We are finally back on some type of normal schedule. Our current HQ is at my folk's house in Tahoe and we've been here for about a week. Aside from re-teaching our bodies the difference between night and day, we've also been trolling the internet for a place to live back in Denver. I had figured we would be getting ready to leave for good at this point, but alas, a buyer's market means us renters have to put in some extra hours in the housing hunt. We'll be visiting Denver to look at places mid next week. Aside from mission-housing, I came down with a mild cold. Sweet...
The initial culture shock wasn't anything to write home about. I don't really think we were gone long enough, or the 24hrs of layovers in a comparatively tame Singapore and Hong Kong made the transition back to the west a bit easier. Either that or I'm just not fazed by anything anymore.
Before I get into the meat of this post, I'd like to give some monetary logistics out there for anyone who may be following this blog and plans on doing a similar trip. All in all, from leaving Tahoe to arriving back 43 days later the trip costed around $3K USD. Airfare was a significant chunk, taking up about 2/3 of the cost. Almost 1/3 of that was the trans-world flight. Food, lodging, activities, overland transport, drinking, and shopping cost around $1250 USD each for 6 weeks. We splurged minimally, and in comparison to US prices, didn't splurge at all. In terms of lodging, we didn't stay in complete shit holes or shared dorms (usually between $10-15), but we never paid over $30 a night either (and $30 was expensive!). Keep in mind that this route involved a significant amount of island hopping where 99% of the time a ferry was simply unavailable or completely un-economical in terms of time. If we had stuck to the more traditional overland routes (ie gone to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia) the cost could have been lower. However, the other factor that kept us using flights is time. It takes a LOT of time to get around in some of these places, especially if roads aren't in the best condition or if it's anywhere close to monsoon season. For example, the route from Denpasar, Bali to Jogjakarta, Indonesia is roughly 370 miles. Tack on a few more if you just look at roads, so to be fair let's say 450 miles. This is about 90 miles over the distance between where I used to live in Los Angeles and where my parents live in Lake Tahoe. That journey, let's say on a snowy day where there is road trouble, can take anywhere between 10 to 12 hours. In Indonesia that distance takes about 24 hours of actual travel time (excluding overnights and 'layovers'). Keep in mind that Bali doesn't have awful roads, and Java's roads and train systems are significantly better than one would expect. The difference is the speed limit, public transport's affinity for countless stops, and never really running on any type of schedule that makes travel particularly difficult. If you have the money or are sick of 'adventure,' just book a tourist bus between places as they tend to stop less, but keep in mind you will be overcharged way over 200% of what it could cost, which, over time, will add up quickly.
So let's get on with it...here is yet another list post on the highlights...and not-my-favorite moments of the trip...after the break of course!
We are finally back on some type of normal schedule. Our current HQ is at my folk's house in Tahoe and we've been here for about a week. Aside from re-teaching our bodies the difference between night and day, we've also been trolling the internet for a place to live back in Denver. I had figured we would be getting ready to leave for good at this point, but alas, a buyer's market means us renters have to put in some extra hours in the housing hunt. We'll be visiting Denver to look at places mid next week. Aside from mission-housing, I came down with a mild cold. Sweet...
The initial culture shock wasn't anything to write home about. I don't really think we were gone long enough, or the 24hrs of layovers in a comparatively tame Singapore and Hong Kong made the transition back to the west a bit easier. Either that or I'm just not fazed by anything anymore.
Before I get into the meat of this post, I'd like to give some monetary logistics out there for anyone who may be following this blog and plans on doing a similar trip. All in all, from leaving Tahoe to arriving back 43 days later the trip costed around $3K USD. Airfare was a significant chunk, taking up about 2/3 of the cost. Almost 1/3 of that was the trans-world flight. Food, lodging, activities, overland transport, drinking, and shopping cost around $1250 USD each for 6 weeks. We splurged minimally, and in comparison to US prices, didn't splurge at all. In terms of lodging, we didn't stay in complete shit holes or shared dorms (usually between $10-15), but we never paid over $30 a night either (and $30 was expensive!). Keep in mind that this route involved a significant amount of island hopping where 99% of the time a ferry was simply unavailable or completely un-economical in terms of time. If we had stuck to the more traditional overland routes (ie gone to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia) the cost could have been lower. However, the other factor that kept us using flights is time. It takes a LOT of time to get around in some of these places, especially if roads aren't in the best condition or if it's anywhere close to monsoon season. For example, the route from Denpasar, Bali to Jogjakarta, Indonesia is roughly 370 miles. Tack on a few more if you just look at roads, so to be fair let's say 450 miles. This is about 90 miles over the distance between where I used to live in Los Angeles and where my parents live in Lake Tahoe. That journey, let's say on a snowy day where there is road trouble, can take anywhere between 10 to 12 hours. In Indonesia that distance takes about 24 hours of actual travel time (excluding overnights and 'layovers'). Keep in mind that Bali doesn't have awful roads, and Java's roads and train systems are significantly better than one would expect. The difference is the speed limit, public transport's affinity for countless stops, and never really running on any type of schedule that makes travel particularly difficult. If you have the money or are sick of 'adventure,' just book a tourist bus between places as they tend to stop less, but keep in mind you will be overcharged way over 200% of what it could cost, which, over time, will add up quickly.
So let's get on with it...here is yet another list post on the highlights...and not-my-favorite moments of the trip...after the break of course!
