20 May Update – Packing

Airline tickets for Stephanie and Kimberly to return to Toronto from Amsterdam on June 13^th have been booked. All lodging and rental car arrangements have been made for the period until Stephanie and Kimberly leave the Netherlands. We will visit Niagara Falls, Stirling Scotland, London, Normandy, Paris, and the Netherlands during her part of the trip. As you might expect, Western Europe is been expensive to book, even taking budget friendly accommodations. I expect the entire trip around the rest of the world will cost less than what I have spent on the first three weeks so far.

I have gotten e-visas for Caleb and I to visit India and Azerbaijan. I applied for Nepal e-visas as well, but never heard back. Nepal and Bangladesh both offer a visa-on-arrival option. No other countries we plan to visit require a visa. To retain maximum flexibility, I have not booked flights or accommodations past June 13^th. Caleb and I have one more dose of typhoid pills to take in the morning. We had most of our vaccinations a few weeks ago. I still have one more round of hepatitis B shot to do, which I will have to accomplish en route, since the second dose must be at least 28 days after the first.

We have made lists and begun packing. We acquired travel specific backpacks. We plan to avoid checking any bags. We will only take what can be carried in a backpack/carry-on combo and a smaller personal item pack. Both Caleb and I found double packs from Osprey that allow us to fasten a smaller day pack to a larger carry on and tote both of them hands free. At some later date, I will review these in more detail. They are quite handy for traveling light.

I am bringing a laptop, a phone, and a camera. No one else will bring a computer or camera. We are each carrying about six sets of shirts, socks and underwear. I have two pairs of long pants, one pair of swim trunks that double as workout shorts, and another pair of shorts with full pockets, etc. I also have a thin insulated long sleeve sweatshirt that is quite warm and a Gore Tex jacket. I have one pair of hiking boots and one pair of runners. Of course I have my charging cords and electric adapter, a toothbrush, deodorant, a comb, travel sized sunscreen, toothpaste, and lotion.

We will set out first thing Tuesday morning. We won’t have much interesting to report Tuesday or Wednesday as we plan to spend most of those days driving so as to have about three days in the Niagara area before our flight leaves for Edinburgh on Saturday night.