So, the Type A planning part of my brain has been working for the last 5 years trying to think of every possible detail. What have I learned? It is impossible to think of everything. What I do know is that I’m prepared for the moment I realize I have forgotten something monumental.

Some of the things that I have thought of:

1. Vaccinations – we made an appointment at our local Health Unit. They have a travel clinic. We simply gave them a list of countries we were going to visit and they gave us a list of recommended and required (usually only Yellow Fever) vaccinations as well as an encyclopedia sized print out of the health risks in each country. Seriously, just skim, don’t actually read the whole thing. After that we made a series of appointments for the various vaccinations we decided to get.
2. Visa requirements – I used Passport Index to see which countries required visas for Canadians, and what type (visa on arrival, e-visa, one of the kind you have to apply way ahead for – like if you’re entering India by land – more in a later post)
3. Medications to bring – we’ll have the usual antibiotics, but from what I’ve read it’s fairly simple and cheap in many countries to get medication if needed. We’re bringing Diamox to Nepal for altitude.
4. Proof of onward travel – most countries require that you have proof that you’re leaving at some point. I’d never really thought about this at all because everywhere we’ve travelled previously we had return tickets. On this trip we have not a single return ticket. This means we have to at least know where we’re going next prior to entering a new country. At this point we’re good up to Christmas, but I’ll have to make sure we have something booked leaving Qatar before we head there from India. Our overland trip from Nepal to India by bus has me a little concerned as I won’t have purchased those bus tickets until the day we leave. I’m hoping a hotel booking in Darjeeling and a flight from Darjeeling to New Delhi will satisfy the officials in Nepal.
5. Update passports – done. Mark and I got the 10 year passports when we renewed last. The kids are good for another 3 years.
6. Travel Insurance – because we aren’t continuing our insurance though work (and it wasn’t great for long term travel anyway), we have researched like mad what we should do. We have decided to go with World Nomads. It seems to be the one most long term travellers are using. The total cost for the 4 of us is $1897.41 for the Standard Plan and $2158.68 for the Explorer Plan.
7. Climate at our various destinations – we kind of planned our trip around the best time for trekking in Nepal (Oct/Nov). But, I also used this website to find the best times to visit Southeast Asia, and even though we don’t have any formal plans for that part of our trip yet, at least we can aim to hit the best weather possible in each place. That information will also help with deciding on a route.
8. Foreign transaction fees – these extra fees can add up. Our bank charges $3/foreign transaction, plus whatever the ATM fees are. Our plan is to use our credit card as much as possible because it is a travel card that earns points we can cash in for flights etc. We have the Capital One Aspire Card (I don’t think you can get it anymore though), it’s great for points. We also use the Scotiabank Passport Visa because it has no foreign transaction fees. It just gives you the straight exchange rate. This card is also good for points, but not as good as the Capital One card.

There are a million and one other things to think about and plan. I can’t even go on writing this without making myself a little nuts!! So, the packing post will have to wait for another day.