As I've told some of you about my travels, I've been met with quite a few questions about how I'll get from here to there, how I'll pay for it, how I'll communicate, and how I'll arrive back home safely, just to name a few. I thought I would take a few minutes to try and address some of these more practical issues before the trip (and some not-so-practical adventures) begins...
1. How will you be safe traveling by yourself?
Answer: It's a known fact that women traveling by themselves are not as safe as men traveling by themselves or women traveling with companions. Yes, I get it - it's not the safest thing for me to be traveling alone. However, I also know that I've previously traveled by myself - albeit briefly - in Europe, in India, in Hong Kong, in Tokyo, and in Costa Rica and arrived home safely from all of these places. Ok, yes, these destinations safer than Africa or South America, but I am comfortable with the idea that I will be myself and that I will be lonely at times. I've lived in one of the largest metropolitan cities in the U.S. for over five years and have a good sense of safe and unsafe environments, when it's time to head inside, when it's time to walk to a crowded area, when it's time to make friends with the people around me, and when it's time to just pay an extra $100 to ensure that I can get a good night's rest. I've also read two travel resource books by women travelers, studied the State Department website and registered my trip online, signed up on couch surfing.com, read travel boards, copied my itinerary for friends and family at home, and made contacts as many places as I can ahead of time. I've done my research, I've tried to prepare, and at the end of the day, I'll rely on the instinct that has seen me through two European backpacking trips, two study abroad trips, a four month stint in India, travel in SE Asia, and five years of living downtown Chicago. Could something bad happen? Yes. Have I done everything I can to prepare? Yes. Will the fear of something happening hold me back from taking the trip of a lifetime? Absolutely not.
3. You're never going to be able to talk to Ben. What are you going to do?
Answer: This is crazy. In the world we live in, of course I'll talk to Ben. Will it be as often as I talk to him now? Probably not. But in the age of email, blogs, international cell phones, skype, and webcams (all of which I have), we will figure it out. I'm also crossing my fingers that I get to meet him at some point if he can take a leave. I definitely don't have a schedule right now, nor could I tell you at what time in Destination X I'll speak with him, but I do know that it's feasible.
3. What's your budget?
Answer: My budget is $65/day. My budget was created based on two factors - the average price of hotels/hostels in the locations I'm traveling to (derived from a lot of research and Lonely Planet reading), and the rent I'll receive from subletting our apartment. Now, for some of you skeptics (i.e., Ben, who commented "when have you ever subsisted on $65/day??"), I'd like to tell you that I'm committed to trying to adhere to this budget for the full six months. I think this estimate should be more than sufficient in Africa and Asia, and given that I have places to stay in Auckland, Sydney, and Hong Kong, I think that this is extremely reasonable. I'm sure there will be days that I'll have to exceed my budget, but for now, I'm sticking with this as a reasonable estimate.
4. How do you buy a plane ticket for a trip like this?
Answer: I've purchased an around-the-world ticket on American Airlines. The ticket has some perks, including a total of up to 20 segments priced based on the number of continents included on the itinerary. The dates of travel can be changed at any time, with no fee, and all segments are flown on American partners, such as British Airways, Qantas, LAN, etc. The ticket includes certain stipulations - travel must be in one direction around the world, segments can't backtrack from one continent to another, and changes to destinations are hit with a fee (of course).
My ticket includes 18 segments and is priced based on 5 continents. The economy class ticket priced at approximately $5,500, including taxes, and covers my travel to Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America, and some segments back here in the U.S. It also includes travel within each of these continents as well, such that I don't have to worry about taking local buses or trains in countries where it wouldn't be safe (see, I told you I thought about safety when I made my plans...).
If you're ever considering an around-the-world or just simply a trip with more than three continents, United also has a ticket (although they were extremely difficult to deal with), as does AirTreks, which is extremely reasonably priced and doesn't require that you travel in one direction. You just can't change any dates to your trip, which is a little constricting on a RTW.
I hope this helps to address some of your questions, but of course, please keep sending me your thoughts or any last minute reminders you can think of. I look forward to sharing my next entry with you from South Africa!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
You're Doing What??!!
I must admit that I've received a mixed bag of reactions when I've told friends and family about my trip - anything from excitement, enthusiasm, and envy to concern and confusion. "You're doing what?? You're going where?? And by yourself?? Wow - that sounds great...are you sure??" And the short answer, is a simple "yes" - I can't wait for this journey to start.
For those of you who may not have heard about my plans, perhaps I should take a step back and start from the beginning. I've always enjoyed traveling and the experiences that come from seeing some place new. I think I picked it up from my professor parents, who fortunately decided to take me on every vacation they planned - one of the many perks of being an only child. Who else has seen Napa at age 12, Vegas at age 15, and Bourbon Street at 17? My parents are avid travelers, and I attribute my love for new places and my affinity for adventure and independence to their influence.
I think my enjoyment of international travel started after my sophomore year in college, when I traveled with some fellow Volunteers to Europe. Thanks to my dear friend Paige and our rag-tag group of seven co-eds (what were we thinking??), I had an amazing journey on the requisite European college backpacking tour. My love of travel - what some (specifically my husband) refer to as a very, very expensive habit - was born, and it has since taken me back to Europe, Central America, Asia, and Australia.
