Keep your peace of mind during long term travel

Like you probably know after reading all the European travel posts, we have been traveling around Europe and Morocco for a couple of months, and it has been a fantastic trip. What I have loved most so far is that compared to last year’s 6 months trip, we were still energetic all the time. I may sound like a spoiled child, but after a few months of travel, there are some part that are not so glamorous about it. You get tired of packing your bags every day, when you have visited 12 churches, church number 13 is hard to appreciate, even though it may be more beautiful than its 12 predecessors, and so on. This time, we were traveling with open eyes and eagerly.

We also chose to take our time. That may seem strange, since we had less of it than last summer, but in the end, we decided that the most important part of the trip was to enjoy the here and the now. If we liked a place, we would stay, otherwise, we would keep going. But we had no goal in mind and we went with the flow. It was never much of a problem, except for a couple of times where we had a hard time finding a hotel within budget, although like I like to say, “it is nothing money can’t fix”.

Anyway, if we were able to travel so “light”, it is because we had planned for everything.

As seasoned travelers, we knew what we needed to pack, and packed just enough of it so it would fit comfortably inside two motorcycle panniers, and we still had space to carry a few snacks, some water, or bring souvenirs home.

We also kept a conscious log of our motorcycle maintenance schedule. We had to do the 40,000 km revision before leaving, and changed a tire on the road. But thanks to the thorough check before traveling, we didn’t have any problem while on the road.

We had arranged for everything back home to be taken care of. Our staff knew what to do with minimal input on our side.

We were properly insured. I bought international motorcycle insurance before we took off, that would cover the bike for third party, fire and theft while overseas, and my credit card provided cover for accidents, repatriation, and even funeral insurance. You should always make sure that you are properly covered during your travels. Funeral insurance from APIA can be one such option.

We knew our limits. I know that after 4-5 hours of driving, BF gets tired and needs to stop for the day. Driving a motorcycle is not like driving a car, you really get tired and it takes all your energy and attention. The driving directions in Google Maps are made for a car that doesn’t stop to take picture on the road. Even a short pit stop will set you back half an hour. It takes time to park the bike properly, take off your gear, then get ready and go back. At the beginning, we didn’t plan for that and our days were exhausting. Now we stop until we are fully rested, or bored with the city we are in.

 

Traveling like that has had its limits, mainly on the budget, you can’t plan and book your hotels in advance, so you often pay the high rate, although by traveling off season, we were able to save quite a bit.