As we wrapped up our Asia trip, I thought it would be worthwhile summarizing the lessons we learned, and advice we can give, for travelling and enjoying different places at a slow place for extended periods. We travelled through six different countries in eighty-eight days. We stayed in twenty -even different places and took numerous flights, trains, buses, subways, ferries, boats, tuk-tuks, taxis, and even ropeways. We walked a lot, averaging more than four miles per day, getting up to seven some days. We carried two suitcases, one duffle bag and two backpacks. Except for some specialized tours in some places, we did everything on our own, from selecting where to go, making arrangements and executing the plan.
So, here are some thoughts we can share:
· A very important part of our travel was being in constant touch with our friends and family. We used all different types of media for doing that---WhatsApp (text, phone, video), FaceBook, Instagram, text messages, and emails. We also created a website/Blog for letting people know what we were doing and articulating our observations. Getting away from it all may sound good, but for such an extended period, we found that keeping our routine in US was a very good idea.
· You can do that through T-Mobile’s international plan that allows free data almost anywhere in the world. We could use all our Apps on the road without worrying about extra charges. For larger data dump (uploading photos), or downloads, we used hotel WiFi. Some hotels had good WiFi, some did not.
· We carried the following electronic equipment: my laptop, Meera’s iPad, my Kindle and our iPhones. This was a good configuration and served our needs well. My laptop was used for photo processing and uploading, tending to our website/Blog, keeping track of our expenses, doing financial transactions, and writing my diary. Meera’s iPad was her primary way to read downloaded books and communicating. In addition, we had downloaded pdf versions of a couple of Lonely Planet books on Meera’s iPad, so we carried it to places we visited to get more information without having to retain a guide. My Kindle was my reading source, however, I did not use it as much as I thought I would. One major use of my iPhone was to use Google maps. It allowed us to find places, get directions and keep track of our progress toward destination. We got not only walking instructions but also what public transport we should use. This was a real lifesaver. In addition, we used our iPhones extensively for picture taking. Often, I left my camera and lens in hotel and used only the iPhone. We also used my iPhone to call Uber (in India) and Grab (in Thailand). Finally, we used our phones for music and reading up on news.
· We had to be very organized while settling in each place. All the chargers came out first to satisfy our thirsty little devices. The WiFi was activated next. Our toothbrushes and toilet kits would go to the same place. Closet and drawers would be filled with required clothes. A small day use backpack would be filled with my camera equipment, water bottle, our dark glasses, and maps (the physical ones in case Google maps does not work---as was the case in Laos). We never used in room safe. Our passports used to stay in one of our suitcases. There is no fear of someone stealing it.
· We carried a substantial amount of dollar notes, including many $20 ones. This proved useful in crossing borders into Laos and Cambodia (where you need to pay in dollars) and travelling through Cambodia, where dollar is the currency. It was also our emergency stash in case the ATM machines did not work at the airport and we had to get some exchange.
· Interestingly, two places where we had trouble with ATMs were the most developed countries, Hong Kong and Japan. Several times the machine rejected my card with an undecipherable explanation. I found that using a machine in a grocery store or such was a surer bet than the one in a bank. We also found out that nobody accepts Travellers Checks (we have a few from the old days) and most tellers in a bank have never seen one J. Thailand, Cambodia and Laos had plenty of ATM machines, while Japan had very few.
· We were very careful about what we ate and drank in India. Besides that, we did not exercise that much caution. I have no dietary restrictions, so I ate practically everything and had no problem, except one episode of diarrhea in Laos. I attribute that to chicken I ate while visiting a school as an English teacher. I had taken some prescription antibiotics for just this purpose, and it worked. Later, on the last day of our travel, Meera had stomach cramps and diarrhea and again Imodium (purchased in Laos) and antibiotic helped.
· The only places we took guided tours or had a guide were the following: a half day tour to Ayutthaya (two-hour from Bangkok), a half day tour by an off-road vehicle in Koh Samui, a one day guided hike near Chiang Rai, a two-day personal guided tour of Angkor Wat and lake Tonle Sap near Siem Reap, and a one day drive to a national park near the same town. We did everything else on our own.
· Getting laundry done did not turn out to be a major problem. In Thailand, Laos and Cambodia we found a service near our hotel that would wash/dry/fold your clothes at a very reasonable rate based on weight. In japan, that was not possible, however, in Osaka, we stayed in a residential hotel that had a laundry machine in the room. To dry, you hang clothes on a rack and put the contraption in the bathroom. Then you heat the bathroom for four hours. Voilà, dry clothes.
· We had to carry clothes for very hot weather and cold one. India and Hong Kong were cool, Japan, cold. The rest were very hot. This made our suitcases quite heavy. I am sure, we will be able to lighten our load the next time by selecting destinations with similar weather.
· We found that being physically fit helped a lot while travelling. Just carrying the luggage required some level of fitness. Then was our mode of doing things which required a lot of waking, in very hot weather some days and cold and rainy on some others. Of course, hiking and biking are optional activities, but participating in them added to the enjoyment of the trip.
· Being a vegetarian is a big problem in one of the countries we visited…Japan. Not only are the menu items limited, most of the time they do not understand what being vegetarian is. The menus are almost always in Japanese and you have to rely on picture to guess what the item is. Having bits of ham pop up in a “vegetarian” dish is something we had to get used to. I have no dietary restriction, so I enjoyed food in Japan, but for Meera, it was a different story. One saving grace was that she does eat some types of seafood, like shrimp. So, she could find tempuras to eat. In the other countries, vegetarian food was more easily available. Also, in most places, we could find Indian food, so that helped give us our periodic spice fix.
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