Day 313: We’re going to Zagreb?

This was not a part of the plan. Sarajevo was closer to Budapest… And Budapest was THE plan. Little did we know, there were no direct trains nor buses between the two, despite it being a quick (six hour) drive… I suggested we hitchhike. Andrew brushed the idea off. Instead, we had to spend an entire day on a train to Zagreb, and then another simply to get to Budapest. I wasn’t happy. Andrew wasn’t happy. When we saw the prices for even just a hostel bed in Zagreb (after not hearing from any couchsurfers) we were practically dreading the detour.

The silver lining (after nearly missing our train out of Sarajevo waiting for the tram to the station) was that we scored our own cabin and I was able to recline the seats into a bed and sleep for the majority of the ride. I slept so much that when I woke up, Andrew questioned if I was feeling ok.

Another silver lining, is that when we were given the wrong tram information in Zagreb, and ended up having to walk several blocks to our hostel, Andrew carried my big backpack for me. He always does. He won’t even let me carry it anymore, and instead gives me his smaller backpack in it’s place. Sometimes though, I’ll trick him and I’ll get to both big backpacks first. This doesn’t happen often though, because he has this whole height/long leg advantage over me.

Whenever other couples see him with both big backpacks, the men roll their eyes and I have this feeling that they give me the once over thinking I must be sooo high maintenance. But then they usually see me schlepping behind with our smaller backpacks, a bag full of snacks (now including coffee and toilet paper) and my Nepalese yak wool scarf under one arm while I try to balance my camera in the other for either a picture or some video… Then they don’t know what to think. The women look at Andrew like he must be the sweetest. I always want to tell them that he’s equally stubborn- even if it’s in a completely charming and sometimes infuriatingly chivalrous way.

Day 2: Kuala Lumpur in a day

Anwar, our couchsurfing host dropped us off near the train station on his way to work. In Korea, even during rush hour, one would still be able to squeeze onto a subway car. In Malaysia, one waits as four or five trains pass through until there is enough room to squeeze on. Granted, from my observations, it seemed as though Malaysians mind personal space a little more than Koreans. Passengers were still able to breathe on the train and few pushed others further into the train so they could fit as well. Not in a rush (not going to work) I enjoyed people watching and quickly became obsessed with all of the beautiful scarves. (I have to admit, the modesty was a bit refreshing after 5 years of short skirts in Seoul!)

I was also pleased to see the “coach for ladies only.” My travel partner was less than impressed when one pulled up in front of us and had to run down the platform to board a car for ladies AND men.

Our first destination was the Batu Caves just outside of Kuala Lumpur. Not entirely sure what to expect, other than a lot of monkeys, we were pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t overrun with tourists and vendors vying for attention and wallets. The closer we got to the entrance, we started hearing loud ‘thwacks’ followed by cheers. A group of Chinese tourists were taking turns hurling coconuts into a stone basin. A nearby flower vendor told us it was for prayer. We assumed when the coconut split, the prayer was answered. This coconut splitting action took place under the gaze of the towering Hindu diety, Murugan. At 140 feet tall, it’s the tallest statue of Murugan in the world.

The trek to the top where the caves were wasn’t the easiest, but the monkeys along the way shaking light poles and dropping coconuts on tourists made it an entertaining climb. If you’ve been to Bali, you might be familiar with the infamous monkey forest there. Having a not so pleasant experience when I visited a few years ago, I’m a little wary around monkeys, especially those overly familiar with tourists. These monkeys might have been familiar with tourists, but they went about their business, and were not nearly as aggressive as those in Bali.

At the top, there are a few cave temples. In the far back cave, a Hindu priest (I’m assuming) prayed over passersby, marking colored ash on foreheads and tying strings around wrists for luck. It seemed a bit like a “pay to pray” tourist attraction to me, when I asked some other tourists, they said you just had to give a donation. Which is fair. However, my Hindu prayer felt a little tainted when the Hindu priest so obviously motioned to the donation tray. Quite frankly, it made me want to hang onto my donation after that…

After the Batu Caves, we made our way back into the center of Kuala Lumpur to see Little India. Again, I was fascinated by the amount of headscarves, and the many shops selling them. Samosas were sold on the street for cheap. Men stood at flower carts making the most beautiful ropes of flowers and just as advertised, motorbikes zipped in and out and around other cars, pedestrians, and onto sidewalks for deliveries.

