Welcome to the online-report of our
worldtrip (July 2002 - March 2004)
About us
Who are 'we'?
Both of us - Dirk, aged 37, and Sabine, aged 35 - are doctors. We know each other from our medicine studies at the 'Ruhr' University of Bochum, Germany. After finding out about us in the first place and then about our mutual 'wanderlust,' we kept on using up our annual leave for travelling the world in almost every year.
How do you come up with the idea of travelling around the world for 18 months?
Most of all, travel urge is what is needed. Two years ago, the desire to take a prolonged vacation - until then only subliminally present - developed rather strongly. We were longing for repose enough to travel to countries and areas that could not be adequately visited in 4 weeks' time.
Additionally, after about ten years of being a doctor a time-out is more than welcome. Dirk had always wanted to work in the third world and now got the chance to do so, directly before our actual trip, and help the 'Doctors for the Third World' by taking a duty in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
How about our jobs?
Luckily, our employers allowed us to take the time off, i.e. unpaid vacation.
How did we prepare for the trip?
We started planning the trip in greater detail about one year ago. After we agreed on the route we began organizing. Generally speaking, many things were more complicated than we had initially thought.
Problems already started with the airline ticket. It was impossible to obtain a so-called 'Round-the-World' ticket for the entire time of our trip, since this ticket is valid for one year only. Finally, we managed to book us a one-way flight from Frankfurt via Bangkok and Borneo to Darwin, Australia, as well as a few connecting flights. We will have to organize for the onward journey while on our way.
Some further points that were on our to-do list: Health insurance, planning and organizing for all equipment, financial matters, breaking up our household a.s.o.
Last but not least, we also got married just before our journey.
Our journey
It starts with Dirk working for the humanitarian relief organization 'Doctors for the Third World' in Dhaka, Bangladesh, for 3 months. The 'Doctors for the Third World' committee runs a project in Dhaka, employing a regular staff of local helpers. Doctors from Germany, both men and women, usually go there for the time of their annual leave in order to give humanitarian aid. Two doctors at a time may use the apartment supplied while a housekeeper takes care of the cooking and cleaning. On 5 days in a week, both in the morning and in the afternoon, they are driven to a slum district where, either in a school, a hut or simply in a section separated by sheets and rags, they see their out-patients. An interpreter helps to communicate, however, and the local health workers take care of the rest. E.g., the patients are taught simple lessons of hygiene while they are waiting.
Please accept our excuse for reporting only in the German language, but the pictures taken may tell more than a thousand words.
Travelroute