Pyrenees : Part 1 - The Preparations List

It has been such a long time since I travelled somewhere this year. Well, I limit my travels this year because I am saving my funds for my major trip to Pyrenees. I budgeted about RM10,000 including of flight tickets and whatever miscellaneous expenses I am bound to pay before my trip. Plus, I was going to be away for 28 days. So, I suppose RM10K is a good amount. Out of 28 days, it was 16 days road trip to and from Pyrenees, 3 days driving to and from mid-Sweden and detour to a small part of Norway, 7 days in Stockholm, and 2 days of flying.

By the way, if you are unsure what is Pyrenees, fear not, I was unsure about it myself initially. I just know it is in Europe. Pyrenees is a mountain range in Europe, specifically between France and Spain. It acts as their natural border. I figured that I should see Europe's mountain range since I have seen Himalayan. And oh, the correct pronounciation is 'pee-ra-nay'. I thought it was 'pee-re-nees' but there is a stroke on the 'e' and the 's' is not pronounced. Now, we are ready to start the topic!

Here is a photo of how a part of Pyrenees looks like. This is just the start of the drive when we entered inside the mountain range.

Let's get to the preparations part.

(A) The Itinerary

I made this trip with my penpal who is based in Sweden. The penpal wishes to be named as Professor Sweet Tooth, reason being he is a fan of sweet food and he looks like a professor. Now, making the itinerary took us about 5 months because we were emailing each other constantly and I have to research the name of the places each time he suggests it. For Prof Sweet Tooth, this has been a dream trip for him and hence, he has mentally prepared the route. We are starting the route from Sweden, and driving towards Paris, and towards the start of Pyrenees which is in Biarritz, drive along the range with stops, of course, ending at Perpignan, and back up to Sweden. He has a map, a very detailed map of France, and recommended places of interest, while I give my input by researching on these places. In Sweden, it is pretty easy to obtain information off the Internet about Pyrenees. In Malaysia, it is not. Yes, it is the same method of research. But the language is not. I typed in English. And he typed in Swedish. There are lots of Swedes, apparently, that does the Pyrenees route. It is also called the Grand Route (GR). Also, there are lots of information in French or Spanish or other foreign languages but very limited ones in English. Even, some of the website of places were in French. Sometimes, Google Translate does a poor job of translation. So, I had to email them and get the confirmation. You can imagine my frustration when I found nothing in English. I could only find 1 or 2 blogs in English about Pyrenees. I shall share on the route in my coming post.

(B) The Driving School

Prof Sweet Tooth has offered that we shall drive his car to Pyrenees. I thought it was an excellent idea because we can stop anytime, and drive anywhere. But the big problem, for me, at least is that it is a manual car with 6 gears! Manual manual... The last time I drove a manual car was when I got my driving license which was 14 years ago. Haha! And not helping me is the fact that Europeans drive on the right side of the road. Can you visualise how stressed is that - to change gear and make a turn to the opposite direction of how I use to? So, I called up a few driving schools and attended one driving lesson for 2 hours. It was pretty easy when I got the thumbs up from the instructor because I was driving on the left side. Boy, was it not easy at all when I drove in his car. One lesson for 2 hours costs me about RM80. 

(C) The Driving Permit

As I was not sure if Europe accepted my driving license, I decided to apply for the international driving permit. When I went to New Zealand, my driving license was accepted. I did not want to take the risk. I went to the Road Transport Department (JPJ) and put in an application. Please bring a copy of your Identification Card, driving license (that has a 1-year validity) and a photograph of passport size, and RM150. I got my permit in 30 minutes. I thought I will get a license, but I got a permit which is a small book sort-off with 4 pages of different languages of what vehicles I am entitled to drive. 

(D) The Travel Insurance

As usual, in my travels, I get my travel insurance from AIG Malaysia Insurance. It is the fastest with the click of the mouse. I called some other insurance companies but they had to call me back and it was such a hassle. It cost me RM229 because I bought the deluxe plan. I was fearful of losing my luggage because I am taking 2 connecting flights, and falling sick because it was a cold area. Thankfully, none of those 2 happened. Many people has experienced where their luggage gets delayed, transferred to another destination, or lost because of transit flights. So, what I did was when I flew to Sweden, I used a hand-carry. Yes, 28 days worth of travel stuffed in a backpack. And when I flew back to Malaysia, I check-in, and surprisingly, got my luggage. Haha!

(E) The Accommodation

The thing with making your own trip is sometimes, you cannot anticipate the driving hours, or the places to go and hence unable to determine the accommodation. We only made one booking during our entire trip but even that, we lost one night worth of stay because it was too late to keep driving and arrived in the morning instead. For the rest of the days, we slept in the car. It was uncomfortable initially, but I got used to it, and did not mind it anymore. We managed to find 2 ad-hoc places at about 8pm and did our laundry. The hostels close their doors at 9pm and you won't find anyone entertaining to you. Out of the 16 days on the road, it was 13 days sleeping in the car. Which is the main reason why I see so many camper vans being used. Camper van is widely used for the ease of resting at anytime but of course, you have to park in the designated location. 

