Jul 11, 2009

changes: keep 'em coming!

todd is not my contact on sta anymore. keponi is the new person, and he's been doing a great job so far..

with that being said, we've been working on the itinerary, and of course, some changes were made and there are some more to come:

1. colombo (sri lanka) is out;
2. instead of a week in bangkok (thailand), i'll probably end up extending the stay for about 10 days more, so i can visit the neighbor countries. it's one of the cheapest places to travel in the world;
3. nairobi (kenya) is just about out. i'm waiting on some quotes, but chances are it's going to be replaced by south africa (either capetown or johannesburg);
4. there might be a prague (czech republic) stop before athens (greece).

and there's a couple other small changes, i'll show them when i have this ones figured out.

i feel like the plans are getting more solid.. sweet!

Jul 10, 2009

couchsurfing.org

now let me tell you about this amazing little organization i heard of once before, and now that i decided to check on it, i just can't get enough of.. and "little" was only a figure of speech..

i'm talking about couchsurfing.org, and i can't find better words than their own to describe what they are: "CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding."

that is their mission statement, by the way. but there's more:
"As a community we strive to do our individual and collective parts to make the world a better place, and we believe that the surfing of couches is a means to accomplish this goal. CouchSurfing isn't about the furniture- it's not just about finding free accommodations around the world- it's about participating in creating a better world. We strive to make a better world by opening our homes, our hearts, and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge that cultural exchange makes available. We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing wants to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world! "

ok, so what does all that mean? well, it means they have over 1.2 million members from every corner of the world, willing to meet new people from other places, either by offering them a place to stay while visiting their town, or just meeting up for a coffee or a drink, or by traveling and being guests. and by "meeting", i mean exchanging experiences, cultures; introducing friends and places; and sometimes (why not?), just being a nice host or visitor.

i'm talking about them because i plan to use this community as much as i can on my 'round the world trip (which from now on will be referred to as RTWT, it's easier). just studying the site changed my whole perspective on how and why i should travel..

it's just crazy how this things happen..

Jul 4, 2009

first itinerary changes

i've been studying and i made some changes to the itinerary...

1. as i mentioned i was plnanning to do, kuwait city (kuwait) and doha (qatar) are out.
2. then instead of adding beijing (china), i added hong kong (china) after thailand.
3. from hong kong, i'm going to colombo (sri lanka) - i know nothing about this country, but i like the name, the flag, and oddly enough, i always wanted to go there!
4. from colombo (sri lanka), to mumbai (india) instead of dehli (india).

the rest is the same..

i've been researching on the visas and costs of each country.. as far as i've found out, i'll need visas for fiji, australia, sri lanka, india, kenya and egypt. not too bad...

also, i have to do some more research on nairobi (kenya). the little i read so far said it will be raining season by the time i'm planning to be there, and that means animals hiding and mudd everywhere... i might have to find another africa destination...

then again, so far, the itinerary is (without dates):

LA to Nadi (Fiji)
to Auckland (New Zealand)
to Sydney (Australia)
to Bangkok (Thailand)
to Hong Kong (China)
to Colombo (Sri Lanka)
to Mumbai (India)
to Nairobi (Kenya)
to Cairo (Egypt)
to Athens (Greece)
to Madrid (Spain) -> meet my sistah!

and it all starts in about 7 months. damn!