As your dream slowly turns into a reality and you realize you are only a few short months away from D-day (expected date is Nov 2009). It’s time to start looking at the checklist to make sure all those T’s are crossed and I’s are dotted. What should I pack for RTW travel? The first leg of my trip will consist of 6 months in Central/South America, maybe longer if it agrees with me. The 2nd leg (Dec 2010) has me returning stateside (2-3 weeks) regrouping and heading to Eastern Europe, Russia, China, Japan, SE Asia, India and……

I have broken all my pre-departure tasks into the following categories:

• Health
• Gear
• Clothing
• Electronics
• Money/budget
• Airfare/itinerary

HEALTH

1. Vaccinations (avian flu and a few others that are recommended)
   
2. Medicine kit (aspirin, cold medicine, malaria precautions, band-aids,neosporin…)
3. Travel medical insurance- still debating on doing this or not……..
   
4. Last will and testament- have my first one from 1998 when I studied in Poland for 6 months
   
5. Power of attorney (someone to take care of any medical emergencies if you become incapacitated)
6. Lots of Coppertone Sport- sunscreen is wicked expensive outside the US

GEAR

1. Backpack-(Northface Terra 55)
   
2. Daypack- standard backpack
   
3. Locks (MAC lock, backpack locks)
   
4. Extra passport photos
5. passport and vaccination card
6. small bag of toiletries (most can be found on your journey for cheap)
   

CLOTHING

1. Shoes (hiking,sandal,day shoe)
2. Pants ( 1 kahki and 1 blue jean…i’ve heard what ppl say but I want my bj’s with me!)
3. Shirts (4-5 various, short sleeve, long sleeve)
4. Dresses/skirts (3-4 summer dresses)
5. 1 dress that can be wrapped to give you 10 different looks
   
6. Underwear/sports bras/1 bra (5 pairs)
7. Socks (3 pairs)
8. Hat with wide brim
9. Fleece jacket
10. Waterproof jacket
    
11. Pashmina/large thin scarf (great all round item: towel, scarf, blanket, shawl)
    

ELECTRONICS

1. Mac book with added RAM
2. Flip video camera (60 min HD video)
3. Camera
4. Power converters
5. Sim cellphone
   

MONEY/BUDGET

1. 6 month budget $6k- but would like to spend more like $4k
2. 2 separate checking accounts (each with less than $2500)
3. Bulk of savings is split into 3 accounts (Bofa, ING, and Bank Direct)
4. 3 Photocopies of all credit cards/debit cards with International numbers
5. Financial Power of Attorney (Find someone you trust with your finances, just in case)
   

AIRFARE/ITINERARY

1. Flight budget of $2k (flight from CLT- GUA (Nov) & EZE-CLT (May) $900 as of 12.22.9)
2. Free flights using FF miles (Delta and US Air)
3. collection of economy flight sites (www.vayama.com, www.attitudetravel.com..etc)
4. I no longer have itinerary just vague idea of countries I would like to see (Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia). I will start in Guatemala for Spanish study and then move south.

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