So surely...

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Hey all,

I have designs to write some beautiful travel prose at some point but seeing as the very real possibility exists that that point will arrive shortly after the severe chilling of señor Lucifer's humble abode, i'll hit you with this little ditty...

This is it, our trip to Asia, our entry to into another part of the world. It's a bit overwhelming to know you're going to be living such a different life in about 4 months. Your family and friends that you too often take for granted will soon be sorely missed. All the things that keep me Toronto, all the things I like about this city and give me joy and a certain level of comfort will also soon be wrested away.

But wrest away I say! I can't wait to get out and GO! Oh my god!! I'm going to f**king India!! And Nepal, and Tibet, and Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Japan, yada, yada, yada....wow! It's seems a little more real now that we've booked our tickets. Chisa leaves August 1st (to spend quality time with her family in the lovely Town of Otsu in the Shiga prefecture and to visit friends all over Japan) and I leave August 29 (detouring through Vancouver to see friends - hello Joel, Lisa, Dave and A.J.!) and then we meet in Osaka, Japan on August 31.

The process of booking passage to Asia and within was in itself an adventure. More on that letter but we finally booked a one-year open ticket from Toronto to Osaka with return about 10 months later. Cost was about $1350 each tax/inc.

For various reasons, weather being chief amongst them, we had decided to begin our journey in northern India and Nepal and Tibet shortly after. So our challenge was to find a cheap flight to India from Japan...couldn't find one...but luckily we both had lots of Aeroplan miles so we decided to use them. Chisa got a free flight and I had to top up to get a flight...cost me $250. So now we had our flight to the Indian sub-continent...where to go for the return flight? We decided on Bali. Osaka to Delhi on September 4, 2006, see what we can do of India, Nepal, Tibet and Sri Lanka in 4 ½ months, return to Delhi and then fly to Bali on January 15 (Delhi is not too far from Goa and we plan to spend New Year's Eve there which is either sheer genius or pure folly).

From Bali we scoot across Indonesia where we stop off the see some Orangutans (of course Elaine!) the tres cool Komodo dragons, and a few sights in between. Then we take a ferry to Singapore and meander around South East Asia for a spell. Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and maybe Burma. It's supposed to be possible to get cheap airfare either in Bangkok or Hong Kong so we'll probably get a pass that'll enable to hit a few choice spots in China and then fly to Japan for the last leg of our trip.


Start in the South of Japan and work our way North and parts in between with an estimated return month of June 2007.

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