The Visa Challenge

A few weeks ago, I took a big map of the world and made one of those trip maps using pushpins and red string to get a visual idea of where we're going. It turns out I should have used pushpins and red tape.

We've been making the final preparations for our trip, which includes fun stuff like buying shiny new outdoor gear, but also less-fun stuff like navigating an endless maze of bureaucracy just to convince the countries on our itinerary to let us go spend some money there.

The first visa we got was India, and the process was totally painless. Show up in the morning, pay your $60, come back in the afternoon, bam. Visa. Done. There wasn't even a line! It was a beautiful thing, but it's all been downhill from there. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say I get the distinct impression from China and Russia's visa processes that they'd really rather everyone just stop bothering them about getting into their countries.

We've had some huge logistical support from our respective families, and at this point I am confident we'll be able to get all the necessary stamps, stickers and seals before we leave, but man, I will be happy to get 'er done. 12 days to departure!

A (Relatively) Brief Itinerary

Once upon a time, two intrepid, remarkably good looking grad students (Bryce and Mallory) decided that work was for suckers, and that they would prefer to spend their time gawking at stuff, sleeping in hostel dorms and eating strange food. With this in mind, they set to work planning an epic, globe-spanning, 6 month, 5 continent monster of a trip. Jobs can wait, they said, we've got mountains to climb and trains to ride!

Fortunately, these two grad students possessed near-superhuman tolerance for debt.

The trip kicks off on September 11 and, her head swimming with vaccinations for every disease for which there exists an affordable vaccination, Mallory whipped up this brief (and subject to change) outline of the next six months:

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Duration: 4 days

To see: Fish markets, crazy watches, bar from Lost in Translation, Godzilla

To do: Eat sushi, master the art of claw games

Note: Bryce visited Japan earlier this year, so we figured we’d use our quick stopover to check out some of the places he saw.

Location: Bhutan

Duration: 10 days

To see: Tiger’s Nest Monastery, phallic window drawings, Himalaya

To do: Hike the Druk Path

Note: The tourism industry in Bhutan is still pretty quiet due to previous restrictions on the number of visitors allowed in the country. Even now, all tours are government-regulated and there is no price variation between agencies.

Location: India

Duration: 51 days

Cities: Calcutta, New Delhi, Agra

To see: Ganges, mountains, crazy busy cities

To do: Eat delicious Indian food, ride the train

Note: India is a place Bryce and I have both always wanted to visit. I’m not sure what his motivation is, but I know that A Little Princess took place there and that is all I need to know.

Location: Trans-Siberian Railroad (Beijing to St Petersburg)

Duration: 21 days

Cities: Beijing, Ulaanbaatar, Irkutsk, Moscow, St Petersburg

To see: Great Wall, Olympic buildings, Gobi desert, Lake Baikal, Kremlin, Lenin

To do: Stay in Ger camps, party on the train, watch for Siberian tigers

Note: We probably won’t see any Siberian tigers.

Location: Tallinn, Estonia

Duration: 2 days

To see: One of the world’s best-preserved medieval city centers!

To do: Ride the ferry to Helsinki (potentially)

Note: Tallinn was suggested to us by the owner of our travel agency, since it is only a 20$ bus ride from St Petersburg. Even poor students like us can’t say no to that.

Location: Austria/Switzerland

Duration: 14 days

Cities: Vienna, Zurich, Gryon

To see: Friends, Alps

To do: Relax, ski, drink cider, eat fondue

Note: A little dash of western culture to make our first Christmas away a little homier. For Christmas we’ll be staying at my favourite hostel ever in Gryon, Switzerland, a definite recommendation for anyone who wants to escape the city life and is traveling on a budget.

Location: Tanzania

Duration: 20 days

To see: The top of Africa, big animals, little animals

To do: 7 day climb up Kilimanjaro, Serengeti safari, Zanzibar

Note: We are doing the 7 day Rongai route up Kilimanjaro with Team Kilimanjaro with the hope that a slightly longer climb will result in both of us summiting. No safari is booked yet, but if anyone has a recommendation for something near Ngorongoro crater, let us know!

Location: Argentina/Chile/Bolivia/Peru

Duration: 60 days

Route: Overland, south from Buenos Aires to Tierra del Fuego, then north through Chile and Peru to Lima

To see: Patagonia, the Andes, Bolivian salt flats, Machu Picchu

To do: Eat delicious Argentinian steaks, drink delicious South American wines, take pictures of rocks, explain ourselves at 7 border crossings in 2 months due to poor train planning

Note: This is the least planned part of the trip, we are hoping to figure it out once we get there. Neither of us can speak Spanish, so we’ll see how this goes.