Voyager c'est vivre!

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Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.  Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.  -Mark Twain

Hello all, and welcome to my first and only travel blog. I hope that you haven't had too much trouble finding it, and I would recommend that you spend some time looking around the site to see how it works. You'll find you can subscribe, leave comments to my posts and send messages to me privately. Commentary is encouraged! You should note, however, that this blog is public and so anyone may read your comments - type wisely.

A few things first. To those whom I've invited to this blog, I have to say I'm really excited to be able to include you on my trip, so to speak. Wish I'd had one of these before now. A big thanks to everyone in advance for their support and encouragement, both emotional and financial. I couldn't do this without you!

I have included a map with this first entry to that you can get an idea of where I'm headed. My itinerary might change but not by much, barring unforseen circumstances beyond my control.

My future posts may appear to be erratic because of time differences or may actually be erratic due to Internet availability, cost and time constraints. Although I'm not expecting any serious problems in this regard, readers will want to remember to check in periodically to see if I've posted anything new. No promises for pictures, updated timetables or individual calls or emails, although I'll try to keep up with everyone as much as possible. That being said, I haven't purchased an expensive plane ticket in order to sit in Internet cafes for three hours everyday. I can do that back in San Francisco with my own laptop for the price of a coffee. When time is pressing this blog will take priority - check in here if you want to see how I'm doing.

Also, due to the number of places I'm visiting and the size of my bag, which I need to be able to lift over my head by myself for the entire six weeks I'll be gone, souvenirs from each location will not be possible. If anyone has a souvenir request please email me with it and I will do my best to fulfill it. In the event of a lack of time (or money) for shopping, postcards to everyone will take precedence. If you are on my mailing list you should expect at least five.

That's it for now. One week to go, and there's still a bit to do before then. Take care and check back next week.

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Comments

[Amanda]

I'm excited to be on your travels with you, too! ;)