With a little help from my friends
Guide books are ok. No, they are better than ok, much better. However, nothing is better than local knowledge and with this in mind I sent out a bunch of emails to some folks who are members of the Bootsnall community who make themselves available for advice to other BnA members travelling to a region in which they have either travelled to or currently reside.
What a response! I woke up this morning and had a large number of emails waiting in my inbox. Not only had people responded to my broad request for tips and hints on travelling in New Zealand and Australia, but most of them had taken the time to go into some detail about what they did or what they recommend.
I guess this should not come as a shock as most folks are very helpful in this regard but it just felt good to have this extra boost before I finally leave on my journey. One person even offered to pick me up from Christchurch and take me to Akaroa where they lived!
So thank you to all of those that replied in such a rapid and comprehensive manner. I hope to find many on my travels with such a generous nature.
This comment goes out to the other vagabonders out there. How long did you spend preparing for your trip in terms of packing? This is the part of the preparation that is taking the longest for me. I still need some wet gear for those monsoon moments in tropical Queensland or glacier hiking trips in New Zealand. I still deliberate over the idea of having some form of smart clothing for social occasions. If so what sort of shoes do I need? Do I need 2 pairs of everything so I can wear one while I launder the others?
I know all this is just “fluff” as one BnA’er put it so wisely on the Bootsnall forum and that passport, money and tickets are the only items that are of vital importance to the traveller. Yet I still spend most of my day at odds with myself as I am trying to save money for the trip and not spend too much before I leave.
I will be happy when I am under way when circumstance and need rather than desire and want dictate my spending habits and other habits too for that matter.
Tags: Pre-Trip
October 13th, 2004 at 6:02 pm
Ha! My experience has been that once you’re on the road, “vacation mode” sets in and your planned budget goes right out the window….especially when you find all the other travellers congregate at the pubs nightly.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope you stick to your budget, at least to be able to stay in this fabulous hemisphere a little while longer. If you run out of $$, I’ll buy you a drink if you make it to Cairns. But only ONE ’cause I’ve already spent my travelling budget!
Can’t wait to hear your impressions of this part of the world….
October 15th, 2004 at 1:50 pm
Yes, nobody lives by budgets when going round the world. Where there’s a will there’s a way. I’ll be in Shanghai in January so should be able to meet up - unless u get shanghai’d somewhere else….wonderlust should be renamed to wander-lust. All u need is 2 find a cheap place 2 do it..live cheaply but treat yourself every once and a while - to keep the spirits and energy up. Much to everybody’s disbelief - travelling is hard work - but reaps big rewards……
October 15th, 2004 at 2:49 pm
Thanks guys for your budget input. I guess it will all go to pot once I get going but the reality is that I can’t spend what I ain’t got! I would rather sped more time on less money than the other way round.
I look forward to the big rewards Dave.
See you in Shanghai mate.