| Adrian
and Katie's World Tour Frequently Asked Questions |
Katie and Adrian spent a year a month a week and a day travelling the world between February 1998 and March 1999. Since setting up this website, we have received numerous e-mails from other travellers and would be travellers. The following is a selection of frequently asked round the world travel questions and our responses.
| Q | The big stumbling block we're having at the moment is the flights! How and where did you book your flights? And how much did they cost? | A | We booked our flights through a consolidator. This gives you complete flexibility to change things round and the benefit of a rock bottom price. Try Trailfinders, 194 Kensington High St, London, (+44) 171 938 3848. |
| Q | I have always dreamed of leaving the rat race behind and spending a year traveling the world. But my husband doesn't believe it's possible, and I'm having trouble convincing him that it can be more than a pipe dream. | A | Tell him to get a grip on reality - life is not a dress rehearsal. With a little forward planning it's not hard to park your career for a year, rent the house out and take the trip of a lifetime. Neither Katie nor I had any trouble picking up the 'rat race' on our return. |
| Q | I am planning to spend one year travelling with my girlfriend. What would you consider to be an 'acceptable' amount of money to take | A | It really does depend on where you go and what you want to do. If you're tight for cash, stick to developing countries, such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand. We budgeted between $45 and $70 US per day for both of us excluding flights. I do recommend you make out a detailed budget and stick to it unless you want to come home early. |
| Q | How should I access my money while I am travelling. I have been told that the best bet is to have a Cirrus/ Maestro card for accessing ATM's | A | We took a small quantity of US dollars, which we split up into four secret hiding places - for emergencies. In some places - greenbacks are the only thing you'll be able to exchange (eg parts of Vietnam). The US Dollar is the closest thing to internationally acceptable currency - many countries won't change sterling or will give a poor rate (exceptions to this are former UK colonies eg India). We took most of our currency as travellers cheques split between us. When we were travelling between destinations we'd use hidden pouches and belts to carry these. US Dollar travellers cheques are acceptable almost everywhere - and the advantage is that if they're stolen you can easily get replacements. |
| Q | The suspense is killing me.... It's worse than "Who shot JR." What was the awful truth about Brenda in Belize? | A | Brenda turned out to be a crack cocaine addict. A few years back, a a big bale of crack cocaine was washed up on the beach in Placencia, and it seriously screwed up a lot of peoples' lives. We were lucky we found out before we got robbed blind! |
| Q | You got robbed a few times. Should I keep my pack with me at all times just to be sure. What do I do when I travel on a bus. | A | Practically speaking, you can't keep an eye on everything all of the time, and sometimes you just have to trust people. Nevertheless, you should be particularly vigilant late at night, around bus stations, especially in Latin America! Usually, you will need to put your big pack in the boot or on the roof of buses - we used to watch the boot usually up to the point the bus left. You can almost guarantee that if you spend a lot of time in Latin America - you will get robbed - so make sure you are insured, spread cash & travellers cheques around between bags etc. |
| Q | I am planning a trip to SE Asia and Australia. Can I get hold of APS film in Thailand? | A | APS film is available pretty much all over SE Asia as far as we could tell. However, why ruin the memories of your trip of a lifetime with grainy APS film - better to buy a decent 35mm or digital camera. Better still - buy the camera out there! Kathmandu was the cheapest place for electronics, then Singapore, then Hong Kong - way more bargains than the UK or USA. |
| Q | Is it ok if I print out pages from your website and use them in my school project? | A | Of course. |
| Q | I am a french student of 20 years old living in paris. I would like to make a world tour next year all by myself. Do you think it is safe for a woman to travel alone around the world? | A | There are risks associated with all travelling, that's part of the thrill I guess. As a single traveller, you will certainly enjoy more freedom to do what YOU want to do. If you're a bit shy or overly suspicious however, you could be in for a somewhat lonely time. You have to make constant judgements on who to trust and who's a risk. You soon develop a sense for where peopleare coming from. In general the people you choose to approach are safer than those that pick you out!. |
Adrian & Katie's World Tour - Frequently Asked Questions Last Updated: 9 September 2002 Web Page by Adrian Ball (email: adrian.ball@virgin.net)