Taking an extended leave of absence from the corporate world as we knew it was an adventure in and of itself.  Not only did we have to save up a certain amount of money to make this happen, but we had a lot of preparations to make in order to make our trip as effective as possible.

• Transportation
  • Invest in good walking shoes, as that is our primary mode of transportation.
  • Look outside the box for cheap transport.  We took a cargo ship from America to New Zealand and have traveled in a wide variety of vehicles along the way.
  • Airfare can be cheap if booked the right way.  We found airline tickets from Japan to Italy for less than $500 a person!
• Visa Requirements
  • Some countries require forms filled out and photos submitted in advance.  Others require a confirmed list of immunizations received.  We took several trips to the Tulsa Health Department before we left and thought our arms would never stop aching!
  • Does it cost?  How much?  Our plans to visit China were sidelined by a $150/person visa charge.
  • Feeling okay?  The 2009 Swine Flu issues stepped up health screening at most airports and even a slight cough gets you pulled into quarantine.
• Hosts Abroad
  • Couch Surfing has been a real help to us!  We get to stay with folks that are locals and show us a side of the city/country we would never see otherwise.  If you or anyone you know are interested in hosting us during our world travels for a night or two, we would be greatly appreciative!  Send us an e-mail to let us know.

Gear

• Packs
  
  • We're each taking a North Face 55L Skareb pack, which will serve as our portable worlds.  Indi picked up some walking poles, too.
•  Shoes
  • Teva Wraptor eVent walking shoes and a pair of Keen Newport sandals each.
• Clothes
  • We each packed a few changes of clothing, most of it based on weight, utility, and durability.
• Sleeping
  • If we can't find a suitable place to stay, we have our own accomodations.  We have a tent and a couple of silk Jagbags to sleep in.
• Other
  • Orikaso collapsable plastic dish set, some Platypus water bottles (and water purification tablets), flashlight/headlamp, Swiss Army knife, money belts, compass.
• Documenting
  • We have two cameras (Panasonic Lumix TX-5 and Canon Powershot G10) for pictures, a netbook for blogging, and several notebooks for writing.  Rhys has an iPhone that doubles as a voice recorder, too.