USEFUL THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU LEAVE, SUMMARY any new ideas???
 

Hello all,
I am getting things ready for my ½ (half) RTW trip, I just wanted to share things I either heard or read somewhere, some of them come from hubb threads.
Basically things to do BEFORE YOU LEAVE.
I will lay them down in straight points, if you have came up with something original and worth a try please share in this thread because new (and old good) ideas are always welcome.
This is my initial contribution:

- International driving licence: try to apply through different bodies at the same time (at the Post Office and at the AA online for example), they will issue multiple copies without realising – I think you are entitle to have two anyway but the real issue is that the IDP is valid one year and (I have checked this with the Post Office) it cannot be renewed when you are outside the country so applying in different location asking for different starting date will give your IDP a longer life (you can ask for the start date only 3 months ahead though).
Another way is to leave someone here with the photocopies of you passport, driving licence plus counterpart, a picture and a cheque, ask them to apply for you by post and then send it over to you (at the Post Office you have be apply in person).

- take plenty of photocopies of the “important” documents like your reg certificate etc as you will be asked for them especially shipping your bike or getting an insurance at the border and photocopy machines are not always available. The same apply for passport size pictures I suppose.

- I made some “fake” driving licences (well... they are not fakes, they have my picture and all the details are unchanged – so I would not consider them as “fakes” but “copies”- I suppose this is not illegal but not sure) scanning the original and printing it on photo paper, once laminated and cut they look stunningly real! They won’t probably fool a trained eye of a police officer here but I “tested” them retrieving deliveries and showing them as proof of ID in many occasion and they work just fine. This is just in case somebody confiscates you licence expecting you to pay a bribe – they can keep it. It also helps if you leave some copies to your cousin so he can send them to you if needed.

- buying electrical equipment try to get devices that work with the same power supply. For example your AA batteries can be used/swapped between your camping torchlight, your digital camera, GPS, radio, and you need to carry only one battery charger (there is one quite good at 7dayshop here by the way: 7dayshop.com - Online Store
it has 3 charging option: 12v in-car cigarette lighter, mains and USB, it’s less than £7.
Also chose carefully a multi voltage power adaptor (12v or mains) and make sure the voltages match the ones of your devices so you only need to take one with you (and leave one home to your sister so she can ship it to you once yours is dead).

-The same for your digital memory: my camera for example works with SD cards that can be used on my gps and PDA as well, also instead of usb flash disks another option is buying a card reader where you can store one of your memory cards in so you will have two devices in one: card reader plus flash disk. These devices have two caps: one for the usb connection at one end and one that covers the slot where you put the memory card, with both caps on the card stays inside and you have a flash disk of the size of your memory card, once taken out it is a card reader.

- SNOR your bike if the tax is due soon, this can be done online and cancel you UK road insurance, it is worthless outside Europe and you will remember that they renew it automatically when it is too late.

- this is personal preference: I have bought a show number plate (9”x3”, white - off ebay) which I will be using while travelling outside UK but especially in those countries where political situation can turn anti-UK pretty quickly. It makes identifying your bike more difficult. I know this is paranoia... but you never know.

- call your credit cards and tell them your card is damaged or that you are going away for a long time so you will have your cards replaced and valid for at least 2 years.- they won’t expire while you are away.

-scan and store your information online uploading to your email so they can be retrieved from anywhere in the world, also temporarily changing the extensions of the files on your flash disks may help keeping off a not very skilled curious intruder from your info.

- having a Paypal account can help as sometimes you get things quicker and cheaper from ebay rather than regular suppliers.
Also ebayers are available on weekends, are usually communicative and may be less fussy about where to ship as long as you pay and with Paypal the payment clears instantly. If they don’t want to ship abroad you can just have the part delivered to your auntie’s address and have her to ship it over to you. In this case I suppose an account with DHL or UPS will help as well (I think they even take Paypal too). I am not a big fan of Paypal, it started great with sellers a few years back but now with all this buyer’s protections stuff they forgot who is paying their wages (only sellers pay fees using Paypal) so when there is a dispute the seller usually loses. I was saying: I am not a big fan of Paypal but it is very handy sometimes.

I know some of the things here have been said many times but I just wanted to summarise here and hopefully get new ideas from other travellers.

Just scratching the surface here.

Slightly less bike orientated but one thing I'm going to try to do is buy Birthday/Christmas presents/cards etc before leaving, and leave them here. I think it will be easier than trying to remember to do it when away!

Carnet
 

One tip I got while at the BMF this year from Sam Manicom which could prove useful. Leave a copy of your Carnet with your local dealer, then if you need spares shipping out, they send them out with a copy...no import taxes as they are like the bike, temporary import...Could save a few quid!

This Carnet copy idea is really good.

arizona
 

Arizona doesn't require you to renew your driver's license every so many years. It's good till you're 65. And if you need a duplicate, it's only $4. All this is VERY handy if you're out of the states for long periods of time. You just need to go to use a Arizona friends address. And, drop by Arizona whenever you're in the area...
Lorraine

USB skype phone
 

Another thing I will take is a USB Skype Phone rather than a Headset with Microphone: if a PC hasn't got USB ports usually is old and doesn't support Skype anyway.

change bank address
 

Change your address at your bank to a trusted friend or family in the same country as your bank. In the event that you loose your cards or they get stolen the bank will not send them to where ever you are but will only send them to the address they have been given. So if you set the bank address to the person you have left responsible for sorting out emergencies back home it will speed up the process. If your bank is in the UK and you settling in NZ at the end of your trip, obviously don't give them your new address in NZ when you leave otherwsie they will first send your cards to NZ standard mail...there goes 2 weeks.

don't quote me on this...but I have been told.....

Phone the DVLA licensing and tell them you have lost your drivers license. They will then send you a complete new set (card and counterpart) for £22 which will have a new document number. Keep these safe and then use the "old" on as proof of identiy when asked for or for leaving at reception at camp grounds or hotels instead of your passport. Please don't use the old on in the UK as a quick check will flag it up as stolen...

I have also been told the new UK cards are very cool with a hologram and additional security features ;)

This is a great thread. I have been thinking about these types of things a lot....particularly because I have my own business. While I'm gone there will be tax reports and bills to take care of. Not sure how I'll do everything but I’m filling out forms early and setting them out for my wife to mail when they are due. I am timing my trip so that I have quarterly reports done just before I leave.

As far as personal finance, I have changed all my home expenses (and the credit cards I'm taking on the trip) to automatic payments so that my spouse doesn't have to worry about bills while I'm away.

I live in Wisconsin, and moto licenses expire every two years. In Wisconsin, you can renew your moto license up to 6 months before it is due. With careful timing, you could be away on a RWT for 2 1/2 years without worrying about your bike license.