Nine Weeks and Counting...

Well, considering I've just booked myself a fortnight's trip to Cornwall before I head off around the world, I've really got just 6 weeks to get organised, as there is no way I can bear the thought of leaving everything until the last week, I'll have kittens!

So, time to get one's backside in gear, and for the first time in one's life, be ORGANISED!!!

There's still lots to do (see To Do List below and that's not the half of it!) but at least yesterday was productive. My YHA membership card arrived, and I bought some lovely new hiking trainers and waterproofing spray, a penknife, a micro pillow, some waterproof wallets, a cable lock and a new watch which is monsoon-proof and has an alarm, so hopefully no missed flights!!! (Still haven't organised my travel insurance or Bangkok accommodation... this weekend I will, honest!)

At the third stroke, the time sponsored by Emmaswrist will be...

This week, I also (luckily) learned that you can't just turn up in Thailand without a visa, as I will have no ticket on arrival to show I will be leaving the country by air within 30 days, so I am not eligible for the Visa Exemption Rule. Thanks, lovely travel agents (who will remain nameless) for letting me know this when I booked the tickets - you were all too keen to force an Australian visa on me, although I specifically said no!

So that's an extra £56 plus 2 Special Delivery envelopes to go onto the expenses list while I send my passport off to Hull for a double-entry visa! Oh well, no (financial) pain, no gain!

I did however apply for my Australian visa independently, which saved me £9.99 on the price that the travel agents wanted to charge, a saving of 50%!!!

Best get back to work, I've got consulates to email and hotels to search!

Facebook & Footwear

The "buying backpacking bits and pieces" stage is in full flow now, here's my latest purchase. As with all things Emma, there's a funny tale behind these shoes...

With black socks or white socks? ;-)

A few weeks ago, I bought a pair of sports sandals. To cut a very long story short, I got badgered into getting them due to a klingon standing over me in the shop, so I just bought them to get out of there! Anyway, a couple of days later, I took them back to a different branch (with lovely, helpful, non-pushy staff) and exchanged them for a better, yet more expensive, pair (see above).

This week, I noticed that the first branch are having a sale, so I went in yesterday, bought the same pair I had at home for £10 less, then I swapped them over in the box (as they didn't fit well, even though they are supposed to be identical). I then took the second pair back to the second shop, which I was well within my statutory rights to do, I might add!!!

Thing is, I'm still undecided if they are going to be comfortable enough - wearing them with your socks in your bedroom for five minutes is hardly representative - but now, I'll get another 28 days to procrastinate AND I saved a tenner! Bonus...

"What's this got to do with Facebook?" I hear you cry - well nothing, that another tale! I do love the Internet! KT has invited a friend of hers, F, to join us on the Asia leg of our travels - the more the merrier we say! She booked her ticket last weekend and the entourage grows... I've been quite anxious to get in contact with her (so she knows exactly what she's letting herself in for ;-)) but KT thought it best to wait a bit and not bombard her with emails etc. just yet.

Anyway, seems I've found a kindred spirit! I'd been noseying around KT's Facebook page, to see if I could find F. I made a passing reference about it on KT's wall. What should I find in my email inbox this morning, but an "F has added you as a friend" request - seems I'm not the only one with an inquisitive mind!

So, a new friendship is just beginning, one that I hope will span our great adventure and the years to come!

A Little Light Reading

I must be mad...

Thank Goodness for the Internet!

Our accommodation in Sydney is booked! Good to know that we won't be turning up "homeless" two days before Christmas with nowhere to stay! We'll be spending 12 nights at the Sydney Central YHA, which by all accounts is recommended and located in a handy location for all the city sights!

So now, with the big one out of the way, we're looking for a little bit of R&R in Bangkok when we first arrive, jet-lagged and weary, for a few nights before we hit the backpacking scene properly.

The Internet is making this all possible, I can't imagine what it would have been like trying to sort out things like this over the phone. Only thing is, there are so many search results for "hotels in Bangkok", where do you start?

I went back to the library (again) this morning, to loan out my hometown's only copy of the Rough Guide to Thailand. It has (in)conveniently been misplaced - it isn't out on loan, just not on the shelf where it should be! I've had to settle for another publisher's (in my opinion, inferior) version, but it's a start!

I managed to pick up a pocket guidebook to Sydney for just 50p though, so that'll be coming along for the ride and then I'll lovingly donate it to a fellow traveler upon my departure up the Gold Coast!

Your Booking is Confirmed

Yippee!

The paperwork, from last weekend's rather large and important purchase, arrived in the post this morning, so I am officially going around the world, it's there in black and white!

I was shaking when I opened it, silly really when all it is is a confirmation of what we already knew, but it really is very official now!

I'm trying to get on with the myriad of tasks ahead, but I'm finding myself making helpful little spreadsheets of country info and collecting a variety of plastic bags "that'll come in really handy for keeping things dry!"

That is to say, I'm faffing about and not getting a lot done! Excitement has now kicked in, I'll be a wreck for the next 11 weeks.

OMG, only 11 weeks to go...

The Wheels Are Turning

We're now trying to get accommodation in Sydney for the busiest time of the year - Christmas and New Year! So far, it doesn't look like everything is fully booked just yet, and so Kings Cross/Glebe here we come!

No Turning Back!

I know it's been a while since my last post, but...

I'VE DONE IT - I'VE BOOKED THE TICKET!!!

World here I come - here's my route:

UK to Bangkok (overland via Cambodia to Bali)
Bali to Melbourne (overland to Cairns via Sydney)
Cairns to Uluru
Uluru to Sydney
Sydney to Fiji
Fiji to Christchurch (overland to Auckland)
Auckland to Santiago
Santiago to Lima
Lima to Sao Paolo (overland to Buenos Aires)
Buenos Aires to UK

All that in 11 months, phew!

I've been getting in some injections over recent weeks too, I've had four done already with a definite two more to go, and maybe an extra six on top of that. Luckily, my initial figure of £425.50 has come down to £277.75 after some careful research! Yellow fever was a doddle, got a lovely certificate to prove it. Typhoid and tetanus, not so nice. Sore arms anyone?

So, next stage, accommodation for the big stops and travel insurance... what a minefield!

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...