How to Prepare for Long Term Travel
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What is long term travel? There is no exact definition for long term travel. Depending who you talk to they may say long term travel is anything longer than three months and others may say a year. With that being said, long term travel is when you leave for an extended period of time. We know on the Passports and Coffee Podcast we focus on escaping the 9-5 and taking advantage of your PTO. So why are we are talking about long term travel?
Long term travel is the topic of discussion for this episode of the podcast because your co-host Cheraya was able to take a year long sabbatical from work where she traveled around the world for a full year by herself. This episode is to open your eyes into the world of long term travel and for you to consider taking a sabbatical if it is available to you. So let’s learn how to prepare for long term travel.
Why did i decide to travel for a year?
For the longest time all I ever wanted to do was travel, and see far away new places. I think it was my love for the reality t.v. show Amazing Race that really sparked that interest for me.
First let me tell you how I decided to take a year off from work. At the time I lived in a Minneapolis suburb where I owned a townhouse. I work in a Starbucks store, and had worked for Starbucks for nearly half my life. Having these responsibilities of homeownership and a job I was committed to, I began feeling as if I was trapped and I couldn’t leave.
I remember the moment like it was yesterday. I was sitting down at dinner with my dad and my brother, it was Father’s day of 2018. And for whatever reason we started looking at the values of homes. The value of my townhouse went up 150%. It was in that moment that I realized I could travel for a year with half that profit. And because of my tenure with Starbucks I was eligible for up to a year long unpaid sabbatical. Right then and there I knew I had to bite the bullet, sell my house, apply to take this leave, make this move and embark on an adventure of a lifetime.
How Did I plan/Budget for a year of travel
So how did I plan and budget for my year of travel? With the knowledge of how much profit I was making I simply divided that profit by 365 days and I came up with a daily budget of $47 a day. However I knew I could stretch that budget in Asia. The American dollar can stretch so much further there. Instead of $47 a day I could easily spend $20 a day and then in turn apply the remaining budget towards my time in Europe.
Now I am sure you are wondering what my daily budget included. My daily budget included my accommodation, food, transportation and any other daily expenses. I mostly stayed in hostels during this time which was my first experience staying in hostels. I stayed in some pretty cool places, like capsule hotels in Japan and sky domes in Peru. But I also have stayed in bare bone hostels for $4 a night.
Because I was I staying on a strict budget I allowed myself to splurge from time to time. For example, in Bali I was able to book a private room for $16 a night. It was fantastic! Spacious, air conditioned, the shower was even separate from the toilet (an uncommon feature).
Since my trip was a year long I didn’t plan out my trip for the entire year up front. The only thing that I had planned was making sure I was in a certain destination for a few events that I knew I couldn’t miss. Some of those must see things included viewing the cherry blossoms in Tokyo, the Venice carnival, Octoberfest, and I knew I had to be in Vietnam for Flying The Nest’s first expedition.
How did I plan my travel itinerary? I simply planned my itinerary based on where I was currently located and traveled to neighboring countries. I knew traveling to neighboring countries would be the cheapest option for me. As for transportation, I traveled by every single mode of transportation. I frequently traveled by bus and train which is my favorite way to travel. I even took a slow boat from Laos to Thailand.
One of my favorite things about traveling via land is the fact that you get to see the country side and the more authentic life of a country.
I visited 33 countries
Ok, you are going to need to grab a cup of coffee because I am about to share with you where I traveled to from beginning to end. I decided to start in Japan. Viewing the sakura was an absolute bucket list item and the peak time for viewing cherry blossoms are the end of March beginning of April which was when I was planing to start my trip. Talk about perfect timing! I spent 2 weeks in Japan seeing as much culture as I could before moving to Vietnam for the expedition.
From there I did the whole backpacker route. Sailed Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, walked throughout Ankor Wat in Cambodia, swam in kool-aid colored waters in Laos, ate all the street food in Thailand, fed monkeys at Batu Caves in Malaysia, sipped on an original Singapore sling in Singapore, and climbed a volcano at midnight to see blue fire in Indonesia.
Since I was on that side of the hemisphere I couldn’t leave without flying to New Zealand. I spent almost 3 weeks road tripping from the north island to the south island. From there I hopped over to Australia to see kangaroos and Koalas.