Not far from the Botanical Garden area, we settled on the Butterfly Garden. I was a little excited, I thought I would walk in and be surrounded by butterflies, covered even if I stood still enough. Unfortunately, this was not the case. There were a few butterflies, yes, but not enough to be labeled “Butterfly Garden” and it was pricey! Ok, maybe if there were more butterflies, I wouldn’t think so, but there weren’t. If you really love botanical gardens, then have a look, if you’re into butterflies, maybe it’s best not to get your hopes up for this attraction.

Ready for a respite, Andrew and I headed to Petronas Towers in search of a coffee shop and some free wi-fi. (Yo CoffeeBean, why do you have free wifi in KL, but not in Seoul? Please, take note.) Our timing was impecable, we went in while it was still bright and came out right around dusk so we got to see Petronas in both settings. Petronas by day is wow. But, Petronas by night is WOW! and I highly recommend it. Especially at dusk. We didn’t go to the top because it was smoggy and a little bit out of our budget. We decided we’ll instead splurge on the Burj Khalifa instead.

We met back up with Anwar for a satay dinner. Which was yum. I couldn’t decide if I liked the chicken or beef more, both, and the noodles Anwar insisted we try were delicious. After an hour or so of chatting about dating and marriage in Malaysia vs. Korea vs. America, he drove us to the train station to catch a ride back to the airport.

Our flight to Hanoi was at 6AM. Needing to be at the airport by 4AM, we decided to just camp out at the airport instead of waking up around 3AM in the city to pay $40.00 for a taxi to the airport. When we made this plan, we didn’t count on the airport closing between 1AM and 3AM, forcing us out on the sidewalk outside. We made friends with a Belgian physicist and chatted with him for a couple hours until we were allowed back in the airport where we grabbed a couple hours of sleep before our flight took off.

Lesson #1 learned from traveling around the world: Just because it all fits in your 52 liter backpack, doesn’t mean you need to take it. I’m already tired of the ordeal that is me getting in and out of my bag…

Pre-trip: What to pack for a trip around the world

What to pack for a Round-the-World trip is a daunting task. You want to be prepared for absolutely everything, but you don’t necessarily want to carry it all. around the world. all the time. The last time I went on a long trip, it was six weeks through South East Asia. I fit everything into a shoulder luggage bag and a tote bag. Once in Vietnam, I bought a Jansport backpack and those three bags (and everything inside) were all I needed (for almost two months). For a year (15 months if we’re lucky) is a completely different story!

I Googled “What to pack for a trip around the world” and combed through different travel bloggers “What to pack” lists (I found Legal Nomads and Answering Oliver the most helpful) I cross-checked. I edited down. I even decided to go ahead and purchase a “backpacker” style backpack! I tried to think of everything that I would want in that year, this is what I came up with, and ended up with (if there’s not a line through it!):

Bags:
Main backpack + backpack rain cover: Osprey Farpoint 55 (with daypack +daypack rain cover)
Messenger bag
Shoulder bag
Small over the shoulder bag (purse)
2 Camera bag inserts (these seemed to take up more room than just packing lenses with clothes)
packing cubes (not for me)

Technology:
13’’ Macbook Air + outlet
Mac outlet world converters
extra padded Macbook air neoprene case
WD Passport 2TB external hard drive
Memory card reader (even though my laptop has a reader, I wanted one just in case)
Kindle touch + USB cord charger
Iphone + USB cord and charger
Mophi juice-pack
Belkin’s mini surge protector w/extra outlets
Belkin’s USB portal
Portable mini-speaker
Apple Mag-safe Airline Adapter
Small Skooba Design Cable Stable
All in one travel adapter

Camera Gear:
Nikon D7000
2 batteries + charger
Double Bubble Level Spirit Mount
4 memory cards + memory card case (left behind as my D7000 can hold 2 memory cards at once)
50 mm lens
17-35 mm lens
28-300 mm lens
external flash
Sirui travel tri-pod (UNBELIEVABLY LIGHT!)

