The blog is not finished! But after the Theft (yes, capital letters), the want/need to update the blog took second fiddle to dealing with the Theft and just finishing the trip sans computer. Since being home, it's been hard to get that motivation to complete it. But I will. Ever so slowly. Please be patient!

Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Route - At least as of Jan. 31

It’s the end of January. Things are beginning to come together in terms of pre-trip preparations. There’s still one minor minor detail that I am still tweaking. That of the route I’m going to take.

From the experience of others who have done a trip like this before, the theme that seems to prevail is that one can only plan so much. Two week vacations to a resort in the Caribbean, and all that could possibly go wrong during it, is peanuts compared to a trip that lasts a year. One major delay on my trip can throw months of detailed planning completely out the window.

And so, there won’t be any detailed planning.

But that isn’t to say that there isn’t some . . . minor details worked out. Right now, as it stands, I will be leaving Saskatoon near the end of November(the exact date has yet to be determined. Possibly after the 27th, when my dance classes are over for the term). From there, I will bus to Ottawa. Hopefully Prime Minister Stephen Harper hasn’t either A)Prorogued government yet again; or B)Called an election as I am really wanting to spend a few days sitting in on parliament like a good little Political Studies grad. 

Consider this a warning for those first entries if you hate politics.

From there I plan to fly to South America, more than likely into Peru.  After this, the trip becomes hazy and spontaneous.

Somehow, one way or another, I will make my way to Rio de Janiero, Brazil to hopefully, if all goes well, catch a freighter ship across the Atlantic to Cape Town, South Africa. This will be somewhere around March/April of 2011.

I have it in my head to fly up into Eastern Europe. Not only is it cheaper(which is awesome when on a tight budget), but the culture and history is so different from Western Europe. I’ve been to England and France once before and am curious to see life beyond the now tattered Iron Curtain. Once again, the political studies grad rears its head.

One of the experiences I will move heaven and earth to experience is the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow, Russia to Beijing, China. It’s a six and a half day journey, without stops. Some people may cringe at the thought. I get exhilarated. This is one journey I’ll have to plan before I leave and work my schedule around to make it to Moscow in time. The reason being that I will probably be getting to Russia in August of 2011, peak season. I will need to have my tickets for the train purchased in advance as it is a very popular journey to take in the summer/fall. That is, unless I just want to puddle jump my way through Siberia. That’s always a thought.

Through China, down into Vietnam and across Cambodia to Thailand. Malaysia and Singapore, and possibly The Philippines, round out South East Asia. This should put me somewhere around a full year on the road. Oy, it’s insane just thinking about it.

December 2011 should see me in Australia, eventually making my way to Melbourne for Christmas with my friend Steve. The trip finishes with a little jaunt through New Zealand before I make my way back home in the beginning of 2012.

So there it is, my very rough route going into February and the final ten months before it all starts.

Am I insane??

7 comments:

  1. Insanely awesome maybe ;) It sounds amazing!!

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  2. Hey Pete - not insane, and I'm sure you have this well planned, but will $20,000 really do it? Oh, and when you go to China, go to a city called Guilin and take the Bamboo boat tour down the Li River to Yangshou - Yangshou is an incredible town (tourist-y), but you experience more 'small-town' China than you do in Beijing, which is really very western as far as China goes...

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  3. Hey Sam,

    I should actually have more than $20,000 by the time I leave so I'm not worried on that front. There are many people who have done a trip like this for a lot less and considering I'm planning on Couchsurfing a whole lot that should help cut down on some costs!

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  4. Do you know people, or are you going to try to make friends while you're 'out there'? That sounds scary and adventurous!

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  5. I know people here and there. Some people from work are from Peru and are going to be home by the time I start my trip so I'll know people there. I'll probably meet up with a friend in Europe whom I met while he was on an exchange here. As well, my friend Steve moved to Melbourne, Australia so I'll spend time there with him. Other than that, I'll be making friends as I go. Hostels, couchsurfing. No better way to get unshy than to go to a strange country all by yourself!

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  6. Awesome itinerary, totally do-able on $20K, with a little discipline (eat street food, stay in hostels/couchsurf, don't load up on souvenirs, etc). Here in Se Asia, I spend about $1000-1500/month for ALL expenses. Europe will set you back some. I agree with the others- don't get too detailed in planning! It will only RESTRICT you in the long run. Check out seat61.com for info on the trans-siberia railway.

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  7. Thanks Brook! Yeah, I'm trying to not be too detailed in my planning, which is a major change for me as I like planning everything to the minute detail. I'm hoping that all I'll have to worry about are particular departure dates that I'll need to have set. Off the top of my head, that is really just for Russia, which I need to know when I'll be there before I leave Canada(requirement for recieving a Visa).

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