How to Pack for an Extended International Trip
When traveling internationally for an extended period of time, there is a balance between bringing what you want and not being weighed down by a ton of luggage.
When traveling internationally for an extended period of time, there is a balance between bringing what you want and not being weighed down by a ton of luggage.
Even more than five years after we took our 4 1/2 month around the world trip with our girls in 2003 to 2004, we still get questions about what the circumstances were leading up to that journey and why we decided to do it. We received our initial inspiration from several sources.
There is no electrical grid in Buhoma – the name of the settlement that includes the buildings both inside and outside of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. It took 180km (111 miles) of poor dirt roads to get here and the nearest paved road is 85km (53 miles) away. Our purpose for coming to Buhoma was to see the mountain gorillas in the wild.
After weeks of planning and researching and packing, the day of departure is here. Even with all the preparations that we had made, we were still busy literally up to the time we left for the airport on Sunday morning.
We are now in the dead center of the country – Alice Springs. It’s been in the 90’s and 100’s degrees F for the last week. And because of wet weather to the north, it’s a bit humid as well.
We are currently on the fast boat up the Tonle Sap River from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We have just finished staying three nights in Phnom Penh, the capital city.
We’ve started week two of our vacation here in Japan. One of the things that struck me about how Japan is different from the U.S. is their use of slippers.