The Long Way Home

So I've decided to take the long way home.

I've done a bit of travelling this year... summer vacation I went to the Philippines, Korean Thanksgiving I went to hang out with Mom and her friend in Hawaii (ooh, I forgot to write about that!), and I've seen a lot of Korea.  Still though, there are lots of places I want to see.

My friend at work has been planning on taking a trip on her way home (with her cousin, who is joining her from the US), and now I've decided to hop in here and there and tag along with them in spots, coming and going with my own plans and destinations as well. 

The orange route is in the event that Egypt doesn't solve its own problems in the next 6 weeks (which I'm holding out hope for that they will... Egypt, pleeeeease stop destroying your country and killing your own people - stop! stop! stop!)

The plan (in very short form) looks like this...

(yes I know some of my dots (stops) are off for city locations, but I couldn't stand to erase 'em and put 'em all back even ONE more time!)

I'm visiting some old (already visited) countries in entirely new places (India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines), and visiting some entirely new (to me) countries in old places (Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Laos).  If Egypt isn't possible then instead I will check out Bulgaria, Albania, and Macedonia. My friend and her cousin are going to visit Dubai, Malaysia and Indonesia, and a few places I've already seen within some of the countries we'll visit together, so while they do that I'll be off on my own doing my own thing... I can't wait...

I'm hoping to take a meditation class in Nepal, a Thai Massage class somewhere in Thailand, overnight on the water in HaLong Bay, and get my Shark Diving Licence in the Philippines.  Depending on cost, I'll also try to dive in Greece, India, and Vietnam, and somewhere along the way get a new tattoo (or maybe 2).  Other than that the plan is to try and do as many free/low cost things in each country as possible, so I can still go home with enough money to move and pay for a semester of school... sounds possible anyway, lol...

Where I can I'm travelling by land (bus or train) between cities and countries... for example, we will land together in Mumbai (old Bombay) and all take the train down for a week in the lovely Goa... then we'll part ways (they're reversing the route I did in 2005 up through Rajasthan to Delhi) and I'll take the train and bus upward to eventually get to Kolcata (Old Calcutta), a bus from there to Bangladesh for 9 days, back to Kolkata and then another bus up to Kathmandu (a place I've wanted to go since I was a nerdy little kid playing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego on the olllllld PC in the basement!) for 10 days in Nepal; then I'll fly to Bangkok (a cheap enough regular flight out of Nepal!)... bus/train travel is so much cheaper, and I can afford the time since I have 4 1/2 months!

So the route by country looks this way...

Plan A: Korea > Turkey > Greece > *Egypt > India > Bangladesh > India > Nepal > Thai Islands > Cambodia > Vietnam > Laos > Nothern Thailand > Philippines > Mom's house.
Plan B: Korea > Turkey > Greece > *Albania > *Macedonia > *Bulgaria > India > Bangladesh > India > Nepal > Thai Islands > Cambodia > Vietnam > Laos > Nothern Thailand > Philippines > Mom's house.
Notice how both routes end in Mom's House, and there's no death and dying along the way? 

We 3 promise all to be good little travellers and mind our Ps and Qs (what the heck does that mean, anyway... Please and Thang-Q?) to avoid all trouble.  I have gotten myself a little netbook (eventually it'll get here) because I canNOT pack around this gargantuan laptop of mine so I can write and stay in touch.  I will register my travel plans with the Canadian Embassy, so they will know to reach me if there are problems (which there won't be!), so no worries.

When I have the city-by-city plans ironed out (remember my exquisite set of procrastination skills?) I'll leave them here as well, and if anyone has ideas for what to see/do that shouldn't be missed in ANY of these countries, please DON'T be shy - SHARE!!!  :)

More soon, details, details details (you don't get to know everything all at once you know, where's the fun in that!?)... I'm starting to get excited!!!!