Printing a boarding pass and tossing our stuff into our luggage to head out the door for the necessary three hours before takeoff, would be the norm in a perfect world. Traveling the world with everything we own is not perfect and, it isn’t quite that easy.
Others may say, “Oh, just do it! Throw it into the bags and just go already!”
We get that mentality. We do. It’s not simply that both of us are organizers and planners to the point of obsession. It’s purely stress-avoidance, plain and simple.
One could quickly tire of this lifestyle if the stress was caused by one’s lack of desire or interest in planning ahead. Failure to plan ahead leaves too much to chance. Let’s face it, there are plenty of incidents that transpire that we couldn’t have predicted. We save our resources for those, as opposed to the prospect of dealing with issues we could easily have prevented.
Luckily, we don’t experience stress in the planning process. We both thrive on it finding peace of mind and comfort as we fine-tune each step of the way.
Thus, we won’t be throwing stuff in our suitcases and hitting the road. And, although we’ve yet to pack, a lot of this preparatory work has already been started or is completed.
Question for today: How do we entertain ourselves during the long flights? (More questions follow tomorrow in Part 2)
For us, a big part of the travel time is spent utilizing our technology to keep us entertained resulting in the time passing more quickly while traveling.
With a three and a half hour layover in Nairobi, Kenya after a short flight from Mombasa, Kenya, we knew we needed to plan Internet access and the battery life of our equipment carefully.
With no space or desire to carry heavy books, we’ve used the Kindle app on our smartphones for reading (for which we don’t need Internet access once the ebook is downloaded at purchase).
However, with many hours on the various planes on the trip to South Africa, with no power plugins for passengers in economy (we checked), we needed to plan which devices we’ll be using to occupy us during the many hours in the air and during the layovers.
My newer (cracked screen) Android phone lasts for 7 hours of reading time. My old Android (on which I have the same books) is easier to read without the broken screen. The points where I left off on each book will sync when I go online on both phones simultaneously and select “sync”. But the old phone only lasts for 5 hours of reading time with less for Tom’s Android.
The end result will be that Tom will run out of reading time during the layover, leaving no remaining power for reading on the plane while I’ll be able to switch to my other phone.
As always, we have a backup plan in place. During the long layover in Nairobi, we’ll hopefully find a comfy spot to park ourselves, preferably away from the crowds, and use the MiFi’s (we each have one) and our laptops in order to be online. The MiFi charge, usually lasts for 4 hours.
Our computer batteries will last from three to four hours on each of our identical units. Plus, in checking details for the Nairobi airport, it appears that they have various digital equipment stations where one can plug into recharge. Of course, we’ll have our converters and adapters in our computer bags in case we’re able to recharge.
Hopefully, as we wait at the airport in Nairobi, I’ll be online and writing here describing the renovated state from the recent fire on August 7, 2013, and the activity around us.
Assuming that all goes well and the flights all depart on time, we’ll have another four and a half hours in the air until we arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa. During this period, we’ll read the ebooks with, hopefully, neither of us running out of battery life.
At the end of the four and a half hour flight, there is a 16-hour layover in Johannesburg. With no desire to wait for that extended period at the airport, we booked a nearby hotel offering a free shuttle back to the airport for one more flight the next morning to Kruger/Mpumalanga. At this point, all of our equipment will be charged which will be less of an issue on the remaining 45-minute flight.
Whew! Once we arrive at the airport in Mpumalanga, a pre-arranged driver will greet us to take us on the 97 km, 60 miles, 75-minute drive to our awaiting house in Marloth Park. At that point, to heck with our equipment. We’ll be so busy looking out the window, taking photos when possible, and excited to get to our new home for the next three months, we’ll never give battery life a thought.
That is, not until we arrive
I wrote a comment then lost it – blast it! I don't think you could do this type of lifestyle if you weren't planners. It's amazing to me that you have thought this through so thoroughly. And I know you have back up plans in mind just in case because there will always be scenarios you can't predict. I am sure you are anxious and ready to be off on this next phase of your travels.
Isabel, it's wonderful to hear from you again.
Oh, sorry about losing your comment. I know how frustrating that is. One morning after spending 3 hours writing a post with photos, for some odd reason I lost the entire thing! I still had the photos but its cumbersome placing them in the blog when they cause editing issues. But, all my text was gone. My memory is great from LCHF way of eating but I certainly hadn't memorized it word for word.
Thanks for your kind words about our planning process. I've been annoying my family and friends forever with being so detail orientated all my life. At least now, I've put it to good use, instead of using it for learning a dozen ways to fold a linen napkin.
Yes, we are anxious to move along. I wish I could get motivated to start folding clothes and packing my stuff (Tom does his own). I think the heat is the reason, or, it's a good excuse. In any case, we won't be leaving Kenya without our luggage so it will surely get done.
