So here’s a bit of a breakdown on this trip; my timeframe is approximately five and a half months so I will be back at some point in the middle of June. I will start off with a train ride from Helsinki to Moscow; spend the New Year’s Eve there with some Russian friends. On the first of January I will hop on board a long-distance train to Irkutsk, which is located in Siberia. There I have a couchsurfing host who will be waiting for me at the train station. Oh, and did I mention; the train ride to Irkutsk takes like 74 hours soooo lots of reading, sleeping and watching the country unfold. My plan is to hang out a few days in Irkutsk, see the Lake Baikal (which is the largest freshwater lake in the world with a rare flora and fauna) and continue onwards with my journey. Next I will take a train to Ulan Bator, which is the capital of Mongolia. Train there takes around 34 hours. I have a couchsurfing host there as well and I intend to visit the Terelj National Park for possibly some horseback. I would also love to see the Gobi desert though it probably looks a bit different in the winter than in the summer. Finally I will take a train to Beijing. After Beijing my plans are a bit open but most likely I will start moving south along the coast towards Southeast Asia. Time spent in the trains, Russia, Mongolia and China should be interesting as I do not speak any of the languages more than a few words! Guess I’ll just rely on smiles, body language and Russian vodka!
Hoping to see scenery like this eventually.
After China I intend to circle around Southeast Asia for a couple of months and also take a week in the Philippines as few of my friends will be there in February. After March I will change continents and travel to Africa. Eastern coast, mind you. Not the Western side with Ebola. In Africa I intend to visit Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi and South Africa. Despite this wide list, my plans are open so not quite sure where I will go and so on. Go with the flow and all that shit. Who knows, I might grow tired of switching places and end up spending weeks and weeks somewhere warm and beautiful, chilling in a hammock and drinking cold beers.
But as this is a bit of an introduction, here’s a little summary of what I have had to buy and spend before the actual trip, which hasn’t even started yet:
- An Osprey Farpoint 55l backpack (a present) roughly 140-160 euros (obviously the most important equipment on the way, comes with an attached day pack)
- A silk Cocoon mummy liner 40 euros (a bit of a luxury but I heard many positive experiences with it so decided to check it out, it’s awesome!)
- A money belt, a headlight, other various “camping” stuff, 80 euros
- An Amazon Kindle 70 euros (got it, love it)
- Vaccinations
- Yellow fever 36 euros
- Cholera 59 euros
- Hepatitis B
- Japanese brain fever (2×120 euros) 240 euros
- Meningitis 65 euros
- Typhoid fever 35 euros
So altogether almost 450 euros on vaccinations! Sheesh. I do realize that not all of the vaccinations I took were completely necessary but I thought taking them wouldn’t hurt either, as I have never experienced any side effects on any vaccinations. I’m also thinking of taking some malaria medication in Africa but it remains to be seen whether or not I will get the prescription.
A bunch of this equipment were gifts and etc. but it’s just to give a rough estimate on what a person might need to spend. Everything of course depends on the individual. In addition to the aforementioned items I also bought a new winter jacket and boots but those I will not count, as I need them in Finland anyway.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention the visas. I do need a visa to Russia and China (among many other countries but those I can acquire from the border). I got my Russian visa through a travel agency called Russian Expert, which is located in Töölö. Service was smooth and all I needed to do was fill out the Russian visa application, attach a passport photo in it and take my passport with me to the agency. The cost of the visa was 74 euros. When I did some research I realized that it would not be that much cheaper to do it without an agency. You would also need an invitation letter and the contact details of the person inviting you to Russia among other things so I just didn’t see the point in going through all the trouble.
For the Chinese visa I needed the application form (with a colour passport photo in it, not a black and white), a passport, copy of the passport, my travel itinerary in China and a hotel/hostel booking confirmation. I’m not sure how strict they are with the hotel/hostel confirmations but I decided not to risk it as it is said in the instructions. And my hostel was only 6 euros a night in a 4-bed dorm room so it was a good deal. Otherwise the visa was really easy to get and it cost me 60 euros.
For Mongolia the visa is not needed anymore. They have this some kind of a test period starting from June 2014 until the end of 2015, which states that people from Finland (and 41 other countries don’t need visas to Mongolia. As long as the purpose of the visit is tourism or business. It is possible to stay there for 30 days. Can’t complain, saved like 75 euros.
Ps. Weather forecast for the next week in Irkutsk and Ulan Bator -15 to -25. Not even bad.
Pps. Only six days until departure!
Have a merry christmas ya’ll!
