OUCH!

Rabies = 3 x £43
Hepatitis B = 3 x £40
Japanese Encephalitis = 3 x £43
Yellow Fever = £47.50

13 Jabs in the Arm = £425.50

Square One

I had a great weekend! I visited KT so we could finally get these plans nailed and flights booked. Turns out that we can't get 18-month RTW tickets, so guess what, we're back where we started with Asia -> Australia -> Americas. Monsoons, what monsoons???

So, hopefully in the very near future, the tickets will be purchased, which now means all I have to worry about is travel insurance and a LOT of injections. Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A & B, Typhoid, Polio, Japanese Encephalitis, Malaria tablets... I can just see the zeroes in my chequebook mounting up!

Oh well, no pain, no gain...

Backwards!

Well, it's been an overwhelming time with all the travel guides, maps and trips to travel agents. The more I research, the more complicated it gets! This is just about picking an itinerary - how on earth will we cope with all the other bits and pieces like visas, inoculations, packing, budgeting...

Anyway, after looking into our original plans of visiting Asia, Australasia then South America, it seems that the weather is not going to be onside for much of the trip. I ache to see South East Asia, Angkor Wat, Ko Pha Ngan, Bali.... but what's the point if we have to fight one monsoon in Thailand in October, only to move into Malaysia a month later when the wind changes and we hit the next one? Phuket won't be much fun if swimming and diving is out of the question. That's not to mention the wet seasons that will be starting not long after we hit South America next spring.

So we're starting back at square one. What if we started in South America, one of the pricier legs of the journey, and end in Asia, the cheapest? Will this help us to budget? What if we hit Australia next June during their winter, work our pants off until New Year in Sydney 2010, and then do Asia in the spring when we won't get soaked through day after day? Hmmm...

So, that means our eight-to-twelve-month trip might be an eighteen-month one. That's gonna be amazing but expensive...

Planning Our Route

I've spent the weekend trying to get all the countries we want to see into an order that can be visited from west to east. We're not yet ready to book our flight tickets, but in general, we know that you can hop from country to country, as long as you don't backtrack on yourself. Easier said than done!

KT wants to be in Sydney for New Year, so we need to enter on the west coast, Perth maybe, and work our way across by New Year, and then we can fly on to New Zealand. That means covering Asia AND Australia in about 2-3 months!

It would therefore be better to start in Sydney for New Year (so we don't rush through Asia) and work up the east coast before moving on. That's going to mean a lot of internal flights within Australia to go back to Perth and Uluru. I'm thinking we should perhaps give the west coast a miss...

Then, what about the Americas? Say we manage to do everything we want in Asia, Australia and New Zealand by March/April - we will hit Latin America just before the rainy seasons start. I think we are going to get very wet in the middle of 2009...

Oh well, better than getting rained on in the UK! I've finally worked out a rough schedule and I'm meeting KT again later - I'll see what she thinks. All that remains now is seeing if there is a round-the-world ticket that will accommodate our grand plans!

Getting Started

Well, I've decided to finally stop dreaming about travelling and actually do it! Wow, how exciting! Except it's going to be hard work to get organised for such a big trip! I've got about 6 months to get ready for it, but there's so much to do.

First, me and KT (who is brave enough to spend a year traipsing around with me) have got to decide exactly where to go. I went to the library for the first time in years and got out as many Rough Guides as I could (thank goodness the library gave out free carrier bags!)

We have a rough idea of where to go (we know which continents) but where do you start? I overwhelmed myself a little bit - I got the Rough Guides to South India, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Central America AND South America! I'm certainly thorough. I have to get as much read as possible before I meet KT tomorrow!