How time flies

When I started this blog, this adventure was all just magical dreams.  It was so far in the future, it felt like I would never manage to get there.

But time has moved forward, the days kept disappearing.  To begin with slowly, but last month went at a phenomenal speed.  Were now at the last leg of our journey before flight from the UK.  It feels so good to be at this place now.  We have done most of our planning (and have completely booked all our trains, buses and hostels in India), the rest we will plan along the way.

I feel very fortunate to be partaking in this traveling with an amazing friend and companion.  I really don't feel like I could have done this with anyone else, and sure we annoy the hell out of each other, but I think our personalities and strengths meld well together, especially on a long trip like this.

So thank you to everyone who has helped us take this massive leap into our dreams, and I hope you follow us on our trip, because as well as being magical it will be downright dirty, messy and funny, and its going to be one hell of an adventure.

How to get your Immunisation Injections for free

Or at least not pay for most of them, if you are a resident of the UK.

You really can get most of your travel injections for free in the UK.  I managed to get Hep B, Hep A, Typhoid, Polio, Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Cholera from the NHS.  You have to sometimes be a bit sneaky, and you really have to be persistent and know what you need, and research alot, so it takes time and energy but you can do it.

First you need to go to your Dr or nurse and ask for your immunisation history which they should have on record.  Get them to check over what you have had, and if you missed anything important as a child (which hopefully you haven't).  You will have had some of your immusations in school, if you can remember what they are thats great, if not check wether you have a crazy big scar on your arm entphalitus in a circle, if you have then congratulations you have had the BCG, and are therefore protected against TB!

Next on the list is Polio, Tetanus, and Diphtheria.  Now you should have received all your booster shots in school, but if your unsure, get a jab, or if its 10 years or just under since you last got them, get a jab.  The boosters only last 10 years, and polio is still floating around in South Asia.  You need to ask your nurse to give you this one, but its should be free.  If she refuses for whatever reason, go to a different clinic.  Simple.

Typhoid is similar, but shots only last 3 years, so you will probably have to ask for this one too.  Same as above go to the Nurse, and it should be free.

Now its time for Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B.  One of the common vaccines is twinrix and is a combination of the 2.  If your job involves working with people alot (so most jobs), you are entitled to this (especially if you work in care industry), again this should be free.  Bare in mind, this is a scheduled 3 or 4 shot vaccine.  The 3 shot one is over 6 months, the 4 shot one is over 28 days (on specific days), and then the last shot a year later.  If your on a tight time limit go for the 28 days one, but just remember to have the last one a year later, and that should cover you for 5 years.

Lastly its cholera.  Now you dont strictly, really need cholera unless your going into an outbreak, but since I'm traveling around India and South East Asia, I feel its a case of safe and not sorry.  On the NHS website they state they will pay for Cholera vaccinations as it is something that could spread really quickly around the UK.  The way I got my prescription was by filling in a prescription request form at my Dr's, and stating the reason I wanted Cholera was because I am going to an area of cholera.  Then basically you have to wait to see if the Dr will give you a prescription.  Mine did, and as a prescription on the NHS it cost £30 but if you do it privately it will probably cost you double that.  The prescription is a liquid you have to drink and the dose is 2 "drinks" one week apart.

Now there will still be more injections you will need to get, but you will probably have to go to a specialized travel clinic for them, and just make sure you research fully what you need, and take enough time to budget, as they can be very expensive.

The 4 main ones seem to be
Malaria
Rabies
Japanese encephalitis
Yellow fever

Yellow fever for instance you HAVE to have before going to certain countries!

Here is a link for the NHS Travel vaccine site, so check it out.

Injections

Well the good news is I have started getting all my injections today for traveling, I had my first shot of Hep A and B.  Need 2 more before I go, and 1 a year later, so will have to do that in Australia!

Going to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine  next week as they have a walk in clinic in the mornings, so will hopefully get all the other jabs I need, need to visit the Dr first to check what I have had already, and then hopefully it wont be too expensive, although I know Malaria tablets are expensive, and as you can see from the malaria hotspot map above, pretty much everywhere we are going are malaria hotspots!

The injections I think I will need are Cholera, Japanese encephalitis, Rabies, TB, and Typhoid but
Im pretty sure im protected against Polio and Tetanus/Diphtheria.

Its all getting very close now!

100 days left until traveling or 3 months until I finish work :D

Today is the best day so far, as we now only have 3 months left of work, and 100 days until traveling!  I thought I would make the occasion by showing you this piece of youtube amazingness!  I would really like to visit this elephant sanctuary as the elephants paint!  Yes Paint!

Please watch the video, I find it amazing, especially as the elephant can paint better than myself!

Backpacking Vs Partying...

It's almost an inevitable part of traveling, although in some backpacking circles it is considered almost a  dirty word... Partying.

The photo above is from Me and Andy's first stint of traveling, which lasted 2.5 weeks, around Europe.    We did alot of drinking in that trip, but much less partying, more hanging out with other travelers, and even if you do party in Europe, you dont feel bad as it is such an ingrained part of our culture in  the West (although the big groups of hen/stag nights in Prague did feel abit wrong).  However when travelling in developing countries you feel like rich Westerners taking advantage of their home and cultures.

There does seem to be a distinct difference in backpackers minds between Backpacking, and ahem "holidaying", which is looked down upon by "seasoned" travelers  And part of the difference seems to be to do with how much partying you do.

Now I do get the gist of concept as I will, when I leave the UK, consider myself a traveller, and a backpacker, and not a holiday maker.  My way of defining the 2 is that a holiday maker will visit one main location, stay for a short time, and not wish to give up some of the creature comforts of home eg hygiene and toilet facilities etc, whilst a traveller will go to a new place to soak up the local culture, will probably stay away from home longer and will visit several places, and not mind so much about the creature comforts.

Now even as the fairly eco conscious, cultured person I am, I still would like to indulge my hedonistic side (all be it fairly inoften, as most of the time I think we will be "hanging out" rather than partying), and the 3 main places  I am excited about going to for this reason are -



1) Thailand - Koh Phangan or The Full Moon Party
Doubtlessly most people will have heard of Thailand's famous full moon parties.  They are held in a crescent shaped bay in Koh Phangan, once a month under the full moon.  Its sounds romantic and hippyish (which it was when it started), but nowadays it is really much a rave full of Western drunk tourists.  Alot of people try to score drugs there which is inadvisable as Thailand has very strict drug laws (and hefty prison sentences).  Im pretty sure the party could be horrific but it is somewhere I have wanted to go for awhile, and plan to do so.  There is some good advice here about "surviving" the full moon party.

2) Laos - Vang Vieng or Tubing along the Nam Song River
A slightly less well known party spot, but pretty big on the Banana pancake trail.   Basically you get in a rubber tube at the start of the bars/clubs and then tube along the river until you get to the next bar and a barman throws a line out to you and then pulls you in, so you can drink.  I was pretty captivated by the idea of this until I found out how many people DIED, yes died there last year, and how if you dont die or get injured from tubing/diving/sliding you can pick up a pretty nasty bacterial infection from the water.  So although I want to go I think i'll stick to walking around the town.

3) Indonesia - The Gili Isles
This is the place I am at the moment most looking forward to.  It is beautiful and tiny, with no cars or motorbikes allowed, so peaceful!  It does look like paradise!

So there you have my top 3 party destinations!  Im sure many more will crop up on my way round the world!