We’re still so far out from the Trip, the Grand Tour we’ve labelled it. June 2016 is our planned departure. Wife, 9 year old son (he’s only 6 now) and myself will embark what we expect to be a 13 month, 30 country voyage. Yesterday I came up with a loose plan to save up enough money, enough to have in the bank as a buffer in case income has some speedbumps. It shouldn’t though. I run 10 websites and they are doing fairly well. They should provide enough cash for living on the road. Having a buffer is just for ease of mind; it’s one of the benefits of starting to plan so far out.
Next big step for us is to get some detail into our loose itinerary. We have a general idea of the route we’ll take. Now begins the process of marking down some cities that are ‘must-do’ stops.
We won’t be organizing our clothing for quite a while yet, still, when I come across a good read I’ll share it here. This morning I read a few tips on clothing. Here is some of that from Nomadical Sabbatical
Travel Clothing Tips
Colours matter: Black glorious black! See opening story.. also I remember a couple of guys I stayed with in the UK continuously wore white stuff and to this day I have no idea why or how, since everything I purchase that starts off white generally turns a sort of, off muddy brown colour within hours.. literally every time I buy a new pair of white shoes I make a promise to look after them, that I’m going to cherish them, care for them and make sure they are as pristine and crisp in 6 months as they are right now… 15 minutes later I’ve usually already scuffed the tops of them, somehow there’s a red wine stain or two down the side or I’ve dropped a chocolate milkshake all over them (true story). Black solves all your problems; you can do all the above to black shoes and no one would even notice. (Parents with young children know exactly what I’m talking about). Bring darker coloured clothing when you travel, you will need to wash it less. This is good.
I take my jeans: The endless prattle I constantly hear from other people about travelling without their jeans.. they take too long to dry, they’re too heavy, they’re not practical etc… I always rock a pair of jeans when I travel. If you own any jeans that cost more than it does to feed a small village in Africa then, firstly you need to re-evaluate your prioritise and secondly maybe take a pair that you don’t mind getting a little beaten up. Jeans are hardy, long lasting and look good so you won’t feel like Indiana Jones when you hang out with locals and friends you meet along the way. The other bonus is that the less you look like you’ve just come from a Kathmandu sale (or other travel store) the more ‘local’ you’ll look, reducing your chances of being pickpocketed etc.. too. I like Levis since they meet all the above requirements, my most recent pair have lasted 12 months with continuous use and are still going strong.
..and a few more solid suggestions from Green Global Travel – love the Transformer jacket, I may look into to getting one of them.
On our trip to Jordan, we spent lots of time in the desert, where blistering daytime heat gives way to surprisingly cool nights. So we were grateful to try out the new SeV Transformer Jacket from Scottevest, which is made from 100% quilted nylon, has detachable sleeves, and boasts 20 pockets (for cell phone, passport, tablet, camera, handwarming, etc) designed with travelers in mind. But it’s not only functional, allowing you to pack extra travel stuff you can’t fit in your carry-on. It’s fashionable, too! Mary loves the way I look in it, and I love having an ultra-light jacket that doesn’t make me sweat like a hog.