Another week, another item of equipment. This time its the comfort factor taken care of with some sleeping mats.

I’ve opted for the Slim Airic self-inflating camp mat. You can check out the product page here.

“Plod forever, but never believe you are going to get there.”

Those are the words that Sir Ranulph Fiennes used to motivate himself on his third attempt to climb Everest.

At the age of 65 he shows us all that if we can control ourselves mentally and not allow negative thoughts to creep in, our bodies are capable of much more than we would ever believe.

“I’d love to travel, but I just don’t have the money.”

Have you ever heard anyone saying anything along these lines? Maybe you’ve even said it yourself.

Whenever I hear something like this I am reminded of a common misconception that all travel is expensive. I estimate that two people, on a self supported bicycle tour, camping four or five nights a week, cooking their own food, and abstaining (in the main) from alcohol, could theoretically live on an average budget of $10 a day. I do not expect that we will be able to live quite as frugally on our tour, as the odd splurge here and there keeps us sane and enjoying ourselves.

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Its official. I have started buying things for the tour.

On Thursday I ordered two sets of Panniers, the Altura Fusion 40 in red. Evans Cycles had a good deal on at £50 for the pair, so I decided to take advantage and order them there and then.

They arrived at my parents house on Saturday.

I have updated the equipment page in the ‘Planning’ section of the site, there is now a downloadable packing list for anyone planning their own tour.

In researching countries on the route, one of the foremost questions in my mind concerns visas. As a British Passport holder, I am very lucky to be able to either

i) enter the majority of countries without the need for a visa, or
ii) obtain one at the port of entry.

Regardless of this, it always pays to be sure about the entry requirements before arrival at the gates!

Although guidebooks such as Lonely Planet and Rough Guide print chapters devoted to Visas and Red Tape, requirements and entry conditions change frequently, especially in countries not specifically seen as tourist destinations. As a result there always seems to be conflicting information on the internet regarding the subject of visas.

I have researched the visa situation of my anticipated route and for those planning a trip to Turkey, Syria or Iran, you may find the following useful.

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I recently read an entry on Peter Gostelow’s blog regarding a calendar post and the monthly photo. As you can see the photo shows three young boys laden with wood, collected as fuel for the fire on which family meals are prepared.

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I recently wrote a review of my packing list for Latin America, here are six of the less obvious items that turned out to be indispensable:

Earplugs – Noisy hotels/hostels, long bus journeys with crying babies, Bolivian folk music. All enough to cause loss of sleep, and subsequently bad moods. All preventable with a decent set of earplugs.

Pen & pad – You never know when you’ll need to write something down, so save yourself the fret of searching for a pen and scrap of paper when the need arises, and carry a small pen and pad in your pocket or day pack.

Watch with light and alarm – A basic Casio digital watch is ideal. Cheap, strong and retro stylish. Even though you are travelling and not on the 9 to 5 schedule, on occasion you need to know the time – and horribly enough – get out of bed before dawn (when the light comes in handy)!

Penknife – Unless you plan to do some serious wilderness trekking, a small multi-tool will suffice, no need to spend a fortune on a Leatherman. Will get used a lot, for tasks ranging from erm, cutting things, to opening a bottle of wine in a hostel that has no corkscrew. Make sure to remember to take it out of your pocket and put it into your checked luggage if you are going to fly.

Toilet Paper – Sometimes strange food can do things to your insides. Sometimes hostels run out of toilet paper. Sometimes there are no toilets. Sometimes a combination of these things happen at the same time. Unsavoury, but necessary.

Padlock – Used all the time both on my bag and on locks in hostel security deposit boxes. Recommend a combination one, so don’t have to worry about carrying a key.

I have been looking at things I would like to take with me, for both practical and comfort reasons, and I have come up with a wishlist for the trip.

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Although Iraq is probably not on many peoples holiday list, it seems as though it is already being bandied as a possible tourist magnet. Deborah Haynes of The Times writes:

“Known as the birthplace of civilisation, Iraq is estimated to have between 20,000 and 100,000 historic sites, which should keep history-hungry travellers, as well as professional archaeologists, entertained for decades.”

For me, its probably too soon to be thinking of entering Iraq as a tourist, but I’m sure there will be those out there that are already buying their Iraqi Dinars!

Read the entire article here

Little by little, one travels far.
J. R. R. Tolkien
British scholar & fantasy novelist (1892 – 1973)

The mathematics of repeatedly carrying out a task are astounding. The numbers add up very quickly. For example, if you chose to ride a bike for eight hours in one day, peddling along at an average of five miles an hour, you would cover forty miles. Do this every day for a week and you would cycle 320 miles. In four weeks you would have completed 1,280 miles.

On a larger scale, forty miles a day, five days a week, for an entire year equates to 10,400 miles – or about the distance from London to Sydney (as a crow flies).