We're Gearing Up for the Asia-Europe Odyessy

The Chapters of our Lives - Time to Turn the Page

Now that our darling granddaughter Imogene has been safely delivered and happily opening a new chapter in our lives

Hello - Imogene, May 5, 2014, 8 pounds, 10 ounces

and my Dad's Celebration of Life Memorial and Commitment of both of my parents ashes at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery on May 30 has sadly closed a chapter in our lives,

Farewell Mom and Dad
LaVerne Ogden Monico (1927-2012) and Archie A. Monico, Jr. (1927-2014)                              In Our Hearts - Together Forever

Military Honors for Dad

Russ and I are turning our attention to our upcoming Around the World Odyssey, which is another new chapter of our Travel R Adventures.

Around the World Odyssey

We  begin  with an overland Silk Road Odyssey  by rail from Beijing, China to Russia.  From Russia, we will leave our Sundowner's tour group and visit the Baltics, working our way through Eastern Europe down to Croatia, Turkey, and Greece.  Part of our trip through Eastern Europe will be on a river cruise on the Danube River from Vienna to the Black Sea.

Planning for this trip has been quite an adventure unto itself.  There is all the administrative preparation that has to be done (passports, visas, travel insurance, health evacuation planning, transportation, money, global access clearance), transportation and accommodation planning,  and all the physical stuff that has to be done (immunizations, health checks, purchasing, packing, updating software, joining travel clubs, becoming trusted house sitters, downloading information).  Sailing with the wind on our own mode of transportation with no set dates was actually easier.

Administrative Stuff

All this preparation really takes the joy out of travel. And of course, there is a certain amount of anxiety as we head into countries that are on the fringe of hospitality and unrest.

To begin with, we needed to send in our passports for more pages as our previous travel had exhausted the pages. I'm almost thinking that a new passport would be thinner and lighter than the fat little books we are now carrying.   Then we needed Visas for China, Uzbekistan, Kzakhstan, and Russia, but we couldn't get them either too soon or submit them too late as it takes time for them to be sent to the appropriate consulates some of which are in Washington, D.C.  Since two of the visas required courier or in  person delivery, we chose to hire a visa company (CIBT)  in San Francisco who took care of these details.  Even with someone else doing the leg work, we still had to fill out these long applications that are apparently "just desserts" for Americans as we too ask this kind of information from citizens of these countries.  Fortunately, Russ has a whole lot more patience for paper work than I do.  The good news is, that we got word from the visa company that our visas had been approved, and we retrieved the passports this past Monday (1 week before departure).  

We had also applied for the Global Access (GOES), expedited customs and TSA precheck and received conditional approval pending and interview on the same Monday we traveled to San Francscio to pick up the passports. Unfortunately, we could only get on the calendar for an interview in August....hmmm, think we will be in Poland or Croatia.  Not good.  We had hoped to get this all taken care of before we left.  Approval allows us to go through TSA flight checks without having to take off half of our clothing and be expedited through customs upon our return to the US.


Russ had read online that sometimes there are no shows and cancellations at the Global Access Office located at San Francisco Airport.  After we picked up our passports, we decided to take BART to SFO and hangout and see if our patience to wait around would be rewarded with and interview.  We arrived at 11:30, and came face to face with a sign that said, "No Walk-In Appointments."  Not good. Mustering up our courage we went into the office and talked with officer in charge.  He said the schedule for the day was impossible, and he would not commit to anything.  We told him we were patient and would wait outside and check the online appointments to see if a cancellation showed up.

Lunch came and went as did scores of people in and out of the GOES office.  The actual appointments only lasted 10 minutes for any questions regarding the lengthy online application and electronic finger printing.  At 3:00, the officer we talked with came out and indicated he received a 3:15 cancellation for one person.  We decided Russ would take this first appointment.  He went in and came out in about 10 minutes.  Their only concern was our trip to Laos in 2013.  Russ told him it was part of an organized tour through S. E. Asia.

4:00.....5:00......5:30 (They close at 6:00)   One of the officers who had been calling names all day came out and motioned me into the office.  There had been a no-show, they were on schedule, and could interview me!  Whooppee!  I had my short interview, got finger printed, and am now approved.  It was a long day.  The GOES officers were very kind and accommodating and our patience was rewarded.  What is the saying?"Good things come to those who wait."  Americans are generally not very patient, but our travels to other countries and checkins have helped condition us to being patient.

Planning for Eastern Europe

One can no longer slap on the backpack and spend months on end in Europe.  Many of the countries in Europe have signed on to the Schengen agreement that allows freer access between participating countries, but it also means that non-Europeans, cannot stay in the entirety of the Schengen zone for more than 90 days during a 180 day (six month) period.  Some of these countries are a part of the EU, some are not.  Some new ones were added last year, some may be accepted this year.  So even what we know now may change.   The clock starts at entry, and stops upon exit.  You can go in and out of the Schengen Zone starting and stopping for 180 days (six months), but cannot be in the Schengen zone for more than 90 days.  I think there is a market here for an app.....Ha! Just looked it up and there is a Schengen calculator app.  We will have to give it a try.

We will enter the Shengen Zone in Finland, and as we zig and zag through eastern Europe we will be out of the Zone in Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Bosnia/Herzgovina,  Turkey and UK.  We will be in the Zone for Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungry, Solvakia, Austria, and Greece.  So in our planning we need to keep track of how many days we tally up in the Shengen Zone so that we don't over stay our welcome and don't short change ourselves at the end of the trip when we  hope to travel to Greece, and maybe Sicily.

