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Planning
This is the most important part of your trip,
all mistakes made now will have an effect on your journey,
sometime it works for the better but more often it doesn't.
So what to do ???
A./ Where
we are going is it? hot/cold, wet/dry, summer/winter, spring/autumn
even Africa has some bitter cold places if you do not have the right
clothing. Remember 3 or 4 layers of thin light clothing is much
better insulation than 1 thick heavy layer. It also gives you more
control over the different temperatures, is also usually easier
to carry and it gives you more changes between washes. Of course
if you are doing something like mountaineering or skiing the appropriate
clothing is a dire necessity,
Believe me I've been there :-)
B./ What is
the money changing situation like? Is it easier to change US or
Sterling, do you get a better rate for a particular currency, If
you are going to out of the way places US or Sterling is the only
way to go, take some of both you would be surprised at the difference
in values sometimes. Are there plenty of exchange places
or are they few and far between? Is there a limit to what you are
allowed to take into a country? Some countries DO
set a limit so be careful, I took over the limit into Tanzania with
the intention of using the black market to finance the rest of my
trip, believe me it is not worth the risk. I was stopped at customs
and searched, luckily they did not find it, but I tell you, I did
not know a human being could sweat so much. :-)
C./ Are you
the type that needs a preset route or do you like to roam as the
journey unwinds? If you are tied to time be sure to check that you
have all the necessary visas BEFORE leaving
home, it took me 8 days to get a visa from Katmandu, Nepal to Lhasa,
Tibet, not only is it the time, you are usually required to attend
the consulate or local travel agents fairly often. I think we had
to go about 4 or 5 times before we finally got it, in the meantime
we could not travel very far, so plan this well in advance. It sometimes
takes months to get the appropriate visas. Another thing to check
is the local timetables for everything you will be using, planes,
boats, coaches, it is so easy to spend days waiting to get to your
next destination. Of course if you are lucky like me only good things
happen, I was leaving Lhasa to go to Chendu, China (a fantastic
place) we had the tickets already booked, we spent about 1 1/2 hours
by taxi ride to the airport, gave our bags for checking and loading
and then all hell broke loose, the Chinese army moved into the airport
and commandeered our plane, no matter what we said they were going
home and to hell with us paying passengers. It cost us an extra
$50.00 US each to get out the same day, which when you think we
were living on maybe $5.00 US per day it was a large amount to pay.
Fortunately I guess this doesn't happen to everyone, only the lucky
guys that travel with me. :-)
These are some books that may help with your
planning
Rough
Guides | Lonely
Planet | Berlitz
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