If you have any LCHF recipes to share, please do. Plus, if you want any, I have many on this site with photos and many more in my Dropbox files. There's a search box on our homepage. If you'll type in "recipe" all the previous post with recipes will pop up. BTW, there are a few old family favorites that aren't healthy or LC. Please ignore those!
An interesting tidbit I learned from all my low carb research for over a year (before we decided to travel the world) was to "not look at high carb foods, especially those with sugar." Everyone always considered me a "food voyeur," always loving to look at food that I wouldn't allow myself to eat. During the research I found a scientific study (wish I could remember the study) that included testing participant's blood sugar (increased blood sugar/insulin makes us fat) after they just "looked" at high carb and sugary foods that they liked; pasta, cakes, pies, ice cream, etc. and their blood sugar went through the roof after looking but not tasting.
That ended my "food voyeur" days. Now when I see a high carb dessert (my former nemesis), I look the other way. As odd as this sounds, it is no more of a chemical reaction as to when our mouths water from seeing something we'd like to eat or our hearts racing when being frightened, all chemical reactions generated by our brains. Interesting, isn't it?
Our power just went out again as we're planning to shower and dress to go out to dinner soon with our landlords and next door neighbors, Hans and Jeri. Oh, well. Guess it just goes with the territory!
Warmest regards,
Jess & Tom
Hi from Pat
It is good that you do not have stress in the planning of your trips and you thrive on it. When we travel, Dan does most of the preparation and then he asks my opinion. This arrangement works better for us because I do get stressed out trying to find just the right hotel or car or even the right cruise. And I really get stressed when we have to make plans for a foreign country. So I guess your style of doing things is why your world travels are going so well.
Oh, hope the power is not out for long. It does seem to "go with the territory". Good thing Hans has the generator.
We just got back from my brother and sister-in-laws house. We went out to dinner with them and their 19 year old twin granddaughters. Then we went back to my brother's house where we played a game of dominoes. With 6 people playing, it took 3 and a half hours to finish. It was fun, and I came in first. ha-ha It is always fun to be with nice and respectful young people who don't mind spending a Friday night with the "old folks", my words not theirs. It is now 11:31pm but I just had to check in with your blog before turning in.
I am going to try and find your recipes for your diet. I am not sure what the drop box is, but you said to just type in recipes and they would come up. Dan has been saying that his diabetic numbers have been really going up. His doctor does not want to put him on insulin if he doesn't have too because it usually means a big weight gain. So Dan is ready to try eating differently. But it sounds very overwhelming to try and figure out how to eat on your diet. So I thought if I had some recipes and an idea of how to get started, maybe we would be successful. I sure don't want him on insulin either. He already takes so many pills that sometimes it is hard to keep up with them, especially when we travel.
Thanks for all your help and advice.
Pat
Please ignore what I said about Dropbox. Its an online program that I use to store all of our files and photos. I have 1000's of recipes stored in there so if you can't find a recipe online or by searching in the "search" box on our website, tell me what you're thinking of making and I'll see if I have a recipe in my files and email it to you.
Please have Dan try the follow this way of eating for 3 months and then get his blood sugar checked. Most people with Type 2 diabetes have normal readings after losing weight over 3 months and…most importantly keeping his blood sugar under control by not eating carbs.
If you decide to read any of the books I've suggested, most recently Dr. David Perlmutter's "Grain Brain," all of the foods he can eat and cannot eat are listed there. He can follow the book and everything is very clear. But, if you have any questions feel free to ask me at any time.
It's not a diet. It's a lifetime commitment to extend the quality of life. Once started, one must stick to it. It's not an "off one day" and "on the next" thing.
Tom got rid of taking 7 pills a day after eating this way with me. That could easily happen for Dan. My very ill overweight eldest sister wrote me last night to say she's lost 48 pounds since September and is feeling so much better. I've been helping her via email. Please encourage him to do it also.
Reading a few of the books will make it clear and concise since they have sections where everything is listed. They are easy to read. Without reading any of the recent books, it is very difficult to do. One must understand the science (very easy read) to make the commitment.
If all you made him was my coleslaw recipe, a side of sauteed, steamed or grilled non-starchy vegetables with butter or olive oil, a giant steak, fish, pork or chicken, plus a veggie cheese omelet for breakfast with a side of quality bacon (preferably without nitrates), he could eat a variation of the same meals everyday. In 3 days he won't be hungry, most likely not wanting lunch instead having a chunk of cheddar cheese with sliced raw veggies and sliced leftover meat. Don't worry about amounts. Once the appetite goes away, it's self monitoring unless he has an eating disorder and eats when not hungry.
I'll stop now. But, gee, I get excited at the prospect about a person potentially saving their lives, getting off meds after their blood tests improve (of course with doctor permission), losing weight and feeling great! I won't say more unless you ask.
Glad you guys had fun with the family playing dominoes and that you won! Tom is still slaying me at Gin! We keep score country by country. He also slaughtered me in Italy!
Thanks for writing, dear Pat.
Warmest regards to you both,
Jess & Tom