There have been a number of trip preparations going on as we now enter t-minus 30 days until we leave – however most of them have not been particularly photogenic, so our updates have been minimal, but the header basically says it all.
We have mailed our passports off (always frightening) to get our first round of Visas. As an American citizen there are an amazingly huge number of countries that we can visit, visa-free. I looked at our estimated course, and then went to the travel section of the US Department of State website where there is a very complete, very helpful list of every country and their visa requirements. It turns out that out of the 60 countries I looked up where there was even some remote chance of us potentially visiting, only 7 required Visas (that had to be obtained ahead of time). Those were: Russia, China, India, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Belarus. The only one there that we’re not planning on visiting is Belarus, although the fact that it’s described as a complete cold-war throwback of a country makes it appealing (for the cultural interest) while simultaneously unappealing. We’re using a processing service called itseasy.com to handle both the Chinese and Russian passports. For Russia, it’s actually required to have an invitation to visit the country. In practice it turns out that practically any hotel you book with with handle the official invitation documents. In our case, we’re going with a Russian Homestay, though in the documents that were sent to us after the reservations were made, the organization said that for ease of processing we should just include the following information, and then gave us the name of a hotel. Intriguing! We’ll see how all that works out at the border.
In the meantime, we went shooting with our good friend Michael Yap. There really isn’t much connection to the trip, but it was an amusing afternoon – and should gunfire erupt (as long as our survival depends on taking out well marked, stationary targets) Anjel and I are going to do just fine. Anjel started out strong with a great first grouping, but the gunpowder (or something) began irritating her contacts terribly and within 20 minutes she looked like she’d been smoking and crying all night. I also had a respectable showing, asking Michael at one point if it’s a problem that my bullets are just going through the hole I’d already shot in the middle of the target. “Is that bad? Did I break it?”
We also took a basic First Aid / CPR class with our friends Chris and Via. Again, with any luck it’s something we won’t need to tap into, but it’s good to know that it’s there. Also, for those of you who did take CPR several years ago, a few things have changed (apparently). It’s now 2 breaths and 30 compressions for everyone except newborn infants (4 weeks or less). We don’t call it the Heimlich Maneuver any more, now it’s called an Abdominal Thrust. Also, for basic First Aid trainees they don’t teach or recommend using tournequets any more. Unless the choice is between death and loosing the limb. Apparently it’s just too easy to do more harm that good. A few things that I did know but are still good to cover (this is a freebie here): Tilt the head forward for nosebleeds (just let the blood run out, not into your stomach) and don’t try to suck the poison out of a snakebike.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey guys! Are you getting your visas for Laos and Vietnam ahead of time? I think most land borders into Laos issue Americans visas upon arrival (although some don’t so definitely check the specific one you plan to use!) and a Vietnam visa is probably best obtained in embassy in the capitol of the country before. It’s going to be quite a long time until you enter there right? It’s sometimes very hard to get your visas dated for times far in the future. Ciao!
I’m actually headed up to the Chinese consulate tomorrow to start that process, although I might not be able to since I haven’t decided on a place to stay yet, and I’ll need to find a place that can take reservations several months in advance. I’m going directly to the consulate so I don’t have to pay the extra processing fee of those Visa companies, but I suppose I’m just cheap. All the other countries I’m going to do like the other commenter said and go to the embassy in the country beforehand.
Between the survival, the martial art and firearm knowledge between you two, I wonder if instead of a “trip ’round Europe,” you actually plan on starting a thuper-thecret fighting force. Or, is there some District 9 scenario you two are aware of? Have you been recruited by the CIA for some cloak-and-dagger-type-operation? Do you two have ninja outfits?
Michael: We have no idea what you’re talking about, never speak of it again.
Jared: I’d have to go double check the site, but I think for Vietnam the visas can be obtained at the border, but not at every border. I believe if you fly in you can do it at the airport, you can also do it at one large China border crossing (and one other that escapes me) but since we are not flying in, and not crossing in through China getting something ahead of time will be necessary. From what I understand though, it should be possible to get that visa even while we are out of the country – from the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia for example.