Dusseldorf Summary and Couch surfing – first experience

We spoke before about couchsurfing – the networking website where you can locate and meet a host to stay with in various towns and countries right throughout the world. We have now had our first experience of the real thing, and it was great.

Must say, the thought of meeting new people is not a big deal, but then to stay at their place – this was a little daunting. Most of our friends - namely Harvir, Kevin, Michelle and later on Mike!!! were scared witless by the idea. But staying with Steve in Dusseldorf was really a nice experience and has sold us on surfing couches. Steve is a political analyst working for the ministry of internal affairs in Dusseldorf (Steve - I hope I got that right!!) and he lives in the city proper.

Steve gave us good directions to get from the airport and to his place, which we did by train and then tram (great European public transport is to be expected!) the return fare for both of us cost 7.70eur so about $7. He then met us at the local tram stop, and we went to his place. A beautiful warm day, and lovely large windows, meant the apartment was really welcoming. We arrived at about 3pm, and sat and had coffee and shortbread (we had taken this from the UK for him). It was really nice.

The thing about couch surfing is not to treat it just a free place to stay. The Hosts also want to meet new people and the whole point is to be sociable and to see a place through the eyes of a local. This way we discovered so much more about Dusseldorf, Germany and many other things than we could have ever done so by simply staying in a hostel.

We then went out for a good walk along the Rhine, up the Dusseldorf tower (great views across the whole area and out towards cologne) and on into the old town part of Dusseldorf. I found it to be a nice but fairly typical European city, but again it was made much more colourful and enjoyable because of our host. We had dinner al fresco, in a traditional German eatery, and then had some awesome ice-cream, despite the chill in the evening. I think Dusseldorf is basically quite a business and commerce driven place, it is also famous for the ‘entertainment’ mile, this is basically a long road full of bars, restaurants and other fun things to do. I personally was not so taken by that part of the town as it seemed to full of groups Stag or Hen do’s (people partying before their weddings) I was taken by the sheer number of these groups!



The town is also a very artistic place, and apparently the art museums are really very good. We were only here for the evening so we did not get the chance to check them out.



I guess given a free choice we would not have come to Dusseldorf for much time, but the day spent with Steve was really worth it, and he was a wonderful guy, who welcomed us and really got the world trip off to a good start.

It is interesting how quickly one can wander between so many topics in conversation, from political systems, to food, to what can be done to solve the problems in Sri Lanka! In many ways this open conversation and debate is really hard work, but very enjoyable.

We had a room to ourselves, and felt very comfortable, again down to our host. Steve then saw us of in the early morning before we made our way to the airport hop over to St Petersburg.

Leaving On A jet Plane!!

That’s it the day has finally arrived, we have checked in and are waiting for our plane to Dusseldorf. Not the most adventurous of starts to the world trip, but you have to start somewhere, and you have to take the first step somehow. In some ways it will be better this way as we don’t have to take a long flight and get jet lagged from the beginning.

We said our goodbyes, the phone has been ringing constantly for a week now, and we are so lucky to have all the good wishes and best of luck from all the family and our friends.

I (Anand) think we are in such a privileged position to be doing this trip, and then we have the support of everybody it, its really overwhelming...

We are all packed up and ready to ship out!!

Well here we go, the bags are now packed and we are ready to rock and roll!!

As mentioned before we have planned to take 2 bags each, one large rucksack/travel pack, and the second smaller lighter day bag.

The stats of our packs are as follows:

Urvi's main bag weighs in at 14kg
Urvi's day bag weighs 5kg

Anand's main bag is 15kg
Anand's day bag is 6kg

Not bad really, but we will soon find out how much extra stuff we have packed, that we don’t need!!

We have both taken 3 sets of shoes, and tried to limit the amount of clothes we are taking, which will no doubt result in lots of shopping later on...!

Nearly the end of one long road, and nearly the beginning of another

Well here we are, it is just over 3 days to go before we embark on our world trip. A trip that we have been planning for over 2 years and have been waiting for even longer.

Everything is done, everything is bought. All we have to do is our final packing, final good byes and we are off!!!

We still want people's ideas and suggestions of thing to do, see etc, so please do get in touch – the best way is to contact us using the button on the right side, or post comments on the blog…

The next post we make will be our final final packing post with pics… we hope that we can still take some stuff out to reduce volume and mass, but let's see!! It seems that you take out with one hand and put in with another!! As we have also to add in some emergency food provisions. I am sure that in the first 2 weeks we will soon find out just how much we can carry and what is really unwanted load.

Can winning the lottery be a let down??

