The first preparations

Both of us have had the desire to travel to Southeast Asia for quite some time. Franzi has seen much of the world and has already been to this region, specifically Phuket in Thailand in 2013. Apparently, that wasn't enough for her.
When I, Jonas, who has only left the EU once to go to a tourist area in Turkey, expressed my plans to travel to Thailand and Vietnam for half a year after graduation, the idea of experiencing this trip together as a joke first came up.
This thought lingered for a long time and over time became a kind of goal, you could almost call it a 'life goal'.
The plans became more concrete and for both of us, there was the opportunity to fit in a 2-3 month trip in 2018. So the dream turned into a plan and we observed flight prices for several months, informed ourselves about the optimal booking time, which is often described as 5 months before the start of the trip, and read all possible information about the countries Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Approximately 40 days before the trip, the time when this blog post was created, those are the three countries that appeal to us the most. We also informed ourselves about additional costs that will come with this trip. In doing so, we came across numbers like €25/day including meals, accommodation, and transportation, which we also follow. For this, we expect average hostels (mostly in double rooms, occasionally mixed dormitories).

When it comes to booking our flight, there are still so many open questions to answer:

• Which exact travel period suits us best?

• Which departure airport do we want to fly from?

• Which destination airport appeals to us the most? (Where do we want to gather our first impressions?)

• Which airline appeals to us the most?

• Do we want a direct flight?

• If not: What is the optimal number of stopovers and how long can each transfer time be?

After much back and forth, 71 days before the trip on February 19th, we decided on a slightly higher-priced Emirates connection (€585 per person) from Frankfurt am Main via Dubai to Bangkok. We booked both the outbound and return flights, resulting in a travel period of 66 days. During the flight booking process, we were offered a reasonably priced all-around travel insurance (€75 per person), which we quickly booked as well. This way we are insured for most imaginable cases, including trip cancellation, trip interruption, health insurance, flight delays, and baggage loss.

So the trip is finally set!

The very next day, we looked for backpacks and went to Globetrotter in Cologne. The first impression was pure amazement at the large selection. For both women and men, there is a huge shelf filled with various models of classic backpacks.
It didn't take 3 minutes until a friendly salesman approached us, who then showed great patience for an estimated 90 minutes and catered to each of our many requests. First, the question arose as to what size we needed. Traditionally, backpacks are measured in liters. For our purposes, the salesman recommended 45-55 liters. As a result, we tried on numerous models from various brands in this size category. It should be noted that each backpack is filled with a certain weight to demonstrate the actual carrying comfort. In our opinion, this carrying comfort is mainly characterized by a comfortably padded and as stable as possible hip belt, which can bear the weight as much as possible. In addition, the shoulder straps must not be too thick or too thin and must also be comfortably padded. And last but not least, the appearance is of course also an important factor.
In terms of carrying comfort, it is particularly interesting that Franzi immediately had a favorite, a 50-liter Deuter backpack. However, she also tried out numerous alternatives, but none of them convinced her as much as the first one (€220).
For me, it was a bit different: I was uncertain for a long time and switched back and forth often. But I also crystallized a favorite, which I ultimately decided on: a 55-liter model from Lowe Alpine (€200).

Left Jonas' backpack, right Franzi's backpack

Actually, we only wanted to get advice. But the advice was so good in the end that we both made a purchase decision and took the backpacks with us directly. We were advised to pack the backpack for a trial and wear it in the house for 2-3 hours to convince ourselves of the long-term carrying comfort.

In retrospect, we noticed that my backpack was also the first suggestion of the exceptionally competent salesman.

Another decision we had to make was the choice of our travel guide. Do we even need one or do we rely on the internet and recommendations on site? But Franzi had good experiences with her LonelyPlanet guide during her year in England, so we bought this guide for Thailand and Vietnam at the bookstore (about €25 each). It convinced us with good descriptions that only say as much as they should. It is mostly without pictures, so we don't have the feeling of being 'spoiled'. It also has detailed information about possible further travels and comprehensive overviews of available means of transportation.

And so the trip is getting closer and the anticipation is already rising immeasurably.

Follow this blog if you liked it and feel free to give feedback on our first text of this kind. We hope and think that we will continue to provide you with news here and would be very happy if you stay tuned, because even before the start of the trip on February 19th, there is still a lot to plan and therefore also to report.

Jonas