Approaching the end of the first half of my year, I hopped on a plane and made my way to London. I visited Buckingham palace in England, drank wine under the Eiffel tower in France, coasted along the canals in the Netherlands, and indulged in one too many beers at Oktoberfest in Germany.
I took a 2 week break to head home for a friends wedding. After a nice time at home catching up with friends and family, it was time to head back on the road. I ventured out again to South America where I trekked to Machu Picchu in Peru, experienced my first civil unrest in Chili, marveled at all the street tango in Argentina, and touched down in Africa briefly where I spent the night in the Sahara Desert in Morocco.
Now was the time to experience a European Christmas! I celebrated a friends birthday in Germany, explored the infamous German Christmas markets and visited my namesakes small town in Germany. I spent Christmas Day in the Sound of Music city in Austria, gazed at the astronomical clock in Czech Republic, soaked in the baths in Hungary, and learned strange histories about castles in Slovakia. From there I decided to explore the lesser known country of North Macedonia, made a spur of the moment decision to visit Albania and walked the city walls in Croatia. After Croatia I made my way to Italy where I ate all of the pasta and drank all the coffee. I saw the Pope at the Vatican, fulfilled a lifelong dream of visiting the Acropolis in Greece, visited 2 continents at the same time in Turkey and was surprised by the history and culture in Bulgaria.
And that is what I did in my year of travel.
How did I pack for a year of travel
One thing that was important to me during this year was to travel with a carry-on only. During my time abroad I traveled with two different styles of carry-ons. For my time in Asia, I traveled with a 40 liter backpack. Traveling with a backpack in Asia is a great way to go. Can you imagine rolling a roller bag through sand and crowded streets in Asia? Yeah, that doesn’t sound fun. But I knew when I got to Europe I needed a little more space for the cooler weather and I could navigate a roller bag a lot more easily in those streets.
So what did I pack for my year abroad? I packed very little during this trip. I am a huge fan of packing cubes and I brought around 6 t-shirts, 2 long sleeve shirts, a zip hoodie and a light down fall jacket, as well as a few pair of leggings.
I planned on buying a lot more clothes than I actually did while I was gone. But I did buy a few pairs of jeans and a couple tops. I also had to purchase 2 pairs of tennis shoes as I wore out my shoes quickly. I walked about 6-10 miles a day! As for toiletries, I packed very minimally as well since I knew I could purchase toiletries as I needed them.
The thing about travel is that you think you need to pack everything you need while you’re gone but that’s not the case. There are so many convenience stores where you can consistently buy some necessities like toothpaste, body wash, shampoo and conditioner.
Pros & Cons of long term travel
The last thing that I want to share with you are the pros and cons I personally found along the way.
Let’s start with the cons. A few of my personal cons include: I was always on the go, so I never could spread out and “unpack”. Sometimes I found myself doing laundry in a bathroom sink. My outfit choices were very minimal because if I couldn’t carry it on my back it wasn’t coming with me.
And lastly I found that the longer I was gone the less and less friends reached out to me. I stayed pretty connected on social media but found that only a few friends would reach out. Other friends would ask those who were in contact with me how I was doing and where I was. It was kinda like I was out of sight and out of mind.
A few pros: You have the time to soak in everything you want to get out of a city, you can see more of a country and you can really see the perspective from a local. I loved being able to find those hidden gems on street corners and alleyways. If you absolutely fall in love with a city you can extend your stay. You can travel slowly and take overnight trains, buses or slow boats.
Final thoughts? If you have the opportunity to travel for an extended amount of time no matter the length, I think you should take the opportunity. There is so much to gain from long term travel. You learn so much about yourself as an individual. You gain perspective on other cultures. And last but not least, you leave with an incredible story!
I hope that this episode opens your eyes to long term travel and to see if the company you work for offers a sabbatical. If they do, I hope you consider taking the chance for an epic adventure.
Thank you for listening!
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Cheraya
Hi travel besties! My name is Cheraya, your co-host for the Passports and Coffee Podcast. I'm a Starbucks barista/manager, fur mama to two kitties, coffee lover and exploring new to me places. When I am not traveling abroad you can find me in my home state of Minnesota planning my next trip abroad!