First Aid Kit:
Neosporin
Anti-itch cream
Bandaids
Gauze
Second Skin
Ibuprofin
Asprin
Immodium
Benadryl
Claritin
Sudafed
Alka-seltzer
Pepto tablets
Muti-vitamins
Sterile Syringe (couldn’t find anywhere, but I want one!)
Individually wrapped iodine swabs
Individually wrapped alcohol rubbing pads
Latex gloves

For women:
Individually wrapped Monistat tablets
Cranberry pills (helps prevent UTIs)
Feminine hygiene products (I figured out how much I needed for one month on average and then packed one month of products into small ziplock bags- taking only four months worth until getting my first package mailed to myself 4 months into the trip with more!)

Prescription meds:
Ciprofloxacin
Diflucan
Malaria meds (I haven’t used them in the past)

Toiletries:
Toothpaste and toothbrush
Travel shampoo & conditioner
Travel bottle of Oil of Olay face lotion
Comb
2 thick headbands
3 thin headbands
pony-tail holders and bobby pins
travel wet wipes
tweezers and nail clippers
carmex
deodorant
razor
cover-up and powder
eye-liner and mascara

Clothes:
7-10 pairs of underwear
2 1 sports bra
1 bra
1 strapless bra (too uncomfortable for travel for me!)
3 pairs of athletic socks
1 bikini
1 pair of black long black yoga pants
1 pair of black cropped running pants
1 pair of black leggings
1 pair of nice shorts
1 pair of sleep shorts
4 tank tops
4 t-shirts
2 dresses
1 long sleeve shirt
1 thin sweater
fleece jacket
rain jacket
knit hat

Shoes:
Running Shoes
Trekking (water) shoes
Sports ballet flats
Flip Flops

Miscellaneous:
Mini-flashlight
Tent light
Headlamp
Door stop
Whistle
Sleeping bag insert
Eye-glasses and sunglasses
Clothesline
Business cards
Sink sized detergent packets and Tide stick
Earplugs
Sink- stopper
Thank-you cards
Ziplock bags (misc. sizes)

Documents, etc.:
Passport
Passport photos
Immunization certificate (Yellow Fever)
Copy of immunization record
Copy of all credit cards
International Drivers License
US Currency (at least $1000)

After six months on the road: I am a complete idiot. Ok, so maybe not a complete idiot. Maaaybe… a partial one? But let’s start with the positive, shall we?

Here are a few things I did right:

1. Sending boxes to myself (care of friends living around the world) while on the road was genius. My first package held new ballet flats and new flip-flops. Asprin, Monistat, Tampax, oh-my! A new pair of jeans (that I knew I wouldn’t wear in S.E. Asia, but needed in the Middle East) and new underpants so I could toss out any old pairs that were wearing too thin. I threw a few extra fun things in as well- samples of my favorite Skin Food face masks and Andrew’s favorite candy. I highly recommend doing this. If you don’t have friends in some of the places you’re going to be visiting- check out couchsurfing.org. Andrew even had a camera sent to me as a present through someone we didn’t know in the middle of Tanzania!

2. I packed not 1, but 2 jersey knit scarves I bought from Zara- not intending for them to be the best thing to pack in my bag. These dry faster (and are much less smellier) than Andrew’s “quick-drying” travel towel. They are light. They pack easily. In the past six months, they’ve been used as towels, blankets, scarves, a beach sun-dress, and even a much needed wrap at a very public shower in the middle of a village in Laos. I wish I would have bought and packed at least 4. Seriously, I do.

3. On day 1 of this trip, I had around $1500 cash in various pockets of my bags. This has come in handy when buying visas at borders and when my Mastercard ATM card is not accepted at Visa only machines. Note to future self: Make sure all bills are as new as possible – at least five years old or less. (We almost didn’t get into Kenya because we weren’t aware they did’t accept older bills!)

4. I bought an extra large Nepalese yak wool scarf when I was freezing in the middle of Kathmandu. It may be a little bit bulky, but it has been the best wrap/scarf/blanket on brisk nights and surfing couches that don’t come with blankets!