If you think about something, dream about something for long enough can finally achieving it be a little bit anticlimactic? Like the lottery – if you play the lottery and dream about winning for a long time, then when it actually happens is the experience any less joyful, because it was expected??

Most people would be mad at this thought, but quite honestly over the last few weeks, I have been having that feeling of anti-climax. We have been planning this trip since January 2007, that’s over 2 years! And now that we are down to the last days before we leave I am feeling something close to fatigue and ever so slightly underwhelmed. This is a really strange emotion, and I guess I rationalise it in 2 ways, the first is over-planning, and the second is over-expectation.

I think that we have immersed ourselves in the planning for this trip and that to some extent it is mapped out in my head, therefore I don’t have such a sense of adventure and going into the unknown. I hope that this will change over time, as we get further and further away from our comfort zone. The lesson here is to curb your sense of planning and let things happen…

The second issue of over-expectation is a real worry. It is possible to expect too much from such a trip, from yourself and from your travelling partner. It is possible to expect too much and then for your expectations (which were unrealistic) to be dashed, therefore making it feel that the trip has under delivered. I personally have to counter this, and really learn to take every positive out of this trip.

One of my friends, who went round the world a few years ago, gave me the best advice I have received re this trip – he said:
“…always remember how lucky you are to be able to do this and try not to become complacent during any perceived lows – some of our ‘low’ points have since turned out to be some of our fondest memories! Oh, and always wear sunscreen”

This is a personal achievement for Urvi and Myself, we have worked hard and arrived at a place where we have been able to take this trip. We only have ourselves to blame if this is not the trip of a lifetime, and if nothing else, we should spend the next 17months really seeing just how lucky we are. We have won our lottery, and we have no right to feel let down…

PS 17days to go….

Where the Hell is Matt?

When people do a world trip they often try and put some sort of funny theme to the trip. For example someone might take a picuture in each place they go with a knome (small garden figurine!) etc.

Urvi found out about Matt, who has made it round the world, being filmed dancing his own funny dance in each place! it is really cook to watch the video of this, and has given us some inspiration to do something - dont know what yet,, and i can guarantee it wont involve dancing!! but lets see...

Anywayy check Matt out...

From Droitwich to Datong...!

The first part of our trip is now set, and we now have all the tickets and Visas!

Part 1 of our world trip takes us from Droitwich on the 2nd of May to Dusseldorf in Germany for the evening!!

We then take the early morning flight to St Petersburg – the Cultural centre of Russia. Hermitage is the largest museum in the world and assuming that we don’t get lost in there, there is so much more to see and sample across the city.

On the 5th night we begin our epic train route across the vast country of Russia, the first leg is an easy overnight sleeper train to Moscow.

The centre of the soviet empire and target of the west’s attention during the cold war, I am sure we will get the chance to try one of those funny fur caps!

Late on the 8th night we jump on the ‘Baikal’ train, and one of the most classic rail journeys in the world properly gets under way. For those used to trains in India 3 or 4 days on train does not sound that significant, but in the world of budget airlines and easy travel, who in their right mind would stay on a train going 60mph for 4 days!! – Welcome to the trans-Siberian!

We will be stopping at Lake Baikal from the 12th to the 16th of May, and then in Mongolia for another 4 days, from the 17th to the 21st May. Before entering the land of the dragon – China!!

Datong is our first stop on the 22nd May, for a day and then we move on from there. We are currently planning the next stage, which will include China, Tibet and Japan, so stay in touch with us on the blog!

‘You had to be there' Moments

I love photography; I love the ability to capture a moment, a point in time. I love the fact that pictures are immediate ‘postcards’ on my life, where I have been and what I have seen. But more importantly I am attracted by the unlocking of emotions and thoughts that photographs give.

You look at a photo you have taken and immediately the door to that memory is thrown open. Long after the immediate reaction to the pictures content vanishes, you are left with the thoughts and emotions of the experience, my mind wanders in and around the picture, what was going on in the scene, who was there and what could I hear and smell.

An example if this is my 2 current favorite pictures I have taken – a simple shot of my hero Sachin Tendulkar and a sunset scene of Chicago. Neither are going to win awards and neither are perfect, but each time I see them I recall and unlock so many thoughts.



The Chicago sunset was my first taste of real freedom, I was on a summer vacation in the US, and I had gone to Chicago, alone but so excited. That boat trip came at the end of a long balmy summers day and the shot represents the new period of my life I hoped would start – independent, aspirational and ambitious.



Sachin Tendulkar, the God on this earth, up close and personal. I took this shot when india were playing in Birmingham, and in taking this shot I got so close to the little master, and he actually looked at me. Sounds so ludicrous, but any sense of connection can be powerful.

