Do the preparations for a near-year-long round-the-world trip ever really finish? Today is the day that my wife and I take off, destination Ho Chi Minh City, to begin a tour of SE Asia, Australia, New Zealand and S America. I feel wholly unprepared to embark on this journey.
Despite having booked all flights and destinations for the next year, organised accommodation, got vaccinations, visas, new passports, mosquito repellent, gadgets, rucksacks, hiking gear, snake-bite kit (!), booked camper van rental, Inca trail, salt flats jeep travel, Galapagos tour, checked and double-checked the schedule, not to mention packing up a flat, including selling furniture, storing personal items, closing accounts, notifying utility providers, and saying farewell to friends and family, it still feels that there are things left undone. I suspect it will feel this way until the journey is underway.
Granted that I cannot micro-plan the next 11 months (nor would I want to), there are certain important things that must be (or are more easily) organised prior to setting off. However, when is preparedness necessary and sensible to avoid later dismay and when does it start to suck all the joy and spontaneity from a trip? This varies according to personal preference and attitude. I am comfortable that we have enough of a structure to the trip to be able to enjoy ourselves safely while still allowing for the serendipity that makes travelling so exciting.
Off we go...
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