Some things we have learned in the last few weeks, that we would like to share in case you or anyone you know decide to plan an extensive traveling trip.

1. Make sure you have enough pages in your current passport for the Visas you will have to purchase to enter into many countries (or else you have to pay double to get it expedited to the passport agency)

2. Vietnam Visa entry fee is expensive and you need to send you passport to the Vietnam Embassy with ample time to get your Visa

3. India also requires an advance Visa, you will also need to send you passport away to get this Visa, or visit an Indian Embassy in the US (luckily, SF has an embassy)

4. All of the internet research we have read scares the living crap out of us regarding diseases, mosquitoes, food and water, etc. We visited a “specialized travel nurse” to inform us that many of these measures are not something to be concerned with. (ex. Japanese encephalitis, which is a two part immunization costing $500!!)

5. There is something called adult polio and even though we were vaccinated at birth with a polio shot for a lifetime, our bodies have become immune and now need an adult polio vaccination for India and other poor countries.

6. To enter some South American countries you will need to prove that you have had the yellow fever shot.

I am sure our list will continue in the next few weeks and throughout the year.