Preparation

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Ok, so I think I may have become a little obsessed with the planning of my RTW trip and have gotten to the point where I now have a ten page excel spreadsheet outlining where I am going to be on every day that I am travelling (except of course the 29th November 2011 which never exists for me...the mind boggles??). It details names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses of everywhere that I'm staying en route, which of course being anally retentive in this area, I have booked well in advance. It includes daily activities, times, prices, whether it's booked or not booked and even daily budgets for food (which, no doubt, have no real relation to what will actually be spent).

The crazy thing is, is that I am the least well organised, anally retentive person I know and I'm pretty sure that all of my friends (especially those who have been on the receiving end of my lateness and occasional forgetting to show up altogether) are all too aware. But for some reason, this trip has turned me into uber-planner!! It's gotten to the point now where I feel like I have already been to the places that I plan to visit due to some seriously overzealous, investigative research. I can justify it to myself by saying that I MUST plan everything, every little detail, to make sure that I get the absolute most out of this trip. Every single moment of my life for the next three months must be scheduled in with meticulous detail to ensure maximum variety, interest, learning and time for photography obviously. Bullshit! What this actually does is takes the joy out of the whole thing. It ensures zero room for interaction with a nation so different from your own with absolutely no space to grow and essentially just closes you off to new experiences. You know, those random scenarios that you just sort of 'happen upon' that become the most memorable? People you meet when you least expect it that, through acts of kindness or unexpected treasures of wisdom, teach you something about mankind. These are the things that we bring back with us. Surely, the idea of such a trip is that it is a voyage of discovery? And aren't these best approached with open mindedness and a fresh, almost childlike, view of the world. Arriving anywhere with loaded expectations can surely result only in disappointment? And so I have decided to stop, well hold off a little anyways. I have booked Flights and accommodation, some travel and nothing else. I have given my self a short (ish) list of things I hope to achieve along the way, some time or location sensitive (Bucket List entry #3 The Grand Canyon - well you don't see that everywhere?), and some that could happen anywhere. I won't force them or actively seek them out but I will happily tick them off if I happen upon them :o)

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