The Plan

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Finally I am embarking on my trip to Europe. Ever since I finished school I planned on travelling to Europe at the end of university and now I'm there. So what am I planning?

On the 18th August I depart Melbourne for Kuala Lumpur, a city that has always intrigued me, possibly since it hosted the 1998 Commonwealth Games and was also featured in the film Entrapment. I'll stay in Kuala Lumpur for two nights although what I'll do there I have yet to finalise. I hear the shopping is a highlight and obviously the Petronas Towers. I predict quite a culture shock as although I've been to China before, this will be the first time I'll be in a foreign third world country alone without being able to speak the language.

If I survive Kuala Lumpur I'll board the plane to London on the 20th. I'll spend a week in London which will give me plenty of time to explore the city's vast history and culture. On one day I will take a day tour out to Stone Henge, Bath and Windsor, as I've always wanted to see Stone Henge. I'll explore most of the typical sights like Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park Trafalgar Square, the Tower of London and spend some time in the British Museum.

After a week in London I'll gather my things and head to Russell Square where the meeting point is for my Contiki trip. I'm taking the 21 day European Vista tour which will see me visit Paris, Lucerne, Nice, Monte Carlo, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Venice, Austrian Alps, Munich, Vienna, Prague, Rhine Valley and Amsterdam. However after Amsterdam the tour then returns to London however I shall leave the tour in Amsterdam and meet up with my brother who lives there. I shall then stay with him for another 6 nights. This will give me time to recover from the Contiki trip and also explore the Netherlands. Most of Amsterdam will probably be covered in the Contiki so I'll probably take a train on one day to the nearby cities of The Hague and Rotterdam. I'm also planning on taking a bus day-tour to Belgium which will cover Antwerp and Brussels.

After Amsterdam, I'll board a plane back to London to catch my return flight back to Melbourne via Kuala Lumpur. This will be short stopovers and I'll spend no time in London or Kuala Lumpur on this return leg.

So that's the plan. With less than a month to go there's still so much to organise. So far I've booked the airfares with Air Asia, booked the Contiki, got some travel insurance and booked some accommodation in London. I still need a flight from Amsterdam to London, accommodation in Kuala Lumpur, the day tour bookings, a London travel pass, a solution for my phone usage, iternaries for London, Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, clothing etc.

So much to do, so much excitement, a few nerves. It's going to be great!

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