These are some of the things I did to prepare for my rtw trip. They are listed in no particular order and will differ from person to person, depending on the destination. When preparing for your trip, do take note of the time frame required for some of the activities (such as getting a passport or getting vaccinations) and schedule accordingly.
Prepare a will
I had wanted to do this some 5 years ago and the rtw trip prompted me to act. In the event something happens to me, I know I have things covered. I went to my friend, Elaine (http://braddellbrothers.com/) to get my will sorted out.
To get started, one will need:
- a list of assets (the teddy bear will probably fall under the "miscellaneous" category)
- to identify where the assets are (if outside the country)
Matters to consider would include:
- who will inherit assets
- laws of the respective countries
- 1 will or multiple wills (to say, carve out the assets in the different countries so that the wills can be executed at the same time)
- who to execute the will (thanks - YY and MH!)
[Your lawyer should know what to do. If not, engage Elaine!]
I was quite open about it but my mum was not too receptive.
Get vaccinations
I went to the Travellers' Health and Vaccination Centre at Tan Tock Seng Hospital to get advice on vaccinations for my travel. I had a consultation with Sister Soh who went through my itinerary, activities and old vaccination records and advised on the corresponding vaccinations and drugs I need. Then an appointment was made with Dr Rowe for prescription drugs. Based on the description of my trip, I was prescribed vaccinations and medication for yellow fever, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, influenza, rabies, Japanese encephalitis, meningococcal, cholera, typhim, altitude sickness and malaria.
The vaccinations were scheduled over a few weeks. Some diseases require a series of jabs (eg rabies) while other vaccinations have a short validity period and are scheduled for nearer to departure date. The nurses were very professional with the jabs and thankfully, I did not pass out. 14 jabs and oral medications later, I am more than S$1,000 poorer.
Check validity date of passport and visa requirements
Check that least 6 months of validity from your intended date of return i.e. if you intend to return 1 year later, check that your passport does not expire within the next 1.5 years.
I also checked if I need visas to gain entry into countries with my Singapore passport in case I need to apply for the visa before I leave Singapore. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has a section which can be used as guide on this matter:
I must say we have the BEST passport in the world. Visas are not required for most countries (even when it is required of a British or an American). Thanks MFA, or whichever department that sealed the deals!
Register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
I also noted down MFA's contact numbers in my phone and e-registered with MFA when I confirmed my first destination.
One enters his personal particulars, some details on the destinations and the person(s) to contact in Singapore in case of emergency. The registration is done online before departure or whilst overseas. With this, alerts (such as natural disasters and civil unrests) can be sent via email or text message to the person or group who is travelling.
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| Registration can be done for 1 person or 1 group |
The website also states that MFA will also use the same information to contact the person or group should there be an emergency.
The same site also has a link to overseas Singapore Missions and foreign Missions accredited to Singapore in case one needs direct assistance when outside Singapore.
I already had an annual worldwide comprehensive travel insurance policy with NTUC Income. When checking if this policy covers the trekking trip to Mt Kilimanjaro, I found that the 'annual' coverage ends after I have travelled cumulatively for 90 days, and not for 365 days, as the word 'annual' might have implied. It says:
"The cover automatically ceases after 90 days or on whichever of the following that occurs first:
- the expiry of the Period of Insurance specified in the policy.
- your return to your place of residence in Singapore.
- 3 hours after arrival in Singapore."
In the case of Chatis Insurance, "Annual Multi-Trip means multi trips over the annual period specified in
the policy schedule where each trip shall not exceed 90 consecutive days
from the date of departure to the date of return to Singapore."
This means that I have to get a new policy earlier than expected and it has to take into account of the trips I did before the rtw trip.
Worldwide travel insurance policies do have some country exclusions. This is stated clearly on the policy. For example, in my case, travel to Iran is not covered.
I guess, with any contracts, look at the fine prints.
Obtain an international driving permit
I got mine from Automobile Association of Singapore. This allows me to drive in countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, which are part of a 1949 convention.
The application is very simple and costs S$22 for 1 year. Simply complete a form and submit in person or by mail. Alternatively, if one has his photograph and other documents in jpeg or gif format (of file size less than 100kb), one can also apply for one online:
Prepare backups
Things to back up include:
- credit card
- atm card from different banks
- phone number (of contacts for travel insurance, ISOS, all banks, mobile service provider, emergency contacts, MFA)
I also took photocopy and pictures of my:
- passport
- driving licence
- identity card
I have a photocopy at home, one in my bag and also scan versions to 2 different email accounts of mine and also to my sister.
Check the weather and events
The weather affects when you are going where and the all important, what to bring. For me, after deciding on Antarctica, there is no way I can avoid winter (and winter clothes), so I just check to avoid main tourist seasons and rainy weather.
If you have only 1 winter destination and if transport allows, you may want to consider doing that destination first and then mailing home the winter clothes.
As for events, if one is not travelling for a major event specifically (eg to participate in the Olympics or watch the World Cup), it would make sense to avoid the destination because prices will be up, security will be tight and it will be crowded.
Consult friends and check forums and reviews
I first enlisted my friends' help. San got me linked up with Mel who advised about her Africa trip. Mr Chan WK told his consultant Muze about me and he gave me names of Hellen and Peter in Tanzania. Ida gave me Claudia's contact in South Africa in case I need emergency help.
I posted a draft itinerary under the "Gap Year & Round the World Travel" section in Thorn Tree Travel Forum, explained what I want to achieve and do and asked for critiques. I received some suggestions to move some countries around (which is partly why I went to Spain in May instead July).
For forums and reviews, there are a few things to note:
1. Participants in forums do appreciate some homework being done before questions are asked. For example, as opposed to asking "I am going to Spain, what should I do?", one could perhaps read some travel guides, come up with a plan and ask "I am going to Spain in May, and intend to go to Barcelona for 5 days and intend to cover X number of things. Is this too much of a rush?"
2. Counter check responses from forums and reviews. Sometimes, other participants will kindly pointed out that some reviews are fake ones written by employees of a company. Otherwise, one can look at the number of reviews and what type of reviews written by the person in question and try form a judgement if the review is real.
Compare prices at different sites
The marvellous thing with internet is that one can reach out to different countries without making expensive telephone calls or having to wait to arrive at a country to make bookings through its tourism office.
There are websites that compare prices in different reservation sources and give you list to run down so that you do not have to search the different websites one by one. For example, from http://www.wego.com, one can find out what a room at Hotel X costs at one glance and book from the website that offers the best rate:
There are also alternatives to hotel stay (especially for people who prefer a home with internet, washing machine and kitchen). Roomorama (https://roomorama.com/) and Airbnb (http://www.airbnb.com/) are now popular websites where owners rent their flats or spare rooms to travellers on short term basis. The owners get extra income while travellers have a home away from home to stay. Again, owners do list their properties on more than 1 websites and prices may not be the same. Consequently, it makes sense to search more than 1 website for the price of the same property to get the best deal (owners normally use the same pictures and similar descriptions - it will be quite easy to tell if it is the same property).
When comparing prices, one may also want to take into consideration that some hotel booking websites like http://www.agoda.com also have points systems where bookings through the website and writing hotel reviews subsequent to the stay would entitle one to points that can be used to offset payment for further bookings (much like airline frequent flyer points).
Finally, when looking for air tickets, I noticed that the same company based in different countries may offer very different options. For example, when I was looking for air tickets from Spain to Tanzania on expedia.com, expedia.com.sg and expedia.co.uk, I found that there are substantial differences in routes, timing and prices (not due to exchange rates differences). It therefore pays to not rely on just 1 site.
