so after 107 days, my 'round the world adventure is over, but hey, i'm not sad.. not only i had some of the best experiences of my life, but now it's time for a new beginning.. looking back and looking ahead..
i'm in spain now, taking time to digest the last four months, take everything in, organize my stuff, talk to old friends, work on my pictures, see how (and where) the people i met are, and of course, enjoy my sister after almost three years apart..
and there's a lot to be done as well.. i have to figure out how i'm going to be able to stay here in spain for a while, decide where to go, begin organizing the paperwork, study work options and everything else..
there's also some more travels to be done, of course! one of the reasons i didn't include europe to the rtw itinerary is because being in spain, it's really easy to explore the rest of the continent, a little bit at a time...
for now i'm gonna take it easy, see a little and plan a lot.. i should go to barcelona in late june to see a kiss concert, and also (hopefully) have the paperwork ready to apply for a school there and begin the house hunting, at least for ideas..
then there's france for a week in early july, where i'm going to visit an old friend and go to a pearl jam concert.. and right after, portugal, where i'll meet my sister and friends, go to the last show of the pearl jam european tour, watch the world cup finals and do a little tourism..
but that's not all! i have many, many plans for the .sapo., there's still a lot of information to be posted here.. actually, there's way more to come than i have already posted.. curiosities, numbers, tips, photos, videos..
i'm very excited and a little overwhelmed with all this, but bear with me, and soon everything will fall into place.. just have to get a new rhythm worked out..
r0ck!
-- pt --
entao depois de 107 dias, minha aventura ao redor do mundo acabou, mas hey, eu nao estou triste.. nao so' eu tive umas das melhores experiencias da minha vida, mas agora e' hora de um novo comeco... olhando pra tras e olhando pra frente..
agora estou na espanha, tomando meu tempo pra digerir os ultimos quatro meses, absorver tudo, organizar minhas coisas, falar com velhos amigos, saber como (e onde) as pessoas que eu conheci estao, e claro, curtir a minha irma, depois de quase tres anos distantes..
e ainda tem muita coisa a ser feita.. tenho que descobrir como vou ficar aqui na espanha por um tempo, decidir onde vou, comecar a organizar a papelada, estudar minhas opcoes de trabalho e tudo mais..
tambem tenho algumas viagens pra fazer, claro! um dos motivos pelo qual nao inclui' a europa no meu itinerario da viagem foi porque estando na espanha, e' facil explorar o resto do continente, um pouco de cada vez..
por enquanto eu vou devagar, ver um pouco e planejar um monte.. eu devo ir a barcelona no final de junho pra ver um show do kiss, e tambem (espero) ter a papelada pronta pra me matricular numa escola e comecar a procurar lugar pra morar..
e vou pra franca no comeco de julho, pra visitar um velho amigo e ir a um show do pearl jam.. e em seguida, portugal, onde vou encontrar minha irma e amigos, ir ao ultimo show da turne europeia do pearl jam, assistir a final da copa e fazer um pouco de turismo..
mas isso nao e' tudo! eu tenho muitos, muitos planos pra o .sapo., ainda tem muita informacao pra colocar aqui.. pra falar a verdade, tem muito mais a vir do que eu ja postei.. curiosidades, numeros, dicas, fotos, videos..
eu estou bem animado e um pouco sobrecarregado com tudo isso, mas tenha paciencia, e em breve tudo vai estar no seu devido lugar.. so' preciso de um tempo pra entar no ritmo novo..
r0ck!