(F) The Food and Water

Don't worry about food and water in Pyrenees. It is a mountain range, yes, but there are small towns and villages scattered around. You can always find a cafe or restaurant to try the local food. It maybe a bit expensive sometimes, but I don't want to be skimping on my money to not try the local stuff. I came all the way, and am not going to eat canned food. Yes, we brought some canned food which we did prepare in the mornings, sometimes, if it is not too cold after we wake up. Most of the times, we skipped breakfast, and had bread or snacks or raisins. Water - you can drink from the tap! Tap water is so clean in Europe. Yes, it is processed but because it is so cold, the chemical used is not as much because bacteria cannot live in cold. Prof Sweet Tooth has brought a supply of 10 liter tap water from his home, and so we were not worried until we ran out of water and got a supply of fresh spring water in one of our stops. 

(G) The Toilet

Clean toilet is another thing you don't have to worry about. Europe has clean toilets along the highway. When I said clean, it is really clean! No smell. No toilet paper on the floor. And the toilets have auto-sensor. As soon as you open the door, the toilet lights switch on and flushes by itself. And when you leave the toilet, it flushes again. Okay, this is for certain toilets only. Most of their toilets are stainless steel, and it can get pretty cold sitting on it. Well, there is one type of toilet which surprised me. It was the first time I have seen such toilet. There is no water being used. But, one has to step the pedal 5 times to rotate the platform in the toilet bowl, and your stuff will disappear as it rotates. I am not sure of the cleanliness but there is no smell. If there is no toilet available, nature is the next best thing. Of course, bring wet wipes and hand sanitiser. Some toilets don't have soap.

(H) The Mobile Phone

I purchased a Sim Card from Prepaidzero. Data plan 250MB valid for 2 weeks. Calling credit of EUR40 valid for 2 years. Cost me RM329. I am aware as a traveller, we want to be adventurous and not relying on technology. That was me 2 years ago. To me, being connected is important as I am going to be away from home for almost a month, and I need to be in reach if anything happens. Hence, the reason I chose more calling credit. I did use the data plan for some research of places. WiFi is abundant in restaurants and hostels. Just ask for the password. The Prepaidzero line was pretty good in Sweden, and some parts of Pyrenees. Of course, there was limited line in the mountains. That is not surprising. I was happy with my purchase. They posted to me my Sim Card within 10 working days with very clear instructions. The Sim Card only works in Europe. It is dead now in Malaysia. Of course, I did activate my Malaysian number in Europe but the charges are very expensive.

(I) The Items to Bring

One person's items definitely differ than one person. I brought one bag of my items, and Prof Sweet Tooth having the advantage of preparing from home, brought 2 bags of clothings! Does guys really need more items of clothings than girls? So, here is a list of essential items for me:

1) 3 long-sleeve t-shirts (I am afraid of being sunburnt. In Europe, the air is cold that you cannot feel the sun burning on you)

2) 2 cargo pants (but I only used once, because I wore tights when I am not wearing the cargo pants)

3) 2 pairs of tights
4) 1 set of sleeping clothes - thermal pants, thermal top
5) 2 pairs of wool socks - worn while sleeping
6) 3 pairs of cotton socks - for walking
7) Hand warmers but not used
8) 1 woolen hat, 1 sports cap
9) Sunglasses
10) 3 long-sleeve shirts (worn over the long sleeve t-shirt)
11) 1 self-heat-produced skin-hugging top (it converts your sweat to body heat but yes, the question is do I even sweat?)
12) 1 fleece jacket
13) Headlamp
14) Battery-operated lantern - I got them cheap in a sports store
15) Clothes line
16) Hand Sanitizer and Wet Wipes
17) Medicine - fever, diarrhoea, gastric, cough, flu, stomachache
18) Gloves
19) Vaseline - for dry skin and lips

20) Shawl - Without this, I am pretty sure I would have been cold easily. I wrapped it around my neck all the time.

21) Travel adaptor, phone and battery charger

22) Emergency blanket and whistle (brought along when we go for our walk in the National Park) 

23) Rain-jacket (but not used because my fleece jacket was pretty good)
24) Walking shoes
25) Flip-flops to walk around in hostels or worn in the car
26) Messtin and Enamel Mug

My penpal prepared these additional items because I cannot stuff it anymore in my backpack.

1) Sleeping bag
2) Sleeping mat
3) Portable kitchen and the flammable liquid to cook
4) Spoons

So, that makes up the preparations to Pyrenees! And for monies, I brought EUR2000, but I brought back EUR600 and SEK1200. I was very surprised! Honestly, I had no idea what to expect for the trip because this is Europe and it is my first time. People tell me the French are rude, but the French I meet are all so nice! I start with a 'Bonjour'.. and I said 'English'? Or I just smile, and point to what I want and show how many fingers I need. I am always so lucky to meet nice and friendly people in my trip. Of course, Prof Sweet Tooth helps with the understanding too because he knows some bits and pieces of basic French. 

Well, I am lucky to be going with someone who already knows part of Europe. So, that reduced my worries too. To Pyrenees, we go in my next post!