December 15, 2004

Which book to take travelling?

Here’s a shortlist of selected books, one of which will be going with me travelling. "The odyssey" has already made it through to the next round, thanks to Charlie for making my mind up on that one. Now I'm not sure which of these would be the ideal choice from the list of 'must read' books. Maybe anyone out there has an idea or is there one on the list I should take but have not listed.

• One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Our Man in Havana, Graham Greene
• The name of the rose, Umberto Eco
• The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro
• A passage to India, E.M. Forster
• The tin drum, Günter Grass
• Ulysses, James Joyce

I have to say One Hundred Years of Solitude is the favourite just now, but my mind could be easily changed.

Posted by jon jack at 2:51 PM | Comments (5)

December 7, 2004

Travel itinerary for Africa

No yellow fever for me woohoo, I’ve had enough of jabs for now although another thing is Bilhartzia. No doubt we will go swimming in Lake Malawi and as a precaution we have to de-worm ourselves - one dose of tablets 6 months after exposure.

I heard from roger today regarding our overland trip from Capetown to Malawi.

“So - a week on the garden route, long but fast haul through South Africa, Zimbabwe (maybe stop to see the great Zimbabwe national monument - an ancient sophisticated city ruin), and Mozambique and then a week in Malawi. Give you both more time to see Malawi - Vwasa (elephants and hippos), Lake ( I went diving last week end and thought you might like to do the same). Livingstonia (beautiful views and an exciting drive) and the village we visit (promised them a visit just after Christmas) and a look round Mzuzu an all that.”

Posted by jon jack at 2:37 PM | Comments (3)

December 1, 2004

Yellow Fever Jab do I need it?

Another day another travel jab, today was to be the last of my inoculations. A double whammy to finish it off with typhoid and my final Hep B Jab ( typhoid is supposed to make you fell pretty dodgy) anyways it seems I may need Yellow Fever, it appears that even though i will not be at risk from Yellow Fever, it could cause trouble crossing borders in Mozambique without one,Border guards maybe tempted to bribe you if you dont have it, although im sure if they are going to try and bribe you they will do it anyway.

You need a yellow fever certificate if travelling from an infected country. Although I won’t be, still need to check with my doctor. The last thing you want is being refused access in my case to Malawi and having to drive a few thousand miles back to South Africa across Mozambique. I’m sure my travel companions would love me for that.

Related Links
World Health Organization Yellow fever information
Travel Jabs, do i need them?
BBC resource on travel Jabs
WHO page on yellow fever

Posted by jon jack at 2:46 PM

November 24, 2004

Travel jabs

Prior to embarking on a round the world trip, there's travel jabs to think about. The last immunisations I had was back in school(a few years ago). First things first I needed a consultation with the travel clinic (if you mention travel jabs to your GP they instantly boot you out the door) anyways first meeting £20 poorer and a list of jabs the length of your arm. Personally I have an aversion to needles more so when you have to pay for the pleasure.

Here’s a breakdown of what is needed for travel to Malawi, Mozambique and a long stay in Northern Thailand(5 Months).

Travel Jabs

• Rabies x3 jabs you need 3 jabs with intervals of a week £15 per jab
• Japanese Encephalitis x2 jabs £35 per jab
• Hepatitis A 1x jab £35
• Hepatitis B x 3 jabs £28 per jab
• Polio – free from the NHS woohoo
• Diphtheria / tetanus – free from the NHS
• Typhoid still to get this one

The only one i didnt seem to need was a yellow fever jab, although you have keep an eye on this depending on where you go in Africa. No side effects to report, bit of a sore arm, you may get some funny looks if you go swimming, lots of needle marks and bruises in your arm? Tends to look a bit dodgy, unless your nearest swimming pool is in Leith.

And that’s about it for travel jabs, you still need anti malarial pills I’ve opted for doxycycline (6 months worth), there are couple of options for malaria pills but this seems most commonly used with very few side effects (You may become more sensitive to the sun) its also used as an antibiotic so will help you out with little cuts etc and any other dodgy bugs you pick up along the way. They can be purchased either 40p per tab from the travel clinic or if you sweet talk your GP you can get a prescription and shop around for them, Sainsbury’s seems pretty good 30p per tab I’ve heard asda is good also but not confirmed.

Grand total
Travel Jabs £234
Malaria pills £70

Travel Jabs Related links

Yellow fever
Info about travel jabs with clickable map
World Health Organization travel page
Information on malaria and its prevention as well as general travel health advice.
Bird Flu - HN51 information

Posted by jon jack at 12:20 PM | Comments (1)

November 22, 2004

Essential travel kit for backpacking

Here’s a list of items I’m taking when travelling maybe essential is a bit over the top, but will all come in handy im sure. I’ve not gone into too much detail and excluded clothing as we’re going to too many different places and will need more than we can carry in a backpack (snowboarding gear etc... which will be shipped separately)

• Inflatable Globe - good for showing kids where live and how far you have travelled.
• Bungee cord - ??? Not sure about this one
• Ziploc bags - Keep essential documents dry
• Stuff sack x2 - hmmm not sure but probably good for dirty socks.
• Leatherman multitool - 101 uses
• Swiss Army Knife - Is there anything they cant do? Open bottles of wine, open bottles of beer…
• Backpack rain cover - don’t need to explain this one, do I?
• Mosquito net
• Clothes line
• Doorstop – for when you are staying somewhere with no locks on doors, hostels etc...
• Silk sleeping bag liner - for when it’s to hot for a sleeping bag
• GPS - I was going to take one of these but have read a few horror stories of being caught in possession of one of these in a developing country, as they are still seen as military hardware outside most western countries.
• First Aid kit - Basic things plasters antiseptic cream, paracetemol
• Sterile pack - syringes, drip gauzes etc… very important if visiting developing countries
• Iodine Tablets - Water purification
• Vitamin C tablets - neutralize iodine taste and make purified water not taste like S*$t

Money and lots of it ;-)

Special thanks to The Universal Packing List website.

Posted by jon jack at 3:18 PM | Comments (1)