today I was wondering, if I didn't have too much time to plan my trip.
yes, of course it is nice to have enough time to think about everything... but does it really have to be everything??

I had time to read through loads of blogs and forums about big travels and with the security information provided on these blogs I got the impression, that the whole world is super-dangerous, everybody will only want to steal stuff from me, even if I hide all my money and credit cards in my underwear...

oh, and of course: I had time to check which different kinds of diseases I could have in which parts of the world... horrible! Now I have the impression of being a walking pharmacy

so, yes, the last days here were definitely too much. too much time to think about what else I might need - and even worse: enough time to buy these things ;)

and today I spent some time just making my backpack lighter by getting rid of stuff that I do NOT necessarily need on my trip, as tomorrow is THE BIG DAY!!

voilà: me with my packed backpack: 60l-volume on the back (16kg), 20l-volume in the front (8kg)...

After taking the decision of making this big trip, I was occupied with finding out how?!

I didn't only ask friends, who had been travelling around the world, about tips (big thanks go out to Rebekka and Thomas), but I also found out a lot through various blogs of worldtravellers.
Here I definitely want to mention a really helpful blog as it contains loads of information about the costs of such a trip, the best ways of getting to various destinations, general preparations, and tremendous photos....
And I was really lucky: the writer was taking quite a similar route like the one I had in my mind so all the information perfectly applied to me - thanks a lot Armin, you really made everything so much easier to me ;)
http://www.easybackpacker.com

Even though the final goal of my blog will not be to help future world-travellers with their travel preparations, I want to give you at least a slight idea about what I was occupied with within the last few months:

Travel Agency
After checking various travel agencies about round the world tickets, I finally opted for Travel Nation http://www.travelnation.co.uk/ - the agency Thomas recommended me. And he was right: they are really competent and helpful. After having a long chat via telephone with one travel agent from the agency I finally booked the round-the-world-ticket with them, which includes 6 flights (London-Moscow, Singapur-Sydney, Sydney-Auckland, Auckland-Fidji, Fidji-LA, NY-London). The most important feature of this ticket is that the actual dates of all but the first flight can be changed free of charge up to one year! This is simply indispensable, as I don't know how long I want to stay in the various countries on my route...

Travel Insurance
I was convinced for quite a while that with my credit card I had a free travel insurance. But in fact, I don't: they only insure travels up to 90 days. So I finally bought a policy with the travel insurance through my travel agency. I simply hope I will never need it
("Gott behüte uns vor allem, was noch ein Glück ist" - Tante Jolesch...)

Visa
Oh, such an annoyance applying for visas when you're used to travelling within Schengen...
My personal Top-4 of the consulates of the 4 ambassies:
clear winner: Mongolia: easy to get the invitation letter from the guesthouse, they do answer the phone!!, are nice and helpful and issued my visa within 2 days!
ex aequo: Vietnam and China : both no problem when you bring all required documents.
clear loser: Russia: what a pain in the a**

Here I definitely have to thank Armin again, who has so many useful information about visas to the countries on my route - check out his blog: http://www.easybackpacker.com/2010/09/13/travel-preparation/

Transsiberian Ticket
Having been to Russia years ago, that not only applying for visa is annoying, but it is also not easy to get train tickets. There are many blogs about the transiberian railways, all say different things about how to get tickets for the traing. I finally bought the recommended City Star ticket in Bratislava and my friend in Moscow bought the necessary sleepers reservations for it - спасибо огромное!!
http://citystarticket.blogspot.com/

Injections and medication
Being a quite healthy person, who is hardly ever ill, it was quite unusual for me, having to pay so much not only for injections but also for "just-in-case" medications - and again Tante Joleschs saying mentionned above would perfectly fit in here...

Equipment
Since I wasn't backpacking before this trip, I was not equipped for the trip at all. The last 2 weeks I spend many hours in different outdoor-shops buying high-quality boots, a jacket, a backpack...

Giving up my flat
Sounds easy, is however still quite time consuming: Moving out, packing the stuff I want to keep, selling my furniture, making a small flee market to get rid of all the stuff I had collected over the years...

and last but not least:

Party
I wouldn't have left Vienna without making a big party :)

What a great night: celebrating my graduation, my birthday and my big trip all at once in my beloved pub! Many friends coming over (even from Vorarlberg - thank you girls for taking the long way - that was great!!), loads of great seful presents, live music playing, dancing on the bar...


I HAD A GREAT TIME!

isn't everybody sometimes dreaming of just getting away?

the great escape....

To be honest, I don't really remember, when I personally started dreaming of getting away, travelling, seeing the world; I don't remember, since when I am infected with this dream...
I have the impression, that this idea has always been there, somewhere in my mind, having his on little cosy place.

And as I was always busy studying, working, travelling a bit through Europe, the idea stayed in his place, settled there, stayed cosy, didn't move; finally maybe even fell asleep.

I might not remember, since when I am infected with this small and unclear dream, but I definitely do remember, that it came to the surface of my mind and got more concrete around half a year ago, when the end of my studies came close to grasp. And since that moment, when this idea moved from it's cosy place, I started not only dreaming about it, but seriously considering turning it into reality:

I started thinking about where I actually wanted to go, which route to take, about how to put this idea into reality. I surfed the internet, read various blogs, chatted with friends who had been travelling, went to travel agencies. And with the time, this idea got more and more concrete. However, there was still the actual decision to take...

I can't say anymore, what made me finally taking the decision of realising this dream, but to be honest, it was not the hardest decision to take ;)
I guess it was simply the fact, that after finishing my studies nothing was arguing against doing it. Unromantic, but true :)

As I write these words now, I am still in Vienna, 3 weeks before I will finally leave the country. Since my decision of making this trip and today I was mainly occupied with the organisation of the trip. After deciding, I didn't really think that much about what the trip actually means to me:

This dream is not only about seeing the world and travelling.
A not unimportant part of this personal little dream is about getting away. Yes,
I do admit, that this trip is an escape and a search at the same time:
An escape from the big question of what I want to do in my life. It is also about getting light and leaving behind.
And eventually this trip is also a journey - sorry for being pathetic - to find myself.

The little prince, my Schutzengelmaus and the following song will always accompany me: Baz Luhrmann - Sunscreen

*************************************************************************

about myself
My name is Silke. I am now (well, in two days) 27 years old. Even though I grew up in a tiny little village in the west of Austria I would consider Vienna to be my home, as I live there since I started studying. After these 8 years of studies, a few longer and shorter trips within Europe, I needed to see something new and leave my cosy life here in Vienna behind me - at least for a little while...
Direction: eastwards - or could you have imagined a trip around the world without taking the transiberian?!

(Photo: Oliver Neunteufel)