5. Iodine swabs. Individually wrapped. They were the most surprisingly useful item of my entire First Aid kit.

Now, for everything I did wrong:

1. I realized the hard way that I am not a back-pack-kinda girl. Not in the I need my blow-dryer and heels kinda way. But in the, I really hate (HATE) my backpack and being sandwiched in between it and my daypack when I go from one city (or country) to the next. I’ve missed great photo opportunities because it’s been too difficult digging my DSLR out of the daypack. I’ve thought the straps dangling against my legs were  extra large bug crawling up my leg. I’ve probably peed on the same dangling straps more than once whilst balancing over a hole in the ground in Asia (and then Africa). And in my opinion, it simply screams “Ima tourist, please give me misdirections or charge me way too much for a taxi/tuk-tuk/bus ride.

I bought the Osprey Farpoint 55 specifically because it is supposed to be permitted as a carry-on. Even though it IS small enough to carry on, once it’s all packed up- it not only will be too heavy, but it will LOOK too heavy to skirt past the check-in desk without checking it in. And don’t even get me started on the ordeal that I go through every time I open the damn thing, its contents (not divided into separate packing cubes) explode and I have to unpack and repack the bag every. time. Maybe I’m too harsh, but when you’ve been through multiple countries unpacking and repacking and hauling it around all the time, you might understand.

When I traveled for two months around S.E. Asia solo style: I LOVED my shoulder (the equivalent of a weekend bag for the typical American) luggage bag and my Jansport backpack with a tote bag tucked inside. This combination worked for ME. I should have gone with what I knew worked (for me)! Now, six months in, I’m lusting after the type of bags (that I already have back at my parent’s house in Kentucky). One (or a combination of a few) that won’t drive me crazy every time I need to get something out of them on the road!

2. Shoes. I have three pairs of shoes in my backpack. Flip-flops, ballet flats, and a pair of barefoot water shoes. The ones with the most support? The flip-flops. Seriously. Trekking through Laos in barefoot water shoes was just as bad as spraining my foot sightseeing around cobblestoned Istanbul in my ballet flats. Next time, I shall never leave home without a pair of running shoes and walking shoes (at least a pair of Toms) with more support!

3. I wish I would have smacked my past self silly for thinking “These will be great for travel!” when packing a shapeless black cotton dress, unflattering grey capri pants, and a shirt I already knew I wouldn’t mind if I forgot it along the way. I have since either left these items of clothing behind, or I’m still dragging them around with me (not wearing them ever). I should have only packed clothes I LOVED wearing, because if I’m not wearing it over and over again, I’m carrying it around the world. on my back. And who wants to be doing that? If you’re packing and someone has something on a list that you really don’t think you would ever be ok wearing five days in a row, then don’t pack it.

4. I have way too much in my First Aid kit. You can always find what you need at a foreign pharmacy.

5. I haven’t used the any following: Earplugs (ok, I tried- but they didn’t work well at all), external flash, 50 mm lens, Memory card reader, Belkin’s USB portal, Apple Mag-safe Airline Adapter, and half of my first aid kit.

6. I still wish I would have gotten a point and shoot camera in addition to having my DSLR (for nights out, for sketchy cities, for a quick reach into my pocket for a snapshot from a moving bus or within a shared taxi…)

7. For insurance purposes, I should have scanned every receipt of items I’m traveling with that I might need to make a claim for later. (Basically all of my camera and electronic gear). Getting proof of purchase of an i-phone you purchased in Korea is a bit of a nightmare when you’re in the middle of Mozambique. Just sayin’.

8. While I stay warm in my North Face fleece, it again screams ‘foreigner’ to others. It’s a pretty “American” item of clothing, in my opinion. Sometimes I wish I had a zip-up sweatshirt instead. It’s nice blending in a bit in a country you know little about.

9. My ATM card is Mastercard. Andrew’s is Visa. We’ve had issues in some countries where only one kind of ATM card works. Thank the travel gods we are together and have one of each. If I was on my own- I would have been screwed. If possible, try to get one of each before you begin your journey.