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
May 27, 2010
Jan 27, 2010
final itinerary breakdown
usa to fiji: january 31st
to new zealand: february 9th
to australia: february 16th
to singapore: march 2nd
to malaysia: march 6th*
to thailand: march 12th*
to laos: march 20th*
to cambodia: march 29th*
to vietnam: april 3rd*
to hong kong: april 12th
to indonesia: april 17th
to south africa: april 27th
to egypt: may 5th
to greece: may 13th
to spain: may 19th
*approximate dates
to new zealand: february 9th
to australia: february 16th
to singapore: march 2nd
to malaysia: march 6th*
to thailand: march 12th*
to laos: march 20th*
to cambodia: march 29th*
to vietnam: april 3rd*
to hong kong: april 12th
to indonesia: april 17th
to south africa: april 27th
to egypt: may 5th
to greece: may 13th
to spain: may 19th
*approximate dates
Jan 23, 2010
the good, the bad (many times)
the good: even with the substantial delay with the australian visa, i was happy to find out i'd still have time to get me the indian visa, since their website says it takes 5 days to process it
the bad: after i mailed the application, my passport and the fees to san francisco, they told me it would actually take 10 to 15 days to process the visa and then return my passport. it would be way too late and i can't leave the country without my passport
the good: after losing the money i already paid, and paying yet an extra fee, i arranged so they will send me my passport back in time for me to leave the country
the bad: i'll get my passport, but no indian visa in it
the good: i did some extra research and realized there's no visa on arrival for india. it was gonna suck to get there and then find out i can't get in
the bad: without the visa or a possibility to get one, i can't go to india
the good: after freaking out for 5 minutes, i contemplated my options and decided to go to bali (indonesia) instead of india. the airfares are around the same as if i went to india
the bad: i had to cancel 2 flights and pay a fine for them
the good: indonesia is cheaper than india, and the money i'm going to save staying there should be enough to cover the cost of the fines i'll have to pay for the canceled flights
the good: from indonesia to south africa, i won't have to waste a whole day at the airport for my connection flight, which would happen from india to south africa
the good: indonesia is a paradise
the good: beaches
the good: i'm slightly crazy, so i can go from worried to upset to desperate to calm to focused to excited in a matter of minutes!
ps: a couple of hours after i changed the plans, canceled the flights and booked new ones, i got word from the indians saying my visa was granted and it's been mailed to me already. bummer. maybe i'll try to visit them later, before the visa expires..
here's a little bali for you:
the monkey forest (just in case you're tired of beach pictures)
--- pt ---
o bom, o ruim (varias vezes)
o bom: mesmo com o atraso do o visto australiano, eu estava feliz de saber que eu ainda teria tempo de pegar o visto indiano, ja que o site deles diz que o processo demora 5 dias
o ruim: depois que eu mandei os documentos, meu passaporte e as taxas pra san francisco, eles me disseram que levaria de 10 a 15 dias para processar o visto e depois disso, retornarem meu passaporte. seria muito tarde e eu nao posso sair do pais sem meu passaporte
o bom: depois de perder o dinheiro que eu ja havia pago, e ainda pagar outra taxa, eu consegui fazer com que eles me mandassem meu passaporte antes que eu saisse do pais
o ruim: eu vou ter meu passaporte. mas sem o visto indiano
o bom: eu pesquisei um pouco mais e descobri que a india nao da vistos no aeroporto. ia ser pessimo chegar la e descobrir que eu nao posso entrar no pais
o ruim: sem o visto e sem a possibilidade de pegar um, eu nao posso ir pra india
o bom: depois de enlouquecer por 5 minutos, eu estudei minhas opcoes e decidi ir a bali (indonesia) ao inves da india. as passagens sao mais ou menos o mesmo preco
o ruim: eu tive que cancelar 2 voos e pagar uma multa por causa disso
o bom: indonesia e' mais barato que a india, e o dinheiro que eu vou economizar ficando la' deve ser o suficiente pra cobrir os gastos com as multas que vou ter que pagar por causa dos voos cancelados
o bom: da indonesia pra africa do sul, eu nao vou ter que desperdicar um dia inteiro no aeroporto esperando pela minha conexao, o que iria acontecer saindo da india
o bom: a indonesia e' um paraiso
o bom: praias
o bom: eu sou meio louco, entao eu passo de preocupado pra triste pra desesperado pra calmo pra concentrado pra animado numa questao de minutos!
obs: algumas horas depois que eu mudei os planos, cancelei os voos e reservei os novos, eu recebi noticias dos indianos dizendo que eles ja tinham me dado o visto e que o passaporte estava a caminho. bummer. talvez eu tente ir pra la mais pra frente, antes de o visto vencer...
