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- Douglas & Stephanie Hackney
- www.hackneys.com/travel
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- 43 Countries
- Travel by foot, auto, motorcycle, overland expedition vehicle, train,
bus, plane
- Full-time, overland living from 6/2007 to present
- Lessons learned from our experiences and other overlanders
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- Who? – Couple only, kids are grown.
- What? – Global travel, developing countries.
- When? – Now, while we’re healthy.
- Why? – To learn, to grow, to experience, to know the reality first hand.
- How? – Worked hard and saved our money, made this the priority.
- Model? – Sold primary assets, donated the rest.
- Funding? – Self-funded, no sponsorships.
- Modes? – All the graphics below.
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- It costs less to overland full time in developing countries than to live
in the U.S. or western Europe
- Costs vary widely
- Most overlanders live on $500 to $2,000 per month
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- The world is a very warm and welcoming place
- The world is, generally, safer and less violent than the U.S.
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- Yes, you can do this
- Overseas overlanding is generally pretty easy, in some places, very easy
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- Water – Bottled water available everywhere on the planet; filter or
sterilize the rest
- Food – Available everywhere
- Communications – Cell available in populated areas, bring sat phone for
remote regions
- Internet – Available in cities and market towns
- Fuel – Diesel available everywhere, gasoline can be challenging, propane
– see website
- Insurance – Get travelers, medical and liability. Comprehensive is
limited and cost prohibitive.
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- Campgrounds –As you know them, don’t exist outside NA & Europe
- Trash – Available everywhere
- Sewage – Cassette or macerator pump
- Repairs – Non-electronic anywhere
- Electricity – 220VAC/50Hz is world standard, 110VAC/60Hz in NA, CA,
Columbia, Ecuador, Japan
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- Laundry – Available everywhere
- Money – ATMs in cities & market towns
- Finances – Online
- Bill Payment - Online
- Mail – Box and forwarding service
- Spare Parts – Electronic and model specific
- Pack Lists – See our web site
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- Roads – Inter-city mostly paved, market town roads dirt to paved,
chicken bus roads typically dirt
- Local Language – Learn basics (thank you, please, etc.), otherwise smile
a lot and draw in the dirt
- Danger / Safety – The world is a very welcoming and safe place,
generally much more so than the U.S. & Europe
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- Trust Your Gut – No exceptions
- Dress and Behavior – Don’t stand out
- Firearms – No viable overseas scenarios, don’t even consider it
- Civil Unrest & Natural Disasters – Register with U.S. State Dept.
- Keep things locked – Vehicle, storage compartments, etc.
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- Health Insurance – Care will typically be covered as out of network
- Medical Evacuation – Travel policy including air evacuation is highly
recommended
- Vaccinations – Required, see a travel doctor
- Prescriptions – Bring a supply for the term of your trip or period
between trips back to U.S.
- Meds – See our web site
- Allergies – Bring EpiPens for severe cases
- Health Care – Available, quality varies, usually free to very nominal
cost
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- Passports
- Vaccination record
- International Driver’s License(s)
- Vehicle title
- Vehicle registration
- Vehicle insurance
- Health insurance / medivac
- Birth certificate
- Key emergency contact information
- Copies of credit cards
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- If you can make the room, bring an all-in-one scanner/printer
- Never present original docs unless you are returning to the U.S. /
Europe
- Carry a color copy of the photo page of your passport in cities
- Keep color copies of all vehicle docs ready for presentation
- Create multiple color copies of all important documents; leave one set
in the U.S.
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- Businesses do not accept credit cards outside cities and major market
towns
- ATMs are in cities and market towns almost everywhere in the world
- For remote areas with no ATMs, stockpile cash in cities / market towns
- Always have more than one card that you can draw cash on
- Cover multiple ATM networks, e.g., Plus, Cirrus
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- Backup your data often
- You will generate terabytes of data – high resolution photography,
digital video, etc.
- Get a copy of the data off your vehicle – ship a copy home
- Never have only one copy of the data
- Overseas retail drive capacity lags the U.S. by several to many years;
stock up on capacity before you leave and when you visit
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- First time can be intimidating
- Have all documentation in order
- Have plenty of color copies of all documents
- Bring a language dictionary - know the key words in the local language
(license plate, VIN #, driver’s license, passport)
- Understand the basic flow of border crossings (see our web site)
- Ensure you get entry and exit stamps
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- Turning radius is the most important day-to-day dimension
- Track width is very important; world standard is HiLux (Tacoma)
- Large & heavy vehicles are self-limited to market town roads - use
local vehicles or animals to get to the out of the way places
- U.S. camper width vehicles are OK for Africa, NA, SA, and Australia,
problematic elsewhere – Sprinter cab width is OK everywhere
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- You must come to terms with poverty
- Big logo charity doesn’t work
- “We know what these people need” doesn’t work
- Handouts of cash don’t work
- Locally initiated and sustained programs work
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- You will learn the basics in the first few weeks
- The important stuff takes longer to learn and is much more valuable
- You learn the important stuff from
- Your experiences
- The experiences of others – ask other overlanders!
