Preparations

Arrangements and Preparation of Papers for my Round the World Trip

What to Arrange for a Trip Around the World

Preparing and arranging a few things before jumping into the great adventure of travelling around the world is very important. Obviously planning and packing will take up a lot of preparation time as well, but what needs to be addressed early on are issues that cannot be taken care of easily once you are on the road. The main items that want to be arranged are probably Immunizations, Visas and Travel Insurance.

Immunizations

Since immunizations require doctor’s appointments, evaluations of what is needed and a certain time frame to be done, it is important to start with them as early as possible. My third Hep. B vaccination for example had to be taken 6 months after the first dose. This meant that I had to find a doctor and the appropriate vaccine for the last shot while I was already travelling. This took up a lot of my time and should by all means be avoided. The Rabies vaccination was difficult to get in the US and it required going to an emergency department and convincing the doctors to give the vaccine as preventative shots.

The list below represents each immunization that I personally had over time. Since not all of them are actually necessary depending on where exactly you are going, please make sure to consult a knowledgeable doctor or travel clinic beforehand.

Immunizations:                       Comments:

• Yellow Fewer                         – required by some countries
• Hepatitis A                             – 3 doses – allow time!
• Hepatitis B                             – 3 doses – allow time!
• Rabies                                   – 3 doses – allow time
• Tetanus                                 – Tdap combined
• Diphtheria                              – Tdap combined
• Pertussis                               – Tdap combined
• Typhoid                                  – 4 oral doses, offset
• Polio                                       – simple injection
• Meningitis                               – simple injection
• Flu Shot                                  – debatable
• Japanese Encephalitis          – not really necessary

Visas

Checking the visa requirements for each country you are considering travelling to is another very important thing to do early on. Depending on your home country you might need to apply for a lot of visas beforehand and a few of them actually require a substantial amount of work and time. Some visas on the other hand are easy to come by while travelling and can be arranged at the border or in neighboring countries. But if you are planning on going to places like Russia, please make sure to check all visa requirements very carefully as you might have to return to your home country in order to apply for this visa.

Below is a list of visas that I had to get for my travels. The only visa that I applied for from home was the visa for India. This turned out to be a big mistake because it was valid from the point of issuance and I wasn’t able to reach India until a couple of months later. So make sure to consider carefully when, where and how to acquire all necessary visas.

Visa Countries:                     Comments:

• Australia                                 – online registration
• Vietnam                                  – applied for in Bangkok
• Laos                                       – received at Border
• Cambodia                              – e-Visa
• China                                      – applied for in Hong Kong
• Mongolia                                – applied for in Seoul
• Russia                                    – paid agency in Beijing
• India                                        – at home and in Bangkok
• Nepal                                      – received at Border
• Tibet                                       – paid agency in Kathmandu
• Indonesia                               – border, extension in Mataram
• Sri Lanka                               – online visa application
• Myanmar                                – applied for in Bangkok

Travel Insurance

Unfortunately having Travel Insurance is a luxury for some people, so not everyone I met while travelling actually had one. I personally never had to use it, but I strongly recommend having insurance for that emergency that we never even like to think about.

The reason for not having Travel Insurance can only be the expense, which some people cannot afford. After living in the US for many years I considered travelling with my existing global insurance as Travel Insurance, but after realizing that maintaining it would have cost me 500 Dollars per month, keeping this insurance while having no income was no feasible option. Luckily I was able to switch back to my European insurance and managed to receive excellent Travel Insurance with full coverage for as little as 30 Euros per month.

So depending on your home country, you might need to do some research to figure out which Travel Insurance would be the best deal for you. There are also many online insurances that travellers like to use, but since I personally never used them, I don’t feel comfortable recommending one over the other. But whatever you decide to do, please make sure to look into all of these issues early on in order to have ample time to find proper solutions.

Next Page:

Planning

• What to plan for a Trip
• Travelling versus Vacation
• Destination and Travel style
• More Arrangements, less Planning

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