um exemplo de bali:
(foto)
a floresta dos macacos (no caso de voce ja estar cansado de fotos de praias)
the bad: after i mailed the application, my passport and the fees to san francisco, they told me it would actually take 10 to 15 days to process the visa and then return my passport. it would be way too late and i can't leave the country without my passport
the good: after losing the money i already paid, and paying yet an extra fee, i arranged so they will send me my passport back in time for me to leave the country
the bad: i'll get my passport, but no indian visa in it
the good: i did some extra research and realized there's no visa on arrival for india. it was gonna suck to get there and then find out i can't get in
the bad: without the visa or a possibility to get one, i can't go to india
the good: after freaking out for 5 minutes, i contemplated my options and decided to go to bali (indonesia) instead of india. the airfares are around the same as if i went to india
the bad: i had to cancel 2 flights and pay a fine for them
the good: indonesia is cheaper than india, and the money i'm going to save staying there should be enough to cover the cost of the fines i'll have to pay for the canceled flights
the good: from indonesia to south africa, i won't have to waste a whole day at the airport for my connection flight, which would happen from india to south africa
the good: indonesia is a paradise
the good: beaches
the good: i'm slightly crazy, so i can go from worried to upset to desperate to calm to focused to excited in a matter of minutes!
ps: a couple of hours after i changed the plans, canceled the flights and booked new ones, i got word from the indians saying my visa was granted and it's been mailed to me already. bummer. maybe i'll try to visit them later, before the visa expires..
here's a little bali for you:
the monkey forest (just in case you're tired of beach pictures)
--- pt ---
o bom, o ruim (varias vezes)
o bom: mesmo com o atraso do o visto australiano, eu estava feliz de saber que eu ainda teria tempo de pegar o visto indiano, ja que o site deles diz que o processo demora 5 dias
o ruim: depois que eu mandei os documentos, meu passaporte e as taxas pra san francisco, eles me disseram que levaria de 10 a 15 dias para processar o visto e depois disso, retornarem meu passaporte. seria muito tarde e eu nao posso sair do pais sem meu passaporte
o bom: depois de perder o dinheiro que eu ja havia pago, e ainda pagar outra taxa, eu consegui fazer com que eles me mandassem meu passaporte antes que eu saisse do pais
o ruim: eu vou ter meu passaporte. mas sem o visto indiano
o bom: eu pesquisei um pouco mais e descobri que a india nao da vistos no aeroporto. ia ser pessimo chegar la e descobrir que eu nao posso entrar no pais
o ruim: sem o visto e sem a possibilidade de pegar um, eu nao posso ir pra india
o bom: depois de enlouquecer por 5 minutos, eu estudei minhas opcoes e decidi ir a bali (indonesia) ao inves da india. as passagens sao mais ou menos o mesmo preco
o ruim: eu tive que cancelar 2 voos e pagar uma multa por causa disso
o bom: indonesia e' mais barato que a india, e o dinheiro que eu vou economizar ficando la' deve ser o suficiente pra cobrir os gastos com as multas que vou ter que pagar por causa dos voos cancelados
o bom: da indonesia pra africa do sul, eu nao vou ter que desperdicar um dia inteiro no aeroporto esperando pela minha conexao, o que iria acontecer saindo da india
o bom: a indonesia e' um paraiso
o bom: praias
o bom: eu sou meio louco, entao eu passo de preocupado pra triste pra desesperado pra calmo pra concentrado pra animado numa questao de minutos!
obs: algumas horas depois que eu mudei os planos, cancelei os voos e reservei os novos, eu recebi noticias dos indianos dizendo que eles ja tinham me dado o visto e que o passaporte estava a caminho. bummer. talvez eu tente ir pra la mais pra frente, antes de o visto vencer...
um exemplo de bali:
(foto)
a floresta dos macacos (no caso de voce ja estar cansado de fotos de praias)
Jan 13, 2010
(kinda) done planning
i'm finished with the planning! it's Tminus17 and i'm ready to go... as soon as i get my passport back (it's on the way to get the indian visa now)..
just to keep the flow, here's some more images:
victoria peak, hong kong.. great view of the island.. i'll try and get a nice nightshot just like this..
---
the taj mahal, in agra (india).. duh!
---
the big five (leopard, lion, buffalo, rhino, elephant).. it's a hunting reference, and to me, it means "safari in south africa"!
---
the pyramids of giza, egypt... duh! (part II).
---
the temple of poseidon (sounion, greece)... my last stop before spain.. and then what?
--- pt ---
acabei o planejamento! faltam 17 dias e eu to pronto pra partir... assim que eu receber meu passaporte de volta (esta no caminho pra conseguir o visto da india)...
(foto 1)
victoria peak, hong kong.. otima vista da ilha.. eu vou tentar uma foto noturna como essa...
