One month in – our top tips :)

Tomorrow we head for China and we are not clear what access we will have to the internet so we may not be in touch for a while. We will carry on writing though because it’s great remembering all the tiny details of just how awful travelling can be (…okay, and exciting and funny and magical!)

Today we have been away for exactly a month which is both shorter and longer than it feels weirdly…anyway, we thought we’d share what we’ve learned so far…we suspect lots of this will be things you know or do already but just in case any of you are planning on doing this soon we thought we’d write it down 🙂

1. We love our rucksacks – they are good quality, lightweight, and comfortable to wear. We each have a different size to fit with the relative strengths of our backs!
2. We got loads of small zip up pouches of various sizes (luggage organisers 🙂 to put different things in – we have individual ones for clothes, and then  medical ones, toiletries, electrical stuff, the ‘useful bag’ etc. This was a top tip from Maryann and we love it – it stops everything spilling everywhere when you open your rucksack and makes things easier to find.
3. You can now get a dreamy worldwide travel plug that is four plugs in one AND you can plug in four devices at the same time.
4. We have needed our power packs – we have two and we haven’t run out of power yet.
5. We have only needed sandals so far (good one’s mind!) – Theo did bring a pair of shoes as well because he wasn’t listening when we read out the ‘you only need sandals’ bit of the guide book but we reckon his footwear, and how smart he looked being interrogated by the Russian secret police, made all the difference.
6. Add money to your budget for feeding stray animals, it’s our civic duty (in Turkey through to Kazakhstan there are often tags or ear clippings on animals that have been vaccinated or neutered …and generally it’s pretty obvious which animals need avoiding – usually the snarling ones with foam dripping off their teeth 🙂
7. Water bottles that keep things the temperature you put them in (hot or cold) are fabulous, even if they are a bit heavy – we have four and we have not regretted it.
8. A raincoat is essential – ours are super light weight and we look ridiculous in them but they have been fab-u-lous!
9. We have needed cash in different currencies (£’s, €’s and $’s) – in Russia we couldn’t use our credit card and they would only accept dollars in the bank and we have needed cash quite regularly (thank you so much to everyone who so kindly gave us cash before we left – it’s made a real difference!)
10. Make sure you know the rough exchange rate before you go to change money – it’s fine to exchange money without looking at every exchange shop to get the best deal for one or two Tenge/Rubels/Lira more – but I was offered 2560 Rubels for my $50 in Georgia – and the real exchange rate was 4700…!!
11. Having a large thin scarf that you can wet and then drape around your head and body. Rosa and I would swear this is the most important thing in  the heat (I have also slept under mine in rooms without air conditioning).
12. People are kind everywhere.
13. Don’t get on a Georgian minibus – for any reason.
14. Trams and buses in city centres are okay.
15. Do loads of research and then ask people! Olga managed to find us a ticket from Vladikavkaz to Astrakhan online which we would never have found because she is Russian and knew where to look…the route we had researched was double the length and may have killed us off!!
16. Make sure you are staying somewhere nice if you get ill…it’s worth it…
17. The organic lavender oil we were given just before we left we’ve used so many times – for rubbing on temples and soothing headaches, covering up disgusting smells and as a quick hand clean in difficult circumstances (thanks Mantha!)
18. https://www.seat61.com is the best website we have found for train travel worldwide
19. Travel towels are actually okay.
20. Songbird Naturals ‘Extreme Bug Spray’ is 100% natural and works excellently well.
21. When travelling outside Europe always turn up early for trains and buses. In a couple of cities we went to the bus/train station in advance – partly so we knew where the place was, but also so we could check where we would be leaving from because bus and train stations are pretty overwhelming – it has regularly been harder than we thought it would be.
22. Learning the words for ‘thank you’, ‘sorry’ and ‘platform’ in each new language have been enough to get us through in most situations, but the incredible offers of help from strangers in translating our wild hand gestures and slightly rubbish iTranslate has made the most difference
23. You need a paper ticket for trains in Turkey (a paper ticket!)
24. If you want to spend 24 hours sitting upright on a train then cool – if not you will need to book things well in advance.
25. Inter-rail was a bit crap in Bulgaria and we had to pay for our tickets.
26. We have been living without data since leaving Europe (O2 will only allow me to use 63 days in any four month period and I have to go home to reset – despite having the all singing all dancing travel package) so screenshooting all important info and docs in advance has helped us massively (e.g. addresses of hotels/hostels)
27. Maps.me is a brilliant offline map for all over the world (you can download the map for where you will be next when you have WiFi and then it will plot routes in real time where you are – we rely on it completely (thank you Maria)
28. You need your passports for all sorts of reasons and it just makes sense to keep them with you all the time.
29. We were given items of clothing with zips in – scarves, belts and scrunchies where you can hide extra bits of money (thank you Paula and Maryann) great for peace of mind and nice surprises when you think you’ve run out of cash 🙂
30. Always, ALWAYS, do an idiot check.
31. Books are so much nicer than kindles even if they are heavy (this in an ongoing debate final decision pending)
32. It’s useful to have extra toilet paper/tissue with you all the time, and a hankie.
33. We have been charged extra for our luggage on every minibus we’ve travelled on.
34. Five pairs of pants are enough.
35. Memory foam neck pillows are sooooo good.
36. There are pigeons in every country we have visited so far.
37. We have a rucksack each – a bag with the passports, phones and power packs in, which I wear all the time, my guitar and a food bag and we have everything we need.
38. Food has been fantastic wherever we have been – staying in hostels where we can cook has kept us from spending too much money and meant that we have eaten fresh fruit and veg every day. Each time we headed for a new country we thought we wouldn’t be able to get things and each time we arrive we discover we are wrong…our current joy is a woman who makes pancakes in her kitchen (she has four on the go at a time and sells them through a window in one wall) we bought 12 yesterday for £1 and had them with local honey and lemon 🙂
39. It’s been great making big decisions collectively.
40. Travelling round the world is challenging …but so is going to work!! If you want to you can definitely do this…
41. What’s app is great for staying in touch.
42. Writing our blog has made such a difference and your comments and replies are so brilliant – thank you!

And our dear friend Jem is getting married to the wonderful Emma tomorrow… we are sorry we won’t be there and we want to let you both know how delighted we are that commitment has finally landed gracefully and gently in your lives. We love you both and as the old English proverb says:

If it’s sun …you’ll ‘ave funIf it’s wet …you’re a sure betIf it’s snowing …you’ll be glowing
If its mist …you’ll be blissed 

But if it’s cloudy and grey, on your special day…Then all of your wishes, your laughter and kisses will be blessed for a year and a day 💖 (…and a bit after if your kind to each other and dance around the kitchen a lot!)

…and as a final word I would like to wish all the contestants on this years Strictly the very best of luck…(if you weren’t invited to Jem and Emma’s wedding that starts tomorrow evening 🙂 xx