Thoughts on Blogging

I will be honest, both Urvi and I are pretty tech savvy, but until we began started planning this trip I had not contemplated setting up a Blog. Its bit strange really as I read a number of blogs, mainly technology related but also my second love Cricket, but I have never set one up myself. It is a pretty liberating experience really. A bit like writing a diary, but enhanced by the sharing element of it, and of course the ability to drop in a live Map and Pics.

As a technogeek, and someone who attempts to take meaningful photos, the documentary/archiving aspects of this are really exciting for me and in some ways I cant wait to take this on while we are traveling.

Our world trip blog, is the first of what may be many blogs, so please do tell us what you think and how we might improve things.

A journey round the world begins with a simple plan…

One of the first things that we found when thinking about trip was to start planning early. I know that people talk about a trip like this as a voyage of discovery and therefore the more planning you do, the less you may enjoy the experiences, but honestly a certain amount of planning is essential.

First things first, we decided on a number of issues very early on, much of this sounds obvious, but it is important to clear these things at the beginning.

• The trip was going to be for 1 year.
• We were going to fund this trip 100% out of our savings, no money no trip!
• Based on needing to save and plan before we go we decided on a departure year of 2009
• As much as possible we would try and get to ALL the places we both wanted to visit. But also we knew that there would be further trips in the future.

So from here on in the planning began! I tell you, it is half the fun I think!!!!

How it all started...

Sitting in the Tower of London museum, we had a conversation about things to do and achieve in life, I wanted to buy a Merc, She wanted a nice house, I wanted to set up a home cinema, and she wanted to travel the world....

...What? travel the world, how we going to do that? We were in our mid 20s and trying to establish our careers, progress in life and set up a home, family etc. How can you do this and travel the world?

I guess it is all about Risk and how much risk you want to take to achieve your ambitions in life. For me it was about potentially leaving a job for a year to travel the world, but with no real assurance of having a job to return to.

This was the first lesson I have learnt while planning for this trip. Life is about making decisions and sticking to them, there will always be pros and cons, but doing nothing is the best way to go backwards.

That was 2004, this is 2008. Join us in the trip of our lifetime!!!!

Background

About this site: This site is for our families and friends, and also as a keepsake for ourselves. Over time it will give us a place to share the experiences that we are sure will change us for ever. We'll consider it to be a success if our family and friends enjoy it, and if it encourages or helps even one more person to travel, then even better!

About us: We are Urvi and Anand Shah, a married couple of seven years now! Urvi is the wife and Anand the husband. We are in our late 20’s although I (Anand) am gonna be 30. We live in Birmingham, UK. Urvi is a Physiotherapist and I am a Healthcare Manager working in the NHS. We're basically a fairly normal pre-kids couple, looking to find the meaning of life (!)

About this trip: This is a trip inspired by Urvi. We have always enjoyed travel, but have not been able to go to all the places we have dreamt of. Being the inpatient people we are! We decided to fulfill a lifelong dream and travel the world all in one go. The trip will be 15 months. We started slowly saving soon after we met, and with the proper planning, it all turned out to be more affordable than we originally anticipated (let us know if you'd like more info on this). With a few exceptions, we plan to get to all the places each of us wanted to visit and experience.

As we want to get a really feel for the countries we visit, and not stay cooped in western hotels, or bus tours; our accommodations will usually be hostels, homestays, camping where possible and even camper vans! I (Anand) would also like the odd day of luxury thrown in too!

Our travel philosophy: We're more interested in finding out what life is like in a given place than we are in seeing all the tourist spots. That said, we don't "go native" when we arrive somewhere. We have adopted a style of planning well and in detail, but trying to keep as much flexibility for when we are there. We want to spend a fair amount of time just walking around to get to know a place and lifestyle - the "vibe," so to speak.

Travel is going to be a mix of as many forms of transport as possible! From flying on the Airbuss A380 super jumbo, to cruising the Nile, to the endurance of the trans Siberian railway!

What do you think we MUST DO

We would love to hear from you and get some recommendations of the things that we must see, do, eat or experience during our trip.

Please leave advice, a travel story, a tip - or just tell us about your favorite place to visit or a spot not to be missed.

Thanks!!

Urvi and Anand