Transportation and Accommodation in Eastern Europe.  

Once we are no longer on the Silk Odyssey Rail Adventure, we will need to start negotiating our own transportation.  At this point we are not making any plans until we get to Finland. Originally, we were going to assess our health and willingness to proceed on the rest of our adventure. However, that has changed a bit, as we have now signed up for Danube River Cruise from Vienna to the Black Sea and to Istanbul in early through late September.   So if we aren't feeling full of stamina our explorations between the two tours (rail through China and cruise down the Danube) may be more or less casual depending our state of being.  If we aren't able or unwilling to continue at any point after we get to Istanbul, we will buy a plane ticket home.  We currently only have a one way ticket to Beijing.

Our plan if not by rail or boat is to rent cars, take busses, and planes, and trains.  After considering our options, we have decided that a EurRail pass might not work well for us in the countries we plan to visit, so if we take the train it will be point to point.  Planes for short hops are not too expensive.  I looked up a flight from Prague to Split, Croatia today, and it was $159.00.  By train this might take a day or two, a lot of train changes, plus accommodations, and food.  Flying between places may be a more convenient and cost effective method of transportation.

In terms of accommodations, we will use primarily Airbnb, and maybe some hostels.  We have also joined SERVAS and hope to make some new friends through home stays.  We just signed up for TrustedHousesitters.com and are available as housesitters should the occasion arise.

PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE SOME OTHER SUGGESTIONS OR CONNECTIONS FOR ACCOMMODATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOME STAYS.  

Our experience in traveling is not so much about the destination but about the journey and the people we meet along the way.  That is the real treasure of travel.  It's about Faces not Places.

Packing - Ugh!

Part of the adventure has been trying to think about what we can fit into the small rolling backpacks that we have decided to use.  It's really a problem for both of us with big feet.  Those shoes really take up a lot of space!

We have chosen to go light because we will be doing a lot of traveling and hauling of our own gear.  We don't want to spend time checking luggage or picking it up, but something we can carry on an keep with us at all times.

The backpacks we chose came from REI.  They have straps for carrying like a backpack, wheels to roll like luggage, and a detachable day pack (very small).  They looked pretty roomy until we (I should say I) started to pack it up.  And yes, three weeks out, and I was packed up.  Every few days, I assess what I can do without and reshuffle.  Our bathroom area is chaotic looking as I shuffle and sort.  Russ doesn't seem to have nearly the problem I do.  It must be those bottles of wrinkle remover cream, suntan lotion, sunscreen, big shoes (only two pair in the pack, one for hiking, and sandals).

I am taking two skirts, two summer dresses, two long pants, two short pants just below the knee, 5 tops, thermal underwear that will serve as pj's when they are not under my clothes, swimsuit, and some underwear.  Doesn't seem like much but it all takes up space because I have to leave room for the rain gear, sweater, jacket, routine medicines, emergency travel medications, eyeglasses, contact lenses, sleeping sack, towel, anti-bacterial wipes, and emergency rations like cups of soup, tea, coffee, granola bars...and a little teapot.

After our trip to Southeast Asia, Nepal, India, and Bhutan where the food was good but sometimes didn't agree with us, we were happy to have something we could trust eating, by boiling the water first.   Not all places had equipment to boil water and those that did were often circumspect in regards to cleanliness, so this time we are bringing a half liter electric teapot.  At least we will know that no one washed their socks  or underwear in it!  Crikey!

Oh an let's not forget the tech gear...camera, lenses, batteries, iPad, Airbook, Kindle, SAT phone, iPods, cords, chargers, converters.  How did we ever live without all of this stuff?

The airlines allow two carry-ons.  One you can stow overhead, and one you can stow under your seat.  The small detachable day pack is really too small for most of my personal items which include the medications, travel purse, and camera gear, so I will carry my trusty foldable backpack that will encompass both the day pack and these extra items, including jacket.

UPDATE

Unfortunately, we just couldn't get everything into the small rolling back pack, particularly the food supplies (cup of soup packets, oatmeal packets, tea, coffee, coffee mate, protein bars) and bottles larger the 3.4 oz (large bottles of allergy free contact lens solution, hand sanitizers, etc.) that will eventually be consumed.  Each of us will check on a small nylon duffle with the extra stuff that we hope will shrink and eventually disappear as we jettison and consume stuff we decide we really don't need.

If we could trust buying all of this stuff in China, we wouldn't have to pack it.  And, China may have all of this stuff, but we don't read or speak Chinese and only have a day or two in Beijing before we board our train.  So let's hope the check ons make  it okay!

We wil not be on the train the whole 28 days.  Nine of the nights are on the train, the other nights will be in guest houses, home stays, hotels, and yurts.  Frankly, I am not looking forward to the train if it is anything like what we experienced in India, and we are worried that it might be a bit rough.  But I guess we can live through anything for a couple of weeks......let's hope.

We may be reactivating our SPOT, and if we do so we will let you know so that you can follow our travel tracks in near real time, although in Krygyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan may not have good satellite coverage.  Our plan is to blog post when we have some Internet coverage, but it may be haphazard.

So that's about it for now.  Our heads are swimming with possibilities, probabilities, and promise.  We are looking forward to a new adventure.  In some ways, this is more daunting than sailing across the Pacific.  But it is time to leave the safe harbor behind and set off for new adventures.

All is Well with the Worrall Travel Rs.