We are finally back on some type of normal schedule. Our current HQ is at my folk's house in Tahoe and we've been here for about a week. Aside from re-teaching our bodies the difference between night and day, we've also been trolling the internet for a place to live back in Denver. I had figured we would be getting ready to leave for good at this point, but alas, a buyer's market means us renters have to put in some extra hours in the housing hunt. We'll be visiting Denver to look at places mid next week. Aside from mission-housing, I came down with a mild cold. Sweet...
The initial culture shock wasn't anything to write home about. I don't really think we were gone long enough, or the 24hrs of layovers in a comparatively tame Singapore and Hong Kong made the transition back to the west a bit easier. Either that or I'm just not fazed by anything anymore.
Before I get into the meat of this post, I'd like to give some monetary logistics out there for anyone who may be following this blog and plans on doing a similar trip. All in all, from leaving Tahoe to arriving back 43 days later the trip costed around $3K USD. Airfare was a significant chunk, taking up about 2/3 of the cost. Almost 1/3 of that was the trans-world flight. Food, lodging, activities, overland transport, drinking, and shopping cost around $1250 USD each for 6 weeks. We splurged minimally, and in comparison to US prices, didn't splurge at all. In terms of lodging, we didn't stay in complete shit holes or shared dorms (usually between $10-15), but we never paid over $30 a night either (and $30 was expensive!). Keep in mind that this route involved a significant amount of island hopping where 99% of the time a ferry was simply unavailable or completely un-economical in terms of time. If we had stuck to the more traditional overland routes (ie gone to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia) the cost could have been lower. However, the other factor that kept us using flights is time. It takes a LOT of time to get around in some of these places, especially if roads aren't in the best condition or if it's anywhere close to monsoon season. For example, the route from Denpasar, Bali to Jogjakarta, Indonesia is roughly 370 miles. Tack on a few more if you just look at roads, so to be fair let's say 450 miles. This is about 90 miles over the distance between where I used to live in Los Angeles and where my parents live in Lake Tahoe. That journey, let's say on a snowy day where there is road trouble, can take anywhere between 10 to 12 hours. In Indonesia that distance takes about 24 hours of actual travel time (excluding overnights and 'layovers'). Keep in mind that Bali doesn't have awful roads, and Java's roads and train systems are significantly better than one would expect. The difference is the speed limit, public transport's affinity for countless stops, and never really running on any type of schedule that makes travel particularly difficult. If you have the money or are sick of 'adventure,' just book a tourist bus between places as they tend to stop less, but keep in mind you will be overcharged way over 200% of what it could cost, which, over time, will add up quickly.
So let's get on with it...here is yet another list post on the highlights...and not-my-favorite moments of the trip...after the break of course!
We are finally back on some type of normal schedule. Our current HQ is at my folk's house in Tahoe and we've been here for about a week. Aside from re-teaching our bodies the difference between night and day, we've also been trolling the internet for a place to live back in Denver. I had figured we would be getting ready to leave for good at this point, but alas, a buyer's market means us renters have to put in some extra hours in the housing hunt. We'll be visiting Denver to look at places mid next week. Aside from mission-housing, I came down with a mild cold. Sweet...
The initial culture shock wasn't anything to write home about. I don't really think we were gone long enough, or the 24hrs of layovers in a comparatively tame Singapore and Hong Kong made the transition back to the west a bit easier. Either that or I'm just not fazed by anything anymore.
Before I get into the meat of this post, I'd like to give some monetary logistics out there for anyone who may be following this blog and plans on doing a similar trip. All in all, from leaving Tahoe to arriving back 43 days later the trip costed around $3K USD. Airfare was a significant chunk, taking up about 2/3 of the cost. Almost 1/3 of that was the trans-world flight. Food, lodging, activities, overland transport, drinking, and shopping cost around $1250 USD each for 6 weeks. We splurged minimally, and in comparison to US prices, didn't splurge at all. In terms of lodging, we didn't stay in complete shit holes or shared dorms (usually between $10-15), but we never paid over $30 a night either (and $30 was expensive!). Keep in mind that this route involved a significant amount of island hopping where 99% of the time a ferry was simply unavailable or completely un-economical in terms of time. If we had stuck to the more traditional overland routes (ie gone to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia) the cost could have been lower. However, the other factor that kept us using flights is time. It takes a LOT of time to get around in some of these places, especially if roads aren't in the best condition or if it's anywhere close to monsoon season. For example, the route from Denpasar, Bali to Jogjakarta, Indonesia is roughly 370 miles. Tack on a few more if you just look at roads, so to be fair let's say 450 miles. This is about 90 miles over the distance between where I used to live in Los Angeles and where my parents live in Lake Tahoe. That journey, let's say on a snowy day where there is road trouble, can take anywhere between 10 to 12 hours. In Indonesia that distance takes about 24 hours of actual travel time (excluding overnights and 'layovers'). Keep in mind that Bali doesn't have awful roads, and Java's roads and train systems are significantly better than one would expect. The difference is the speed limit, public transport's affinity for countless stops, and never really running on any type of schedule that makes travel particularly difficult. If you have the money or are sick of 'adventure,' just book a tourist bus between places as they tend to stop less, but keep in mind you will be overcharged way over 200% of what it could cost, which, over time, will add up quickly.
So let's get on with it...here is yet another list post on the highlights...and not-my-favorite moments of the trip...after the break of course!