This spring, I started to realize I hadn't traveled internationally in quite some time, but between the busy final months of preparation for our wedding and our honeymoon, I didn't spend too much time thinking about it. I hadn't even gotten to the honeymoon - much less had time to think about my next vacation. But it was when my husband, Ben, learned in late August of his year deployment overseas that my world here in Chicago started to feel a little Upside Down. I was overwhelmed at the idea that my husband and I would spend our first year of marriage apart. I was apprehensive about living through the dreary winter months of January through March in Chicago by myself. And, quite honestly, I wanted something to help make this year a little less tough - and that's when I started to think about traveling. Then things started to fall into place...our friends Ben and Paula graciously offered for me to stay with them in Auckland as long as I wanted. I learned about some volunteer work in Africa at exactly the same time I was hoping to visit. Family and friends-of-friends started popping up in unexpected places, places like Stellenbosch, Mauritius, and Cambodia. And, most importantly, my employer was willing to consent to my plan to take some time away from Chicago and from my job to help ease the absence of my husband and the difficulty of the next year (btw, I'm reserving my speech about how Deloitte truly is a great place to work from this blog but would happily fill up an hour of your time on this topic if you're interested).
So, I find myself only five weeks away from my departure from the U.S. for the next six months. My itinerary includes a tour of the Southern Hemisphere, an opposite side of the world than that in which most of us live - thus "Upside Down." My trip starts in London for a couple of brief days, before I head to South Africa (Capetown/Stellenbosch) and then Kenya to meet up with a group for the Global Volunteer Network to do a fundraising climb up Kilimanjaro. After our climb, we head back to Nairobi , where I will spend three weeks volunteering with the children that will benefit from our fundraising efforts. I won't tell you much more now (I'm going to keep you coming back for more!), but I can tell you that I'm thrilled for the opportunity and looking forward to the months ahead.
For an update on Ben, he's doing great. He's in wonderful spirits, and I was able to see his smiling face via webcam (albeit very poor connection) on Thanksgiving Day. He's working a lot but seems to be learning from the experience and his surroundings. I know many of you have received his update emails over the past couple of months, but if you're not on the list and would like to receive them, send me a note at rcassill@yahoo.com. You'd be inspired by his optimism, and I can guarantee you'll read significantly better writing than what you'll see here. A sincere thanks to all of our friends and family for your support, encouragement, notes, emails, and hugs over the past couple of months. We couldn't have made it this far without you.
Stay tuned for my next blog, where I'll answer some Frequently Asked Questions, including "How will you stay safe?" "When will you talk to Ben?" and, for the financially-minded, "What is your budget?"
(P.S. If you were thinking about taking a trip this year but weren't quite sure where or when, let me know - I'm welcoming travel companions!)
For those of you who may not have heard about my plans, perhaps I should take a step back and start from the beginning. I've always enjoyed traveling and the experiences that come from seeing some place new. I think I picked it up from my professor parents, who fortunately decided to take me on every vacation they planned - one of the many perks of being an only child. Who else has seen Napa at age 12, Vegas at age 15, and Bourbon Street at 17? My parents are avid travelers, and I attribute my love for new places and my affinity for adventure and independence to their influence.
I think my enjoyment of international travel started after my sophomore year in college, when I traveled with some fellow Volunteers to Europe. Thanks to my dear friend Paige and our rag-tag group of seven co-eds (what were we thinking??), I had an amazing journey on the requisite European college backpacking tour. My love of travel - what some (specifically my husband) refer to as a very, very expensive habit - was born, and it has since taken me back to Europe, Central America, Asia, and Australia.
This spring, I started to realize I hadn't traveled internationally in quite some time, but between the busy final months of preparation for our wedding and our honeymoon, I didn't spend too much time thinking about it. I hadn't even gotten to the honeymoon - much less had time to think about my next vacation. But it was when my husband, Ben, learned in late August of his year deployment overseas that my world here in Chicago started to feel a little Upside Down. I was overwhelmed at the idea that my husband and I would spend our first year of marriage apart. I was apprehensive about living through the dreary winter months of January through March in Chicago by myself. And, quite honestly, I wanted something to help make this year a little less tough - and that's when I started to think about traveling. Then things started to fall into place...our friends Ben and Paula graciously offered for me to stay with them in Auckland as long as I wanted. I learned about some volunteer work in Africa at exactly the same time I was hoping to visit. Family and friends-of-friends started popping up in unexpected places, places like Stellenbosch, Mauritius, and Cambodia. And, most importantly, my employer was willing to consent to my plan to take some time away from Chicago and from my job to help ease the absence of my husband and the difficulty of the next year (btw, I'm reserving my speech about how Deloitte truly is a great place to work from this blog but would happily fill up an hour of your time on this topic if you're interested).
So, I find myself only five weeks away from my departure from the U.S. for the next six months. My itinerary includes a tour of the Southern Hemisphere, an opposite side of the world than that in which most of us live - thus "Upside Down." My trip starts in London for a couple of brief days, before I head to South Africa (Capetown/Stellenbosch) and then Kenya to meet up with a group for the Global Volunteer Network to do a fundraising climb up Kilimanjaro. After our climb, we head back to Nairobi , where I will spend three weeks volunteering with the children that will benefit from our fundraising efforts. I won't tell you much more now (I'm going to keep you coming back for more!), but I can tell you that I'm thrilled for the opportunity and looking forward to the months ahead.
For an update on Ben, he's doing great. He's in wonderful spirits, and I was able to see his smiling face via webcam (albeit very poor connection) on Thanksgiving Day. He's working a lot but seems to be learning from the experience and his surroundings. I know many of you have received his update emails over the past couple of months, but if you're not on the list and would like to receive them, send me a note at rcassill@yahoo.com. You'd be inspired by his optimism, and I can guarantee you'll read significantly better writing than what you'll see here. A sincere thanks to all of our friends and family for your support, encouragement, notes, emails, and hugs over the past couple of months. We couldn't have made it this far without you.
Stay tuned for my next blog, where I'll answer some Frequently Asked Questions, including "How will you stay safe?" "When will you talk to Ben?" and, for the financially-minded, "What is your budget?"
(P.S. If you were thinking about taking a trip this year but weren't quite sure where or when, let me know - I'm welcoming travel companions!)
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