(foto 2)
o taj mahal, em agra (india).. duh!
(foto 3)
os "cinco grandes" (leopardo, leao, bufalo, rinoceronte, elefante).. o nome e' uma referencia de caça, e pra mim, quer dizer "safari na africa do sul"!
(foto 4)
as piramides de giza, egito... duh (parte II).
(foto 5)
o templo de poseidon (sounion, grecia)... minha ultima parada antes da espanha.. e depois, o que mais?
just to keep the flow, here's some more images:
victoria peak, hong kong.. great view of the island.. i'll try and get a nice nightshot just like this..
---
the taj mahal, in agra (india).. duh!
---
the big five (leopard, lion, buffalo, rhino, elephant).. it's a hunting reference, and to me, it means "safari in south africa"!
---
the pyramids of giza, egypt... duh! (part II).
---
the temple of poseidon (sounion, greece)... my last stop before spain.. and then what?
--- pt ---
acabei o planejamento! faltam 17 dias e eu to pronto pra partir... assim que eu receber meu passaporte de volta (esta no caminho pra conseguir o visto da india)...
so' pra manter o ritmo, mains algumas imagens:
(foto 1)
victoria peak, hong kong.. otima vista da ilha.. eu vou tentar uma foto noturna como essa...
(foto 2)
o taj mahal, em agra (india).. duh!
(foto 3)
os "cinco grandes" (leopardo, leao, bufalo, rinoceronte, elefante).. o nome e' uma referencia de caça, e pra mim, quer dizer "safari na africa do sul"!
(foto 4)
as piramides de giza, egito... duh (parte II).
(foto 5)
o templo de poseidon (sounion, grecia)... minha ultima parada antes da espanha.. e depois, o que mais?
Jan 10, 2010
more hardcore planning
11 more hours of study and i have the outlines for another 40 days/6 countries: singapore, malaysia, thailand, laos, cambodia and vietnam.
i'm not going to be doing any organized tour (like i will in fiji, nz and oz), so it's even harder to decide where to and not to go.. but i think i made good choices..
here's a little taste:
the sri veerama kaliamman (in singapore), is a funky looking, brightly colored temple..
---
in kuala lumpur (malaysia), the petronas towers.. they where the tallest buildings in the world for a few years..
---
koh samui (koh = island), in thailand.. recommended by a friend who lived there.. sounds like a good idea to me!
--
near vang vieng, laos.. this is a lagoon by the phu kham cave.. reached by bicycle..
---
angkor wat (cambodia).. the temple is so important it's on the cambodian flag..
---
halong bay, vietnam.. 3 day, 2 night cruise aboard one of this weird boats called junks (their design dates from 200 bc).. caves and kayaking included!
--- pt ---
mais 11 horas de estudo e eu tenho o planejamento para mais 40 dias/6 paises: singapura, malasia, tailandia, laos, cambodia e vietnam.
eu nao vou fazer nenhuma turne organizada (como eu vou fazer na oceania), entao fica mais dificil ainda decidir onde ir ou nao ir... mas eu acho que fiz boas escolhas...
so' um aperitivo:
(foto 1)
o sri veerama kaliamman (em singapura), um templo meio estranho e bem colorido..
(foto 2)
em kuala lumpur (malasia), as petronas towers.. elas foram os predios mais altos do mundo por alguns anos..
(foto 3)
koh samui (koh = ilha), na tailandia.. recomendada por um amigo que morou la'... me parece uma otima ideia!
(foto 4)
perto de vang vieng, laos.. essa e' uma lagoa perto da phu kham cave (caverna).. a gente chega la' de bicicleta..
(foto 5)
angkor wat (cambodia).. o tempo e' tao importante que ele ta' na bandeira do pais..
(foto 6)
halong bay, vietnam.. eu vou fazer um "cruzeiro" de 3 dias, 2 noites em um desses barcos estranhos chamados de junks (que em ingles quer dizer entulho, e existem desde 200 a.c.).. cavernas e kaiaks estao incluidos!
--
rock!
i'm not going to be doing any organized tour (like i will in fiji, nz and oz), so it's even harder to decide where to and not to go.. but i think i made good choices..
here's a little taste:
the sri veerama kaliamman (in singapore), is a funky looking, brightly colored temple..
