Round the World Tally Counter

I have decided that anytime I make an addition to this site on the side bar or introduced a format change I would make a post describing it. I thought it would be interesting to keep a tally of things that I encounter during this adventure. Most of these I have conglomerated from other blogs, or are just interesting things I would want to know. It is off to the side in the section labeled "Round the World Tally". Here you can get a brief numerical snap shot of everything that I have done on the trip in one small section. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment. Lets find out what really goes into a RTW adventure.


The current list includes:

Amount Saved: Pretty obvious here. I am saving about $1000-1300 a month plus extra from one time sources (tax returns, sales, stock, etc). I detailed possible ways to expand your savings a few hundred a month with minor lifestyle changes in this post as well as other ways to earn more money in this post.  Actual money that I have on hand may be slightly lower due to pre-trip money spent amounts (Along the lines of amount saved = money on hand + money spent pre-trip).

Goal: Neglecting extra spending and money to return on, this is the amount I am aiming to have in order to travel for 10-12 months around the world.  At current estimates, this value would be around $25-26k, and I will likely have $25k for the entire trip neglecting other spending.

Itinerary Covered To: Based on estimated spending costs, this is the country that my current savings will allow for travel based on the most up to date itinerary and planned budget.  This item will be removed from the list once I depart because, honestly, all budget planning is worthless once you're gone and I'm perfectly content with that

Dollars Spent: This category will include everything spent on the journey pre-trip, during the trip, and post-trip. This category will not include electronics and their accessories purchased pre-trip unless purchased solely with the trip in mind (aka a new camera) but will include things like vaccinations, clothing, travel gear, preperatory materials, netbook, etc. 

Money Remaining:  This category includes how much money that I have left after all that is spent so far, omitting any that is set aside to return on and other expenses not factored in. Once this gets below $1000, I better think of coming home.

Student Discount:  This category is reflective of the amount of money that I have saved from student discounts with my magical, non-expiring graduate student ID.  Many places offer up to 50% discount or more with a valid ID, and my student card should most certainly help with some money savings. However, I may apply for the International Student card right before I graduate in order to have greater proof of this as well.

Days on RTW Adventure: This category is fairly self explanatory, from the day that I leave the United States to the day I return, I will tally the days I have been on the road.  365 is the goal, I'll be happy with whatever.

Pictures Taken: This category will be excessively large in a relatively short amount of time. 3 weeks in Europe I took almost 2000 pictures, and 3 days in Las Vegas I took almost 1000 pictures. I expect to take 30,000 with a days worth of video or more.

Countries Visited: A basic count of the number of countries I have stopped in on the journey be it through lay overs or actually visiting. Next to this I will have a running count of my total number of countries I have visited in my life time.

Miles Flown/Overland: These numbers are a collective total of all miles traveled via air and overland (bus, train, ferry).  Below these numbers are a rough count of all flights/trains/buses/ferries taken as well.  The mileage valuation will be calculated via google maps or ticket approximation if given.  Only calculated for city-city transfers for buses/ferries/trains.  Subway or local ferries are not included for simplicities sake as the origin and destination are the same.

Nationalities Met: This number will keep track of the nationalities of people I encounter - be it locals or others in hostels. When I traveled Europe I met people from dozens of countries and thought it would be interesting to have an accurate count of that number. 

Days of Rain: This number will total the days of strong rain I saw while traveling that significantly interrupted sight seeing (light sprinkles ignored). When I went to Europe for 3 1/2 weeks I had 4 days of rain, only two of which were significant. Hopefully this ratio will hold true since 1 time every 2 weeks was not bad. 

Cold Shower Count: Now I am getting a bit into the goofy side of the tally. The one dreaded thing to expect in Asian hostels is the infamous cold shower. I will be doing my best to avoid this feature by investigating hostels online prior to booking, but I know that with various trekking routes I intend to take I will encounter some.

Squat Toilets Encountered: This is meant to be silly except for the few who are adverse bomber style. Like cold showers, these are very common in Asia as some places have not officially adopted the Western style commode.  I pray this stays under triple digits.

Sick Days: Unfortunately as it is, everyone gets sick during extended travel. I have an iron stomach when compared to most people but I know 300-365+ days and multiple airplane rides will have an affect on my immune system.  This metric will be determined by me wanting to sleep more than my desire to sight see.  Prior to this trip, I have only had 1 sick day in Egypt due to heat sickness.

Dares Issued/Completed:  I am calling a challenge.  Want me to do something abroad?  Dare me!  With a little financial incentive to help my travels, I'll do something you want to see on picture or film.  If I complete, pay up.  If I don't, keep your money!   The numbers tally dares issued, and dares completed.  To submit a dare, visit this page.

Itinerary Changes: This number will only be updated once I am on the road as I will change the itinerary too many times before to count. Additions and subtractions (cities/countries) will both count in this category, however number of days spent at a destination will not.

Comments on Blog: This one is self explanatory.  This number is the total number of comments that have been posted to this blog.  I try to comment in response back to everyone that comments, so this number will be skewed high by my responses as well as I am not filtering out myself in the numbers.

No. of Blog Posts to Date: Also self explanatory.  This number is the total number of posts made to the blog up to the most current entry.

Last Updated: This date reflects the last time the round the world tally counter was updated.  If I am not updating within regular frequency (1 week or so), yell at me and I'll get right on it.

In addition to the prior metrics, when I depart from each country I will put a final tally post regarding money spent and how the tally count changed from the prior region.

So with that being said, What would you like to see in the Round the World Tally? I will edit this post periodically if I think of more things to tally.