Computer:
The decision to bring a
computer was one of our first and most difficult. With the popularity of cybercafes around
much of the world, most die-hard travelers wonder why someone would carry the extra weight
of a computer. There were two reasons why we decided to bring one. The
first is to use it not only as a vehicle to connect to the internet, but a place to
store all of our research. For each country we visit, we have a file full of
information on where to sleep, what to do, travel warnings, etc. We also have
personal information from other travelogues and verbal recommendations from people we have
met. We are also using our computer to manage our money, organize our addresses, and
to play hearts.
The second reason for taking a
computer is the new technology of ultra-slim laptops. Laptops are now smaller,
thinner, and weigh much less than they used to. Plus, they come with hard drives
large enough to house all of our pictures and information. So after much research,
we decided to purchase the Sony Vaio 505.
It's less than an inch thick and weighs less than three pounds. It contains
266MHz, 64MB RAM and a 4.3 GB hard drive. It's absolutely amazing and we
wonder why anyone would ever purchase anything else. It came with an external
CD-ROM drive but we decided to leave it at home to save some space.
Camera:
This was another tough
decision: a digital camera or a 35MM camera. On one hand, there is nothing that
beats the image quality of a 35MM camera. The technology of digital cameras has
improved tremendously in the last couple of years but it's not there yet. But the
problem with 35MM cameras is buying and developing film and scanning the photos to publish
on our website. For this reason, we decided to go with a digital camera. The
quality of pictures on the internet is excellent, and we don't have to worry about
film. We decided to buy a Sanyo VPC-X300 digital
camera. It has a 3X digital zoom, a LCD screen to view the pictures, 1024x768 pixel
resolution and even a sound capabilities for pictures. It scored well on a PC
Magazine comparison test and the cost was very reasonable. The only problem so far
is it flies through batteries.
Camcorder:
The other decision was whether
we should bring a camcorder. Now, we have always been people who hate the image of
the "tourist" with the big camcorder walking around a city filming everything he
sees. We never really considered it until we saw the new technology of digital
camcorders. We walked into a store to look at digital cameras and pointed at
one. We then learned it was a camcorder. With digital technology, the sound
and picture quality is far superior in half the size. After much research, we chose
the JVC
DVM5 (it's actually the one we first saw in the camera store). It weighs less
than a pound and is about as big as my hand. Plus it has 100x zoom, loads of special
effects and an LCD screen. We plan to only use it in places such as our safari, our
trek in Nepal and my 1000 foot bungie jump in New Zealand (there had better be film in it
since I will probably only do it once).
Internet Capabilities:
There are numerous companies to
choose for obtaining Internet access throughout the world. We originally were going
to choose a company called IPAS since they have a large number of local phone numbers in
more than 300 countries. Some friends used them and were satisfied. But to get
this service, we have to go through a local Internet provider in Chicago. This was
where we ran into a problem. There were only a couple and the one we chose was
InterAccess. But we ran into very poor customer service and it became difficult to
get everything started. We then started to look at other providers and realized that
AOL offers a very similar service with phone numbers
comparable to IPASS. The way it works is we call a local phone number (say in Nepal)
and immediately get on AOL with even the typical, "You have mail!". The
cost to connect ranges from $2.95 in Sweden and Japan to $12 in places like Africa and
Nepal. Of course that was the easty part! The hard part was finding out which
phone plugs to bring with us. Every single country seems to use different phone jack
technology. It seems so easy to clip a phone into a phonejack on the wall but in
most countries, its a different shape. So, we are bringing adaptors for most of the
countries in which we plan to spend a lot of time in. We originally brought an
acoustic coupler with us. This looks like the first modem technology used back in
the 70's where you attach a phone receiver to it and it connects via the sound. We
thought it would be a good way to connect from any country from a payphone but we realized
the connection was too slow to justify the added weight and space in our packs. All
of our connectors were purchased through Magellan.
Web Hosting:
This so far has been the most
difficult part of our trip. To get a webpage up on the Internet, we have to go
through a company that will lease you space on their server. There are some
companies that offer free space (usually 5mb to 20mb) but stick advertising banners all
over the place. We signed up with a company called ICOM that offered 45mb of space
for around $100/year. It sounded like a great deal so we signed up right before we
left. Six months later, we were still battling with them to get everything
straightened out. We have never experienced such inept customer service! They
kept stringing us along and just when we were going to switch to another company, they
would give us some hope everything would be worked out. Finally we switched to Namefree.com and have been very happy since. Our
first contact with their customer service provided a response in 24 hours..something we
weren't used to.
Before switiching to Namefree,
we used AOL which offered 10mb free and then Fortunecity which offers 20mb free but puts a banner
on the top of each page. Of all the "free" companies, this one seems to be
one of the best out there.
Travel Insurance:
Since we both quit our jobs, we
needed some type of insurance in case of illness or accidents (if Dave's bungee cord
snaps). There are many companies in the US that offer comprehensive insurance for
about $2,500 for the both of us per year. After researching several, we decided on
one and were about to call to set it up. That's when Dave stumbled upon Ben and
Vija's website. They discovered a company in London that offered more comprehensive
insurance with a lower deductible at about half the cost. The company is TIA and all of their policies are backed by
Lloyds of London, so it seems legit. We saved mucho dinero and have better
insurance. Ben and Vija, if you are reading this, we owe you big time!