March, 2024 – Preparing Contingencies


“When going on a huge adventure, what contingencies should I plan for?”

That’s a great question, Mr. Excuse-for-Exposition!


My next step, after locking in the primary plan, was to create the secondary and tertiary plans. What do I do if something goes wrong… and what do I do if a second something goes wrong?

For me, that was actually fairly straightforward – One of the many skills that one picks up as a Mechanical / Industrial engineer is failure analysis, and failure prediction… combine that with my innate cultural paranoia, and you’ve got the recipe for someone who naturally over-plans things.

I started my backup planning for this trip years ago, in all truth. “What happens if my Passport gets stolen?” was an easy question to answer, and a situation that I’ve found myself in previously. Being a dual citizen, I have two passports – Primary and Secondary plans. As a Tertiary, I have a US “Real ID” drivers license… not quite as good, but good enough to at least get me into an embassy.

(Ed Note: See “And it all comes tumbling down” here – https://talesfromthehutt.com/2011/10/13/and-it-all-comes-tumbling-down/ – for the story of when Ben had his passport stolen previously, and learned that a photocopy of a passport is NOT a viable backup contingency)



There’s a few other contingencies that I prepped previously, just as part of my normal life.

Communication? Cellphone, backup older cellphone, and laptop.

Camera? Cellphone, backup older cellphone, credit card to buy a new camera. Never forget this – Credit cards (and cash) make for excellent all-around backups… but they do tend to draw attention and risk.

Vision? I have contacts, and bought extra 6-month packs so I wouldn’t have to rush when I landed in Ireland. But on top of that, I also have two pairs of glasses… not ones I’d enjoy using, but ones that could keep me safe for a time.

Data? Cloud backup services, along with a small stash of USB drives that I’ll mail back home every so often.

Paying ability? An international credit card (with zero currency exchange fees), along with secondary credit cards in a second wallet, and cash (Euros, Krona, etc…)


As part of my Grand European Adventure though, I did have some unique contingencies to plan for.

Housing, for instance, I backed up with a list of “vanilla” hotels in each city I’m staying in. Places that’re international and safe, like Marriot and Hilton – not somewhere that I’d get a good sense of the city… but somewhere that, in an emergency, I could rely on to either have a spare room or be able to help me find one. I included address and phone number, so I could either call or be able to get a cab.

I also created a list of embassies and consulates for each city that I’m in – not only the phone number and address, but also the name of the presiding ambassador / consular, so I would know someone I could ask for specifically if things REALLY hit the fan.


I stored all these plans on the cloud – but, since the cloud is inherently unreliable, I’ll have a few backups there too. I’ll print everything off as .pdfs, and save them to my various devices… but since electronics can fail, I’ll also have at least two physical copies with me, and will share copies with my friends and family.

Of note – None of these backups are being kept together. That’s a key! If two backups are both in the same satchel or checked bag… they’re not really a backup, are they? I plan on having three bags for this trip, and each will have one backup of each item: My primaries will live in my personal bag. My secondaries will reside in the backpack that has my clothes, and bulkier items. Tertiaries will have to content themselves with my checked back – a small duffel that’ll hold things that I can’t bring on the plane… like contact lens solution and the special dreadlock shampoo that I like to use.

Am I paranoid? Absolutely.

Is paranoia bad when the world actually seems out to get you, and take advantage of any small lapse in attention? Well. Time will tell, won’t it?