Following my sharing of my proposed route yesterday (linked here, if you missed it) I received quite a few questions from friends and family about the details of my trip. Most of these questions took the form of ‘how will you do it?’, oddly referring to quite different aspects. As as form of FAQ, then, I will attempt to answer them below.
- How will I actually get around the world?
This one is answered easily enough. Lots of airlines offer multi-stop or round-the-world (RTW) tickets. Anyone wishing to do a trip on this scale needs to know firstly where they would like to go.
Once you have an idea of where you want to go or the sorts of things you want to experience, I would advise going into a travel agency and chat through the route. I called into STA travel, Trailfinders and the Flight Centre and got some great ideas as well as a rough idea of cost, allowing me to do some working out of my own. These guys can give lots of information on different tickets and options, allowing you to have as much information at your disposal as possible.
Around 11 months before, flights will become available. I am travelling on a multiflex pass from STA travel, meaning I have a collection of separate flights that I can move around with a degree of flexibility. For others, it may be better for them to fly with a group of airlines or on a particular ticket, though for me this wasn’t economical or practical because of my route and the miles I will travel.
2. How did I get the time off work?
It goes without saying that I checked it would be alright to take time off before booking anything! In the initial planning stages, I did a lot of research around the right to take time off in the UK, and in the education sector specifically. It turned out that, for my local authority, there were no rules for or against it, the decision instead being the domain of the head and the board of governors.
So I put together a letter to the head and the chair of governors, asking for unpaid leave. In the letter, I went on to detail the roles I occupied in school and the various things I had done for the school over my time there (I will have been working there for five years by the time I go travelling). The purpose of this letter was to explain, as I saw it, the reasons the school would wish to hold my position for me and the benefit the trip would bring me and my teaching practice.
I was informed a few weeks later that my request had been accepted, giving me the green light! Although I am yet to sort out final paperwork and whatnot, my school has been very accommodating, perhaps due to the amount of time I gave them to consider. Nevertheless, I shall keep in touch with the school over my trip; indeed the purpose of this blog is to share my experiences with the teachers and children.
It does not necessarily follow, though, that simply repeating my steps will grant the same result in every case. Responses may be affected by things like time working for an organisation, roles held and the current employment situation. However, it must also be said that if you don’t ask, you don’t get.
3. How will I afford it?
I like to travel in the school holidays and so have always given myself a travel budget. As my pay has increased over the years, I have found that I had money that I was spending frivolously; I reversed this trend and put the money aside each month. For this trip, I have simply allowed this travel budget to accumulate, forming the main bulk of the cost. Some of this will go on pre-travel items like flights, insurance, vaccinations and initial accommodation, with the rest going into what will be my living allowance.
Being realistic, however, I know that this would not have been enough by itself. I am moving back to my parent’s house for the six months prior to setting off, in order to save on things like rent and utilities as well as working as a supply teacher in this time.
On top of that, I will have to dip into my savings for the last part. This, though, was part of the initial thought process behind the trip: I had accumulated enough for a deposit on a house, though acknowledged that this would also probably constrain my ability to travel for the following few years. Instead, I reasoned, if I were to use some of this money to travel, I could then save again, using my travel budget if necessary. After all, when looking back on my life, I am far more likely to regret not travelling the world than getting a mortgage a few years earlier.
However, some may object to this view; within reason, I don’t see why those that have bought a house shouldn’t be able to do something similar, given proper planning. I merely intended to point out my reasoning.
Where in the World is Mr Morris? 