We are currently in the process of collecting as much information as we can with regards where we want to go, what we want to see and what we want to do. There is a whole heap of other information we are also planning on creating, such as lists of people we’d like to see, agreements we’d like to make with each other and language translation sheets for different regions we go through. We will endeavor to share the information that we create for our trip through this blog.
Our current preparation:
– List of things we need to do before we go
– List of places to go, do and see
– List of agreements between Alex and Kat
– List of overseas contacts and people to we’d like to meet
– List of budgets for different countries
– List of visa information for different countries
– Write a short, simple recipe book
– Write some language translation sheets for different regions
– Research into charities we’d like to support while we are away
List of things we need to do before we go
Our excel spreadsheet informs us with the tasks we need to complete before we can start pedaling! This includes purchasing flights, building up bike and gear collections, getting all of the lists we need created finished, selling off things in Australia that we will not need overseas and more.
List of places to go, do and see
We are writing down all the countries and places that we would like to see. This includes towns, events, tourist attractions, roads, mountains, places to hike and more. A lot of research time will be spent to try and connect all of the dots and get a rough route set!
List of agreements between Alex and Kat
We plan on creating a ‘rule book’, that includes things that we can agree on before we leave. The premise behind this is to set some basic guidelines for what the trip will be like, how we can cater for both of us, getting the things that might annoy us down on paper etc. Things that might be included on our list of agreements might be: a particular number of days per week that we ride, a certain amount of kilometres we complete per day, a certain amount of time that we have to spend apart per week, a minimum amount of water we drink per hour, number of days we spend camping and in hostels etc.
Research into charities we’d like to support while we are away
The plan is to have a donate button on the right side of the website to support a charity or series of charities that we feel are doing great things in the World. We want to research a number of charities to ensure that the money that is donated is doing things we truly believe in, that it is doing it in an efficient manner and that it is easy for you to make a donation. Our research should keep your mind clear that your money is doing the best that it can to improve the World!
List of overseas contacts and people we’d like to meet
Over the years we have made friends with people all over the World. We have promised them that they will be visited, so visiting we will do! We will create a list of all of those people and contact them before we leave. We also have other friends from home that have jetted all over the World, so it will be great to catch up with them in a slightly different setting. We have also invited some other friends to complete our journey with us, so we will keep them up-to-date with when they should come along. The more, the merrier!
List of budgets for different countries
We’d like to do a bit of research into the average cost per day in different countries, and make sure that we can afford to be in them!
List of visa information for different countries
We have slowly been creating an excel spreadsheet for the costs of visas, where we can get them and how long they last! For the more difficult countries we have also been researching LOIs (letter of invitations) and where we can obtain them.
Recipe Book
We need to research what kind of foods are easy to come by in all sorts of countries that we’re thinking of travelling through. One of the reasons for this is that Kat suffers fructose-malabsorption with some foods, as well as some intolerance to gluten. We need to make sure we can get heaps of carbs and protein into Kat, and avoid cooking with some products that people take for granted (eg. Oils, onion, fruits)! A short list of regular meals we can cook will be handy.
Language translation sheets
We’d like to prepare some language translation sheets with a set variety of phrases that should keep us going all over the World. We will obviously have to modify these whilst we are away, as you can’t trust everything you find on the internet! The sheets should assist in basic communication, where English isn’t all that common.