- Read the Overlander Interview threads on ExPo
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- The ship will come ashore
- You will have changed
- Everyone else will have changed
- The world did not stop turning while you were gone – everyone and
everything moved on
- Others are not all that interested in you, your experiences, your
perspectives, your insights, etc.; they are more interested in TV.
- Others may resent your experiences
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- It doesn’t happen in one big step
- Start small – local, short duration
- Test methods / styles / platforms – solo vs. group, rigidly scheduled
vs. no schedule, small vs. large, etc.
- Consider rental or group trip for initial overseas experience
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- It’s not about the truck / bike
- It’s not about the stuff
- It’s about the experiences
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- "No plan survives first contact with the enemy." - Helmuth von
Moltke the Elder (1800-1891)
- Much of what you bring you won’t need or use
- Most of what you think will happen won’t
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- Seeing a lot and experiencing very little
- Checklist travel
- Wearing cultural goggles
- No permission to change (mission, self, destinations, interests, etc.)
- Never disconnecting / unplugging from home
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- Understanding the differences between tourism, travel and overland
living
- Removing your cultural goggles
- The reality of poverty
- The corruption and failure of big logo charities
- Understanding that your culture’s and country’s way is not the way, it
is only one way among many possible ways
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- Other societies have different norms, customs, practices and standards
- Some are diametrically opposed to yours
- You cannot fully learn about others unless you can set aside those
differences and look at them without the filter of your cultural goggles
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- The world is very different, almost exactly opposite, of what you have
been led to believe.
- The differences between what you expect and what you actually experience
will be initially disconcerting.
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- “Everyone hates us.” is the biggest lie ever perpetrated on the American
public.
- The people of the world have a tremendous reservoir of affection for the
American people.
- The people of the world understand the difference between a country’s
people and their government, much more than we do here.
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- Borders, ports, airports, etc.
- Their only domain - their only power
- That “ i ” must be, and will be, dotted
- Be patient, be friendly, keep smiling
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- Western travelers, especially Americans, tend to overland within the
context of a mission
- Commercial / Sponsorship / Marketing
- Personal Growth / Fulfillment / Adventure
- First / Fastest / Most / Least
- Service / Charity / Philanthropic
- Media / Video / Photography / Writing
- Research / Science
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- Why are we doing this?
- Revisit this question regularly
- Start at 40,000 feet and work down from there
- Don’t be afraid of changing the answer
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- Do not become a guidebook zombie
- Others will seek to shape your experience
- Please yourself first
- Do what you want as you want to do it
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- Tourism is not Travel is not Overland Living
- Full time overlanding is full time living
- Overlanding is a market town road experience – not a Rubicon Trail
experience
- Overlanding is about experiences with people and places, not about
experiences with your vehicle
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- International overlanding is about using market town roads to get from
one interesting place to another.
- You can see at least 90% of the interesting places in the world with a
VW Westfalia.
- You will adapt your lifestyle to your vehicle.
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- If you unplug, there are consequences
- Identity
- Disassociation
- Tribelessness
- If you don’t unplug, there are consequences
- Missed opportunities
- Cocooned experience
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- By far the most precious commodity
- The most important variable
- Will shape your experience more than any other factor
- Time is dangerous – drives compromises to safety, limits, goals, etc.
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- Don't #&%@ with the locals.
- Always remember you are a guest - act
accordingly.
- Don't be stupid.
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- Must be the #1 Priority – top life goal
- Test modes / methods / platforms
- Clear the decks
- Prioritize destinations
- Remain flexible
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- Understand and accept the realities of international overlanding
- Establish exit gating factors, e.g., health of parents, grandchildren,
financial limits, etc.
- All parties must be on board and comfortable with all known risk
factors, e.g., financial, health, career
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- After you make this the #1 Priority, everything else is easy
- The rewards far outweigh the sacrifices
- What you learn and witness is only available for those who are out there
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- Details on the lessons in this presentation and more are available at:
- www.hackneys.com/travel
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- Douglas & Stephanie Hackney
- www.hackneys.com/travel
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