Around the World Trip: Couchsurfing

Have you ever been somewhere, maybe another country, and just felt like an outsider looking in? As kids my mom would invite young Japanese girls to stay with us for a week or two as a part of an exchange program. Having served a mission in Japan, my mom could communicate with them and put them at ease. I remember laughing at how much they enjoyed the simplest things like our trampoline or the candy store at the mall. Although we took them to the tourist hot spots, they seem more excited by our home, the posters of boy bands on my sister’s wall and our daily life. Preparing to travel around the world I had very little interest in just seeing the buildings or tourist sites. I wanted to see the lives of the people. I know a few days or even weeks is often not long enough to really experience a culture but with groups like Couchsurfing, I think it is possible.

When I was first introduced I thought Couchsurfing was a way for creepy people to get cheap travelers like me to stay in their homes out of desperation. How wrong I was. Couchsurfing is a website that connects travelers who want something more out of their experience to hosts willing to house and introduce such travelers to their home. At no cost it works on a pay it forward system. In the past five years I have stayed in people’s homes across more than 10 countries. I have slept in small villages, Bedouin caves, huge mansions, shantytowns and everything else in between. And when I am not traveling I am able to play host to travelers coming to NYC.

The people I have met have changed my perspective on life and have taught me that we are not just citizens of our small community, but of a worldwide neighborhood. We are global citizens and as such we have the opportunity to care for one another. Couchsurfing for me started out as an alternative to hotels but I immediately learned it is not a way to find free accommodations. It is a way to form friendships and see into a culture that a building or tour group could never offer.  Regardless of our budget I know that my husband and I will continue to Couchsurf and host those doing the same.
*Although people maybe worried about trying it out considered this: A hotel views you as a customer and in some places just as a means to income, a Couchsurfing views you as a friend and guest in their home- as a result they care for you as such.

*no tour guide can take you to the hole in the wall that serves the best Dosa in the World*

Around the World Trip: Packing to go Backpacking

*hey if you forget something you can always find a used one in the pile*

Both times I have traveled around the world I was gone for about 3 months. To be honest 3 months was on the short end compared to travelers we would meet who had been on the road for close to a year. And when it came to packing I think we had similar amounts of stuff. I guess that is what happens when everything you pack goes on your pack- you find ways to carry less!

Both times I followed the same rule- if it was heavy or needed a lot of care- DON'T TAKE IT! Of course if you are taking suitcases and staying in hotels then take what you want. But in the case of back packing remember it means packing everything in my case on my small weak and pathetic back. People hear that we back packed and sometimes assume that means we walked everywhere. Now, we did walk A LOT but not always. It just means that when transporting our things and on occasion when lost or just wandering it is on our backs.

So finally the list!
2 pairs of bottoms (either pants or shorts- I took one pair of shorts and a nice pair of linen pants that didn't wrinkle easily and were very light weight)
3 shirts (groooosss I know I know. only three shirts but to be honest it was all I could do)
2 pairs of shoes (one for long walks/hiking I would recommend Keens or Chacos I have both and love them each a lot, and one pair of dressier shoes. For me this was a nicer brown sandal and for my man it was a pair of slip on vans- we prefer foot wear that does not require socks)
1 nice dress or outfit (it was important for us to attend church while traveling and my sun dress double for nice dinners and evenings when I wanted to look clean)
underwear (I wont tell you how much we took, well I took more than him but to each his own on this one)
Swim suite (I also take a spare just in case)
make up (yes I still wanted to feel pretty at times- remember you normally take a lot of photos on trips so look good! but only take as much as can fit in a small ziplock. I recommend waterproof mascara, blush, tinted chapstick, and concealer.)
Sunscreen (coming from a person who gets burned more than my red headed man this is essential. and it normally costs a lot oversees so load up on travel sizes at walmart!)
Deodorant (just because you are backpacking does not give you an excuse to smell like one)
All Purpose Soap (there are many different brands and I have used a few of them. Just get one for hair, body and clothes and you should be fine as a little goes a very long way.)
First Aide (bandaids, neosporin, asprin, tweezers- my basics. Yes you can buy them anywhere but when you need them they are always harder to find so just pack them)
Rain Jacket/Pancho (no matter where you go you might get some chilly winds or rain so have something ready. The smaller the better)
Small Day Bag (really small bag like a draw string or fanny pack for those day hikes or overnights when you can stash your bag else where)
Camera (if photography is your thing you might drop some other items to make space for this guy. We took our nice camera and no it wasn't stolen but you have to be careful and not show it off)
Passport and copies of all important documents in a ziplock! (better safe than sorry.)
*We also took one of our IPhones on our last trip. This way we could get wifi where it was available without having to pay for using a computer and it came in handy as another fast reach camera.

