Travelling to Asia - preparation and checklist

Now it's time to prepare for our trip to Asia and more specifically the Philippines. Or rather, we've been preparing for quite some time. Here we have compiled a checklist of everything that needs to be prepared for a long-distance journey.

Preparation and checklist for travelling to Asia

So it is at the end of January that we set off to Philippines, to spend three months there with our friends Micke and Julia. We're busy preparing for the trip, so we thought it would be a good idea to compile our experiences of things to consider before travelling to Asia.

1. Hemmet

When preparing for a long trip to Asia (or anywhere else in the world), it's also a matter of preparing your home for the trip. Here are some things to consider:

• Do you want to rent out your property while you are away?
• If you are not renting - can someone look after the property?
• Do you want an alarm?
• Who takes care of the mail/flowers?
• Can you reduce postage with a 'No thanks to advertising' sign?
• Can you receive bills and other important mail digitally?
• What is the right amount of heat to have in your home when you are away?

Fortunately, we have people who will look after our houseboat, take care of mail and so on, and possibly a relative will live in the boat temporarily. The neighbours here also live close together and are good at helping each other, keeping an eye out and contacting each other when necessary.

As a houseboat, we also have to remember to put away anything that might fall during a storm... We also turn off the water, and we have an alarm that goes straight to our mobile phone in case something happens.

2. Passports and visas

First of all: check that your passport is valid! Keep in mind that passports are often required to be valid for a certain number of months (often 6) after arriving in the country.

Next: Check whether a visa is required. In the case of the Philippines, Swedish citizens can visit the country for up to 30 days without a visa, while a visa is required for longer stays. We understand that it is possible to apply on the spot, but it feels safer and more convenient to organise this beforehand.

We have made three trips to the Philippine Embassy in Lidingö, using public transport (we don't have a car in the winter). The first trip could have been replaced by an email (if we had found the email address). Then we had to fill in a lot of documents, make an appointment to submit the documents and finally collect our visa.

Now we have a visa for 59 days, which is the longest issued in advance. Extension can then be made at the "Bureau of Immigration" in the Philippines.

3. tickets

Tickets are of course important to have when travelling to Asia, especially airline tickets. If you have other bookings - such as hotel bookings - it is good to keep track of these as well. Make sure you have tickets and other important documents available via email. And yes, our tickets are ready. We fly with Qatar Airways, via Doha.

4. Insurance

Many standard home insurance policies often include 45 days of travel cover (though you'll need to check the specifics with your insurer). If you're going to be travelling for a longer period of time - as we are - you may need additional insurance.

We have now taken out travel insurance for the entire period we plan to be away, through our usual insurance company. We have also reviewed other insurance policies, such as accident insurance.

5. budget

When travelling to Asia - and especially if you're going to be away for a long time - you need to consider your budget and finances. It's best to make a budget for the whole trip and have an extra buffer in case unexpected expenses arise (which they often do in one way or another).

We plan to travel and stay relatively simply to keep costs down, but of course travelling still costs money. In addition to saving some money, we plan to work, and thus earn income, throughout our trip. We work with this digital travel magazine, and have income from, among other things, advertisements and sponsored articles.

6. Vaccinations

When travelling to Asia, you may want to consider different vaccinations. In this day and age, some countries require vaccination against COVID-19. In addition, it can be useful to be vaccinated against other diseases, such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis and so on.

Exactly which vaccinations may be appropriate depends on the country you're visiting, how long you'll be in the country, which parts of the country you'll be travelling to, and how you plan to stay (in a luxury hotel or spartan and close to nature).

We went to Vaccin Direkt in the centre of Stockholm, which still had our old vaccination cards, despite the fact that it was almost ten years old and had changed ownership. Thanks to that, we found out that our old vaccinations against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tetanus, polio and more are still valid. Since we will be in the country for a longer period of time, and since we may be staying in a single room, we decided to add vaccines against the following diseases:

• Typhoid fever
• Japanese encephalitis
• Rabies
• cholera

Vaccination is not entirely free, but it does provide important protection and in many cases is valid for a very long time. The rabies vaccine, for example, provides lifelong protection (although an additional vaccine dose is required if infection is suspected), which influenced our decision to choose that vaccine as well.

7. Health

Before embarking on a long journey, you may want to check your health. There is, of course, healthcare abroad if you need it, but you want to start with the best possible conditions, don't you? Maybe you want to make a doctor's appointment or book a dental appointment?

For us, it was a visit to the optician. We have needed new glasses for a long time. Peter got new reading glasses and I (Helena) got progressive glasses for the first time. In addition, we have felt out of shape, so we have focused on a period of good food and exercise ...

8. travel pharmacy

Before embarking on a trip to Asia, it's a good idea to review your travel pharmacy. The most important thing to consider is prescription medication, which can be cumbersome to obtain while travelling. It is also important to make sure that you have access to any medication that you want to have readily available in your hand luggage.

For our part, we will also stock up on a few other things that might be useful to have with us while travelling. We simply check off the headings "Necessities" and "Travelling pharmacy" in our big bag. packing list for the trip.

9. Bags

Of course, it is important to have suitable bags to pack. When travelling to Asia, either a suitcase or a backpack may be appropriate, depending on how you plan to get around. In addition, you may of course need a smaller complementary backpack/handbag/beach bag.

We will be travelling with a backpack this time and it has been a very long time since we last did so. We didn't have any backpacks left, so we had to buy new ones. It turned out that we got the best value for money when we ordered online, and we have now each bought a backpack from Osprey.

10. packing

Packing may only be done at the end, just before travelling, but it can be good to prepare beforehand so you have everything you need to pack at home. We've gone through our big packing list and got some new things.

Among other things, we got new, better power batteries and bought some paperbacks. In addition, I think I'm going to review my wardrobe and see if there are any summer dresses that need to be repaired ...

More things to consider when travelling to Asia?

This is what we are currently thinking about when travelling to Asia. Do you have any other tips to consider?