Monthly Archive for February, 2008

“Rainy Days and Sundays Always Get Me Down”

Published
by
elizabeth
on February 10, 2008
in Planning and RTW Tickets
. 0 Comments

Teen Talk Barbie once said, “Math is hard!”  So is planning a trip about the world. 

It feels like such a bourgeois thing to moan about, but trying to work out the logistics of this trip has been one of the more challenging projects that we’ve tackled as a couple.  The fact is, I’m getting really, really tired of the planning phase.  If I could leave tomorrow, I would; but the sad fact remains that we’re nearly five months away from our departure date.  This doesn’t bode well. 

Most of my weeks are an emotional roller-coaster that have begun to take on an eerie sameness.  Sundays are trip planning days.  The work week has swallowed me whole, and by the time Sunday rolls around I’ve been thinking excitedly about all the things I want to accomplish today.  But after a few hours of research, we encounter some sort of a snag that discourages me thoroughly.  It’s usually nothing big but, because these inevitable disappointments occur week after week, the effect is cumulative.  If I read one more article about the weakened dollar, I think I’m going to die. 

The most difficult part of planning has been figuring out an itinerary.  Every time I think we’re close to finalizing it, we encounter some sort of  setback.  We have discovered that planning a round-the-world trip is a classic chicken-egg situation.  One part of the process is so dependent upon the others that it is often difficult to know what to tackle first.  But the general concensus seems to be that, once you’ve finalized your transportation plans, everything else falls into place.  Unfortunately, it is also the part of the process that makes you want to tear your hair out.  As Maikael said today, ”Buying this plane ticket is like buying a house:  you’ll promise yourself when you’re done that you’ll never do it again.”   

Last week, at the suggestion of our guide book, we consulted a local travel agent.  When we handed over our two-page itinerary, I could see the panic streak across her eyes.  “Have you ever helped anyone plan this kind of a trip before?” Maikael asked.  “Well, not exactly,” she replied.  “But I have helped people with international cruises.” 

Clearly, we were on our own.

Today we took the monumental step of calling American Airlines ourselves to inquire about their OneWorld program.  I’m not sure what we’ve been waiting for, but it felt like a big deal to acknowledge that we might be close to booking a ticket.  After an hour on the phone, the usual Sunday disappointment set in.  We learned what “stopovers” and “legs” really mean.  We discovered that the OneWorld Alliance no longer serves a route from Bali to Australia.  We learned that, if we purchased our tickets from France or England, they could be had for nearly $4,000 less. 

We’re not exactly back to square one, but it sure feels like it. 

Ironical [sic]

Published
by
elizabeth
on February 9, 2008
in Finances and WTER
. 4 Comments

I was pleased as punch when President Bush approved an economic stimulus act this week, for this will mean an additional $1,200 for Our Trip Fund.  But I couldn’t help but observe the irony:  the very money that is supposed to stimulate the U.S. economy will, in our household, be spent entirely in overseas markets.  Ca-ching!

WTER CoffeeI can’t feel too bad, though, even if we haven’t really done our part to stimulate the economy in the past six months.  Saving for this trip has been an exercise in ascetic self-control.  It has meant cutting back and prioritizing in nearly every area of our lives.  Items that were once referred to simply by their monetary value — “that Starbucks coffee is $5″ — have now been assigned a World Travel Equivalency Rate (WTER).  A Starbucks coffee, therefore, is now referred to as “a night in an Indian hostel.”  We’ve learned that you can boil just about anything down to its WTER and, because of this principle, one can’t help but be wracked with guilt when buying, well, just about anything.

The WTER principle was painfully illustrated to me last month.  The universe, apparently testing my resolve, sent Anthropologie into my life shortly after we made the decision to travel around the world and save all of our discretionary income.  I hate to shop, but Anthropologie is a store that makes my heart sing.  Upon walking through the doors, I typically covet about 84% of its merchandise on any given shopping trip.

The DressLast month was no exception.  Hoping to snag some post-Christmas deals, the only thing I really wanted was a dress.  It cost $138.  I loved this dress.  I wanted this dress.  But all I could see was its WTER, staring me in the face:  a full day of spa treatments in Bali.  A week on the Milford Track.  One-third of a tour up Machu Picchu.  A bus ride from Montevideo to Sao Paulo and back (plus snacks along the way).  Using the WTER metric, buying the dress just seemed frivolous.  The budgeting chapter of our round-the-world travel guide contains a “Spendometer” chart.  Basically, it tells you how far $1,000 will take you, depending on where you’re traveling.  For $1,000 you can spend 15 days in Japan…or 71 days in India.  I realize I’ve become a human Spendometer.  I reluctantly put my New Zealand hiking trip back on the rack and headed out of the store and into the cold.