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Published: September 11th 2007
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After a slight delay, some technical difficulties, and some debit card action - I am pleased to say that I am able to update my blog, whether you like it or not.
- Flights to Iceland, the start of the trip, finally booked :o)
- Round the World flight, booked. London - NYC - LA - Cook Islands (Pitcairn) - New Zealand - Sydney - Shangai - Mumbai - Dubai - London.
Outside of this, I will be squeezing in a trip to Eastern Canada, and Cuba before leaving for the Cook Islands. I will be taking advantage of my extra time in the South Pacific by taking my PADI diving course there, as it is half the price of doing it in the glamorous surrounds of Camberley's Arena Leisure Centre. Chances are I might see some real life fish, and not just used plasters floating somewhat inevitably into someone's mouth.
Before the two-week trip to Pitcairn Island, I need to plot my way around the Cook Islands. Which islands do I want to visit, can I get there, can I hitchhike my way there on various boats and yachts… and get back again?! Already a bit of a bummer is the fact that there are no scheduled boats between the Cooks and neighbouring American Samoa, Niue, and Tokelau - which upsets the nice idea I had in my head about how easy going travel in the South Pacific was going to be. It also doesn't really help me in my goals to take in as many countries as possible… and this just won't do.
I also need to make some plans for whistlestop tours of NZ and Australia, as I only 2-3 weeks for each. The 'Neighbours' tour is a high priority. After spending a few days in Shangai after China, I'll probably visit the terracotta warriors in Xian, and look to head as quickly as possible down to Hanoi. From there, I calculate about 4 weeks to travel through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar before getting into India and possibly Pakistan for 4-6 weeks. There's then the small matter of an onward flight to Dubai, which may yet get pushed back - depending on how late I am getting to 'finishing' India and getting to Mumbai - and how much I want to visit Yemen, Ethiopia, or even the Sudan. Eitherway, back home in time for tea.
All of this will help my psychological state, hampered as it is by a rather bleak existance lubricating the cogs of the marauding corporate juggernaught, which I hope will keep (and not destroy) me until such time as the accrual of serious
'f*** you' money is available to manumit me.
Leo's tips… STA Travel - not particularly helpful. In the first instance, downright useless and difficult in-store, though I did find someone more helpful over the phone - but in the end I went with a more independent agent who really knew their stuff, and got me a much better deal on a RTW ticket. I have discovered
Amadeus, which is a very handy site for looking up flights between airports. It's pretty quick, very thorough, and although it doesn't give you prices - it tells you which airline operates the route, and specific flight numbers also for even the most bizarre of routes.
I continue to over-analyse most purchases, most clothes must now be suitable for travel on the road - or will have to remain contented staying in some airtight storage in a Camberley wardrobe. There is a slight worry that my skeleton 'tee' will provoke some voodoo flaying in West Africa - but by the same token, it could seal my sensational, unpresidented rise to the position of village chief. Travel books are very much the order of the day, and will be eBay-ed once they have fulfilled their purpose. I am working on other bits and bobs to make my trip more enjoyable, though these shall remain personal until such time as I have been successful with all tasks. Visa applications and travel nurse appointment needs to be booked shortly, "Fill in where you're going on this form please Mr. Phillips….", looking forward to that bit :o) "Another form please nurse!"
My 'Flickr' account has now been upgraded to
'FlickrPro' - so I can keep all my travel pictures nicely organised online. I'll need to have a major overhaul of this in the next few weeks, which will lead onto me finding a new camera to take with me on the trip - including a waterproof case that will allow me to take some worthwhile underwater pictures to keep for posterity.
My January trip to Iceland will be something of a 'dry run' for the trip, which will come in handy as I will doubtless forget something that I would really want with me on the trip. This will help answer some of the questions I have regarding effective packing, continually living out of a case, having to stash money due to a lack of cashpoints, how many pairs of shoes I
actually need etc.
Don't be surprised to see a drip feed of updates into this blog entry as and when they are available. Otherwise, hoping to put my next blog full of thinking out loud and planning up in a month or so.
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