Inspector Gadget

So, the Frugal Traveler blog on the New York Times listed what he considered the top 10 travel gadgets. Some of them seem obvious (first aid kit, cable lock) and other just silly (the money clip with a flash drive). Some we already use -- my Spacebag travel pouches have been passed around numerous times; I think half the people in my office have borrowed them. As we are starting our shopping these are the kinds of things we could use some help with... what are you best suggestions for travel paraphernalia?

One thing I've seen suggested that I think we'll invest in are sleeping bag liners. As we plan some serious train travel, especially in China, as well as some places where hotel hygiene could be questionable, this seems like a good idea--it comes from Bite Me With Dr. Mike on the Travel Channel, though after reading his "travel tips" it makes me wonder--not for the first time--why we are doing this.

Where to begin, then where to go

OK, so this is where all of you come into play. We are budgeting 60 days, with a rough itinerary heading west: China, 14 days; Uganda (or somewhere in East Africa), 7-10 days; Croatia, 7 days; and Spain, 10 days. Possible stops between: Delhi, Istanbul, Cairo, northern Italy, southern France. Right now it's all still debatable.

We're looking at buying around the world tickets from Airtrek.com. So, the first question--has anyone out done a trip like this, or can recommend a ticket broker. We're not dead-set on Airtrek, it just happens to be the one we know about.

The other thing is train travel. We are thinking about extensive train travel in China, and possibly making the journal from Istanbul, through Croatia and then Madrid via train. My first instinct had been to by rail passes ahead of time, but I'm starting to read that it's better (i.e., cheaper) to buy single leg tickets once you are in your departure country. Again--love to hear if anyone has had any experience with it.

And if any of you local folks have travel books for any of these places, we'd love to borrow them. We have several, but books from different publishers (Frommers, Fodor, Lonely Plant, etc.) is always helpful.

Opening it a crack

"Remember what Bilbo used to say: 'It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.' " -- J.R.R. Tolkien

And, so, we start with a quote...

Those near and dear to us, have heard us talk for years (many, many years) about the idea of an around the world trip. We tried it once before, and were only weeks from purchasing our plane tickets, then the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 changed it all. Nathan (our son) was only in middle school and we just weren't ready to take the plunge in January of 2002 as we had planned.

Seemed like there was always something that came up--work, graduations, etc.--and we never quite made it. Not to say that we didn't have some travel adventures along the way. We went to the Amazon jungle in Peru (and began a wonderful friendship with Chris and Lev) and took a trip to Scotland that we still talk about all the time (sorry, folks).

So, we learned our lesson, and we are saying that we are "planning" our trip. Once the tickets are in hand, we'll switch it to we are "taking" a trip.

We knew we wanted to keep a blog during the trip, but by starting it now hope this might be a great way to get travel tips from other folks--so this is not just our ramblings (yet), we can really use all of the help any of you can give on where to go, what to do, and sometimes, what not to do.

So, this is our first step to opening our door and we'll just have to see where we may be swept off to!
Robin