My time in Rio de Janeiro was quite interesting, but I didn’t really get on too well with the city however I feel that I didn’t see the best side of it either. My flight landed and the shuttle bus to the other airport Santos Dumont which is right in the centre of town. This took 2 hours due to the heavy traffic. I met Bruno a work colleague from Reiza Studios when I got off the bus and tried to make our way to the hostel. The hostel was in an area called Santa Teressa which is on a hill near the centre of Rio and an area called ‘Lapa’ which had a lot of things going on a night. We tried to get a taxi there but most people said no. We then looked at walking up, but by this time it had got dark and it was a really steep hill and with my bag that really isn’t a good idea. Eventually we found a cab that would take us up there and got to the hostel okay. Read the rest of this entry »
Planning for 7 Months on the Road
So I have under 3 weeks until I’m off on a 7 month trip around the world on my own, with just a few friends who I’ve met for a few days on past adventures to visit along the way. If you’ve never been travelling alone before I guess that sounds quite daunting, but having spent 2 and half months travelling North America in the summer of 2009 it doesn’t feel like such a big deal. At least not yet anyway.
So how do you go about planning for such a trip? There are various things you need to be aware of and prepare for, the most important are obviously are those that concern money and health. Being properly vaccinated and having the right medication as required is obviously really important, and anyone going on a trip to places which aren’t anything other than the most developed countries you are likely to need some vaccinations. I’ve had to have a Hepatitis A vaccination at the doctors, and also got to go to a private clinic to get a Yellow Fever vaccination for travelling in South America. It’s also not 100% clear if I need malaria tablets for my time in South America, I’ll be getting clarification when I go to get my Yellow Fever vaccination. Additionally good travel insurance is to be blunt a pain in the arse to find. In the end I’ve got mine from Essential Travel and works out at £160 for 7 months, which is pretty reasonable and seems to have good coverage on the key factors. However you only ever find out if these insurance companies are worth while when you need to claim. Here’s hoping I don’t have to find out. Read the rest of this entry »