill out various forms, you also need a place to write down the e-mail address you get from new friends. Some pepole like to write a diary from the journey or at least make a note of practical information like when the bus or the train leaves. Where the bank is, the hostels address etc.

Packing your rucksack can be difficult. Very difficult! Here are some tip for you who have trouble getting all of your gear into your rucksack or don’t have any idea of which things to pack.

Clothing

The golden rule is: Lay all the things you think you need on your bed - put half of it back in the closet. If you are going to be on the same place throghout the entire vacation, you can allow yourself to bring certain “unnessesary” items or clothes like high heels or a ballroom dress, but as a backpacker you want the rucksack to be as light as possible. After all you’re the one that’s supposed to carry it everywhere where you go. Maximum weight should absolutely not exceed 15 kg - that would just be stupid. What if you find out that you are missing something? Well, there’s always somewhere along the road where you can get it. Even better, it’s probably much cheaper than back home. Also remember that you need room for souvenirs in your rucksack!