Finance
The facilities on the Internet will revolutionise my finances on this trip. I have opened an on-line Nationwide Invest Direct account. This will hold the majority of my money - gaining 5% interest - while still offering instant access. I have also opened a Nationwide Current FlexAccount.
My credit cards - Nationwide Visa, Nat West Mastercard/Visa will be used to get local currency or US dollars from banks/ATMS and will be automatically paid off fully by monthly direct debit from the Flex Account. All I have to so is access my Invest Direct account on-line and move money from the On-line account to the FlexAccount ready for credit card payment.
I will also be starting off the trip carrying enough US dollars/US Travellers' Cheques and British Pounds to get as far as India, in mid January, therefore hopefully missing any impact on international banking that Y2K may have.
Visas
The majority of visas will be picked up on the journey. A Turkish visa is granted when you arrive in the country. I thought that my biggest headache would be getting an Iranian visa, since the London Embassy does not issue a tourist visa unless you are in an organised group.To improve our chances, we got Pakistani visas first(£40). Then I applied for an Iranian "transit" visa for £32. This allows me to enter Iran for 5 days. Once inside, you can apply to extend your visa for another 10 days. I have discovered which offices give you the best extensions. Jo's passport photos had her covered in a headscarf, revealing just her face, which was also a clever move. We were very surprised to be issued a transit visa, since the Lonely Planet bulletin board is full of sob stories of being turned down.
Finally, we applied for a multiple entry Indian visa (£20) which is valid for 6 months from the time of issue. Based on our intinery, we will have to get another one issued when we leave Nepal in May 2000. We are carrying a dozen passport photos with in in preparation for visa applications.
Health
I had had some injections for previous trips so this is the entire list of old and new which are necessary and how long they last.Flights
My idea was to get as far from England and as cheaply as possible. EasyJet runs an unbeatable one-way fare from Luton to Athens,Greece for £29 + £10 departure tax. From there, we will be crossing overland by boat, bus, train, car, hitching, walking. We will have to fly into Sri Lanka from India and back, from Banglasdesh into Myarmar and from Myarmar into Thailand. We will also have to fly from Singapore to East Malaysia and back and maybe into Australia from Indonesia. The whole trip is totally flexible with no deadlines or reservations to catch.Keeping Contact
Anyone with an email address will be able to contact me at bobjack100@hotmail.com which I will access at Internet Cafes. I do not expect to rely on post offices to collect my mail as previously.