These are real “you had to be there” pictures, where the full impact is not contained in the prints, it is contained in the moment.

I will continue to take photos - I hope throughout my life - but I hope even more that I have more of these types of moments where the photo is just the start and actually it is the experience that holds the value. I hope that this world trip is just full of these times.

Less than 10 weeks to go...

Not long now, we have done loads since the last update. Some of the highlights:

• All shopping is done (I hope!) – We bought all the required items between our trip to see Ashish last November [2008] and the New Year sales in the UK. Nothing else to buy
• We have done a trial pack – all the stuff fits, and the packs are not as heavy as we thought, that is a good sign, but we still need to trim a few things out I think.
• We have bought our flight tickets from Birmingham to St Petersburg – so if nothing else we can go on a city break there!!
• We have booked our Trans-Siberian railway tickets (see previous post)
• We have applied for and received our Russian Visas and Australian permits – the bureaucracy did not defeat us
• We have applied for our Chinese, Mongolian and Vietnamese Visa’s
• We have opened all the credit card, and current accounts we need for the trip and have set the trip budget – a big deal looking at what all we want to do!

Will update again in some weeks, when hopefully nothing else will be left, other than to pack (I wish!)

Trans-Siberian tickets and planning

A few tips if you are planning a trans-Siberian journey

Think about the season you want to go in – we are going in spring time, it will be nice but it won’t be snowy, if you want to witness the real real Siberian world, go when there is snow on the ground. Late winter and early spring aren’t great as the melting snow leaves slush and mud everywhere!

Decide which way to go – you can go eastwards or westwards. For us this is the start of our trip (good for visa planning etc) so were are going Eastwards

Trans-Siberian, Trans-Mongolian or Trans-Manchurian? – There are actually many options and routes


We taking a fairly traditional trans-Mongolian route – as it says through Mongolia.

1st class, 2nd class or 3rd class – personally keep it simple go 2nd class, 1st class you will get a coupe for 2 and sometimes a ‘shower facility’, 2nd class is for 4 people and I think 3rd class is for 6, and is a little open.

This is 2nd Class - better than many hostels!!!



Stop or Non-Stop? – There are trains that will leave Moscow and go all the way to Beijing or Vladivostok, and people often buy a ticket that will take them all the way there. However it’s my opinion that this is for the rail geeks amongst us, and if you really want to get the most out of this trip, take a couple of stops. We are stopping at Irkutsk and Ulaanbaatar. Each time we will take a few days out, and explore the local areas around Lake Baikal (the deepest lake in the world) and the Mongolian Gobi desert.

It is important to note that you can’t buy a single ticket which allows you to make stopovers, so you will need to buy separate tickets. This makes the coordination of the trains to fit your schedule really crucial and therefore makes the next bit of advice important.

How do I get a ticket? – 3 main options, buy them yourself in Russia, buy the tickets through an agent, or buy a ‘package journey’ from a western agent.

1st off, I would not buy a package trip. They cost significantly more and ultimately you don’t get much more for your extra £s. The trains used are the same (unless you go for a really exclusive package costing £1,000s), you may get some excursions, but then exploring yourself is fun (as long as you make it back to catch the train!).

I also would not wait to buy tickets in Russia – unless you are flexible with your times/dates, and possibly unless you want a single ticket to take you through to the destination directly, tickets are hard to get hold of. Tickets are released 45 days before the departure date of the train, and most get snapped up by the agents (option 2!) therefore unless you are in Russia for a while, or can be flexible getting your own might be tough.

We are taking option 2, and buying our tickets only through an agent. As with most of these things Seat61 has the best advice. We selected RealRussia as the agents we would use as they seem to know everything about anything to do with the trans-Siberian! They are the best in the business and thus far have been fantastic for us, in particular Alla has been the agent I have been talking with and she is great. The biggest benefit about realrussia.com is that they have a UK presence. The prices they quote are in £s and you will get your tickets posted to you in the UK. There are of course others that you should look at.

All in all our tickets cost about £500 each for St Petersburg-Moscow-Irkutsk-Ulaanbaatar-Datong. I am sure the official price may be much less than that in Russia, but I am mentally prepared for that, and have the peace of mind that I have a ticket. Also a similar package (with stops, and therefore accommodation) costs about £1500 (!), so unless you stay in top notch accommodation throughout the trip, the agent sourced price is still a bargain.

Not much more to say, would love to hear others experience of the Trans-Siberian, and of course we will be blogging the whole way round, so I will update you on how much coffee I drank!