*The faster the drying the better- learned the hard way*

I have never come across a culture that didn't wash their clothes (besides that time I lived with my two brothers in college....) so don't worry you can find a place to get your laundry done or just do it yourself in the bathtub, or sink.
Because we packed so few shirts after a few weeks or when they reached the point of no return we simply threw them away and looked for a cheap street market or thrift store to replace them. Rotating items was more fun and helped us not get bored of our limited options.

*Sorry its fuzzy but here is the only pic of us with our packs!- yes mine is small, like me*

The Back Pack--- there are loads of great packs out there but my man and I LOVE Osprey Packs. Not only do they have a great life time guarantee but they send them back to you really fast. Once a squirrel ate through my man's bag and they fixed it up just in time for us to leave on another trip.  Just make sure you get a pack that is fitted for you. Mine is small and can actually be considered a day pack for some, but for me it works great.

Now a note on shopping while pack backing- do it! get what you want but remember you are carrying it home. My husband and I use a method that was handed down from my father and mother. Have you ever purchased something that at the time, in that place was really cool but then returned home and found that it does not belong in your closet or on your body? Simply this means are you liking that sequined cowgirl shirt because you are in Cody Wyoming and feel that if you bought it you would fit in really well with the other cowgirls in Cody. This way of thinking is now coined as the Cody Syndrome. Would you really wear it at home and not look like a crazy person? It also goes for getting your hair braided while on a cruise- no it has never looked good on a white girl, sorry. Be realistic, remember your back and I promise you wont buy too much.

Around the World Trip: Budget

Of all the questions I get, “how did you afford it?” is the one I hear the most. And trust me before I traveled I wondered the same thing. I used to assume that you only traveled if your parents were willing to back your trip. Over time I have meet tons of people who have found a way to do it. This is the way I did- it definitely isn't the same for everyone but hopefully it will help you brainstorm ways you can make your dreams reality. 

*Myanmar*

I believe that if you desire something enough you will work for it and sacrifice things of lesser value, to obtain it. While planning for both trips I was attending school full time and working at least one job. To afford the trip I saved what I earned and found ways to cut costs in other areas. The fall before my first trip Jaims and I learned how to glean. Lucky for us a lot of people in our small town had huge gardens and not enough mouths to feed. We willingly accepted squash, apples, berries, tomatoes, zucchinis or you name it to add to our pantry. We were not picky and would find creative ways to prepare the food we had. That fall we mastered the skill of making homemade applesauce. We had soo much that we were even able to share it with anyone willing to try and on occasion trade it for other goods. Already being rather thrifty, any new clothes during this season, came from the local second hand store.  I tired really hard to only purchase new clothes when it was necessary. We still enjoyed life fully and would go to the dollar movies and ride our bikes around town. We even ate out on occasion. We just had to be creative in finding ways to have fun without spending our saved up travel fund.  Think of ways you can save or items you can remove from your spending. I laugh when people tell me they are not able to afford traveling while they hold a Starbucks Coffee in one hand and a designer bag in the other. They can afford it but choose not to. Living in a city where gluttony is very easily available we can forget how much we are spending. If you eat out once a day for $10 and get a $5 cup of coffee and then spend even as little as $40 on alcoholic beverages a week you are spending over $7,000 a year on coffee, eating out and drinking. Now this is an extremely low estimate. But for me I knew if I cut these down or completely out in my case since I don’t drink, I could easily afford 3 months traveling around the world. What you are wiling to sacrifice in order to fulfill your desires or dreams is completely in your hands. I know my example may seem extreme, but sometimes we must do extreme things in order to achieve our dreams.

*one of the few street food items I didn't try ick*

When deciding where to go, we looked at places based on cost of living and found a good variety. We figure London will be very pricy but India is ridiculously cheap. We actually spent almost the same amount of money in London for 4 days that we did for a month in India! Yeah no joke. Crazy cheap. We googled budget estimates for  each country and found average costs of hostels and street food- which I LOVE, and transportation costs. We ran simple equations to figure out just how much we would need. We of course than planned on bringing at least 20% more than our estimate. Both times I broke even with my expected budget taking into account that some places had hidden expenses, like booking a flight out of Cairo right before the protests started in June 2012. And other places were actually cheaper either because we decided to couchsurf  (Stay tuned for an upcoming post on how much I LOVE couchsurfing) or were there during low season. You can travel on just about any budget while still having a great time. Just plan ahead and know what you are willing to spend based on what you want to do.

*hot and sweaty in a bus and they still wanted to be our friends!*

My husband was really good about keeping track of our spending. We carried a small little notebook with us and at the end of every week would tally our costs in the following areas: transportation, food, hotel/hostel, activities (tours or classes), tips, extras (gifts for ourselves and occasionally for family). If I found that we were spending less in one area than we guess I would take that money and move it over to the extras area for some fun spending or we would consider an extra activity like renting horses for the day. Other times we let it transfer over to the next country as a safety net which we ended up needing more than once. 

