Advice and stuff we wished we knew before
Skills to learn
* Manual transmission
* Drive a motorcycle
* How to entertain (singing, dancing, magic tricks, jokes)
Preparation advice:
- Photocopy and laminate your passport. You can shrink the photocopy before printing to save space.
- Prepare passport photos: Take a digital photograph of yourself against a blank background. Resize to 2x2". In Photoshop, make 2" grids on a 4x6" canvas. Copy and tile your photo in that grid six times. Print and cut them out when needed. Voila! Passport photos super-cheap. Each time you forget, it'll cost you a couple dollars on the road.
- Vaccinations: check out prices in the countries you visit and consider getting them once you arrive. If you are going to Africa, you may need to get your yellow fever vaccination in advance. Otherwise, vaccines are often cheaper outside the U.S. Each Japanese encephalitis shot (a series of 2) was $250 in the US, $130 in France, and $20 in Thailand! Yellow fever is cheap in Africa and SE Asia. Hepatitis vaccines are also a bit cheaper overseas.
Before you arrive, google this stuff:
- Places to stay?
- General accommodation prices?
- Couchsearch?
- Water safe to drink?
- Common scams?
After getting sucked in Macedonia, we learned to do a bit of research. Since then, we've saved a bit on extraneous visas and fees.
- Zoom in on the area and download map data on Google Maps application
- Where will the bus/train drop you off?
- Phrases in local language (Hello, thank you, yes, no)?
- Visa & entry requirements?
Other stuff:
- Things to do?
- Local meet ups?
* Manual transmission
* Drive a motorcycle
* How to entertain (singing, dancing, magic tricks, jokes)
Preparation advice:
- Photocopy and laminate your passport. You can shrink the photocopy before printing to save space.
- Prepare passport photos: Take a digital photograph of yourself against a blank background. Resize to 2x2". In Photoshop, make 2" grids on a 4x6" canvas. Copy and tile your photo in that grid six times. Print and cut them out when needed. Voila! Passport photos super-cheap. Each time you forget, it'll cost you a couple dollars on the road.
- Vaccinations: check out prices in the countries you visit and consider getting them once you arrive. If you are going to Africa, you may need to get your yellow fever vaccination in advance. Otherwise, vaccines are often cheaper outside the U.S. Each Japanese encephalitis shot (a series of 2) was $250 in the US, $130 in France, and $20 in Thailand! Yellow fever is cheap in Africa and SE Asia. Hepatitis vaccines are also a bit cheaper overseas.
Before you arrive, google this stuff:
- Places to stay?
- General accommodation prices?
- Couchsearch?
- Water safe to drink?
- Common scams?
After getting sucked in Macedonia, we learned to do a bit of research. Since then, we've saved a bit on extraneous visas and fees.
- Zoom in on the area and download map data on Google Maps application
- Where will the bus/train drop you off?
- Phrases in local language (Hello, thank you, yes, no)?
- Visa & entry requirements?
Other stuff:
- Things to do?
- Local meet ups?