Around the World Trip: Weather

*just getting dressed to head to the beach! I love Hawaii.*

Weather for me is very important. If I could live on a beach I would if for no other reason than to never be cold. Being raised in Colorado one would guess I was acclimated to harsh conditions when in reality I learned how to dress warmly and avoid leaving my house. 

My first round the world trip we decided to only go to warm climates. This made packing very very easy. With my husband on the other hand we did a little of both. We spent the first few weeks in Peru, in June, which is during their winter. We packed lots of warm coats and sweaters that sadly filled our small bags. Because it was our first stop we knew that we could leave all of the warm cloths in Peru before we headed on to our next destination. You can often offer them to the hotel or hostel and ask if they know of anyone who could use some extra layers. They are normally more than willing to pass them on. Our backs were grateful for the break. Remember, you can always buy extra cloths while you travel. For more packing tips read here. On both trips we traveled during our summer, which was peak traveling season for some cities and monsoon season for others. We love the rain so it was a price we were willing to pay.  In some areas the rain meant less visitors so hotels were cheaper and we had beaches to ourselves.

When willing to gamble with the weather take full advantage of those warm days or sunny hours. A week in Hawaii only gave us 2 days of sun and a lot of wind and rain. We had to change our plans but the minute the sky cleared we were in the water!

Remember traveling often means being outside for extended periods of time so be prepared. Wear clothes you can layer incase the weather changes while you are out. And if you have a nice camera have proper cases to protect it from the rain, snow, sand or what ever else you will be facing!

Around the World Trip: Culture

The culture of a place can greatly influence how you travel and if you will enjoy your time there. Culture can include food, customs, language and religion. If you feel uncomfortable not knowing the language, what are you willing to do? Will you take classes? Is a small dictionary enough? Are you ok if people don’t understand everything you say? What are you willing to eat? Yes now a days you can find westernized fast food just about everywhere, welcome to global obesity, but do you want that to be your every meal? Do you want to go somewhere with lots of outdoor adventure or calm beaches? Is there a culture you are interested in and want to learn more about? As you ask these questions make a list of what matters most to you in traveling and then find countries that fit that description. I know some of my friends would love the food of Vietnam but would not be willing to take uncomfortable sleeper busses along the coast. Of course they can fly but they also want to spend more time on islands, so instead of Vietnam they are going to Thailand. There are countless guides available so do some google image searches and read!

I belief that every culture has something beautiful to teach us. While in Thailand I learned how significant a smile is. I had never before felt so welcomed and loved in a place where no one understood me.  As a result I now try to smile at more people, even here on the streets of NYC. I often get concerned looks, as if people are checking to see if I am ok. Oh well, one step at a time. Even if the culture may seem harsh or cold I encourage you to find something good in it. I mean why are we traveling if not to experience new things and learn?  

*toilets in Japan really do solve all my bathroom needs! oh what you can discover.*

My First Around the World Trip Itinerary

Once my best friend and I learned about the magical around the world ticket and we found STA, the company we wanted to go through for the tickets, we had to figure where we wanted to go and the dates we wanted to fly in and out of each location for our very first Round the World Trip!!! Some round the world tickets offer great flexibility with being able to book flights as you go. Since we only had 3 months to travel we figured that the preset dates were better for us. This way we could pace ourselves and not have to worry about running out of time at the end of the summer.

Where to go? For us this was in some ways easy. We had served as mission companions in Slovenia and had often dreamed about going back there, we also joked about one day visiting Thailand together when we were older. Well now is as good a time as ever right? So we had 2 of our desired 6 places. Jaims mentioned that she had friends in Singapore and would like to visit them. Knowing nothing of Singapore I agreed. We then agreed on India, Hawaii (I know I know not foreign, but hey what a great way to break up a flight across the ocean!), and Italy.

Our rough plan looked like this: (I would recommend using a spread sheet to include all of the details like dates, places you want to go, helpful websites, possible activities ect…)

Hawaii (6-7 days; BYUH, beach time) Singapore (4 days; time with friends) Thailand/Cambodia (three weeks; Bangkok, Koh Phangan, Siem Reap, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai) India/Chennai/Southern States (13 days?; Chennai, Bangalore, Mangalore, Kochi, Mysore)  Northern India (14 days; Amritsarm Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, Dharamsala) London (4 days- extended layover; Cambridge?) Zagreb (1 days) Slovenia (6 days; Celje, Maribor, Ljubljana, Bled) Italy (11 days; Florence, Rome, Siena, Pisa)

When deciding where to go a few things to keep in mind are distance/transportation, culture, safety, weather, cost, flexibility, travel party and personal connections. For the sake of interest I am going to write about each of these in separate posts. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment and I would love to help you in planning your adventure!