---
in kuala lumpur (malaysia), the petronas towers.. they where the tallest buildings in the world for a few years..
---
koh samui (koh = island), in thailand.. recommended by a friend who lived there.. sounds like a good idea to me!
--
near vang vieng, laos.. this is a lagoon by the phu kham cave.. reached by bicycle..
---
angkor wat (cambodia).. the temple is so important it's on the cambodian flag..
---
halong bay, vietnam.. 3 day, 2 night cruise aboard one of this weird boats called junks (their design dates from 200 bc).. caves and kayaking included!
--- pt ---
mais 11 horas de estudo e eu tenho o planejamento para mais 40 dias/6 paises: singapura, malasia, tailandia, laos, cambodia e vietnam.
eu nao vou fazer nenhuma turne organizada (como eu vou fazer na oceania), entao fica mais dificil ainda decidir onde ir ou nao ir... mas eu acho que fiz boas escolhas...
so' um aperitivo:
o sri veerama kaliamman (em singapura), um templo meio estranho e bem colorido..
(foto 2)
em kuala lumpur (malasia), as petronas towers.. elas foram os predios mais altos do mundo por alguns anos..
(foto 3)
koh samui (koh = ilha), na tailandia.. recomendada por um amigo que morou la'... me parece uma otima ideia!
(foto 4)
perto de vang vieng, laos.. essa e' uma lagoa perto da phu kham cave (caverna).. a gente chega la' de bicicleta..
(foto 5)
angkor wat (cambodia).. o tempo e' tao importante que ele ta' na bandeira do pais..
(foto 6)
halong bay, vietnam.. eu vou fazer um "cruzeiro" de 3 dias, 2 noites em um desses barcos estranhos chamados de junks (que em ingles quer dizer entulho, e existem desde 200 a.c.).. cavernas e kaiaks estao incluidos!
--
rock!
Jan 5, 2010
fiji / nz / oz + portugues
for the last 2 days, i accumulated about 20 hours studying a little bit of my first three destinations: fiji, new zealand and australia.. it will take me a month to go through them, and as far as i planned, i'll be sleeping in at least 20 different places over this 30 days.. crazy huh?
the reason is i'm gonna be traveling with the feejee experience, the kiwi experience and the oz experience for this three countries.. they are hop-on/hop-off style backpacker buses, they have a variety of passes you can choose and usually you can travel up to a year with each pass.. but i only have a week in fiji, one in new zealand and two in australia, so i'm gonna do the best i can and visit some awesome places..
here's some examples:
this is beachcomber island, in fiji. is only 30 minutes off the northwestern coast and it takes only 10 minutes to walk around the island.. it's where the party happens!
---
i'm planning on doing some canyon swing in queenstown, new zealand (the adventure capital of the world). you see that little white spot on the left? that will be me!
---
and like i said, the blue mountains, in australia.. the plan is to do some abseiling (rappelling) there...
---
...and from now on, i'll try to translate the posts to portuguese as well.. here we go:
---
nos 2 ultimos dias, eu acumulei por volta de 20 horas estudando um pouco das minhas tres primeiras paradas na viagem: fiji, nova zelandia e australia.. eu vou passar um mes viajando por esses tres paises, e pelo que estou planejando, eu vou dormir em pelo menos 20 lugares diferentes ao longo desses 30 dias.. coisa de doido ne'?
isso porque eu vou viajar com a feejee experience, a kiwi experience e a oz experience nesses tres paises.. eles sao onibus para mochileiros, que voce pode entrar e sair em qualquer das paradas, eles tem uma viariedade de passes e voce geralmente pode viajar ate' um ano com cada passe.. mas eu so' tenho uma semana em fiji, uma na nova zelandia e duas na australia, entao eu vou tentar o possivel pra ver alguns lugares maravilhosos..
por exemplo:
(foto 1)
ilha de beachcomber, em fiji. fica a apenas meia hora da costa noroeste e em 10 minutos voce percorre a ilha toda a pe'.. e' onde a festa acontece!
(foto 2)
eu estou planejando fazer um cayon swing em queenstown, nova zelandia (a capital mundial dos esportes radicais). ta vendo aquele pontinho branco no canto esquerdo? vai ser eu!
(foto 3)
e como eu disse antes, as blue mountains, na australia.. o plano e' fazer rapel la'..
e e' isso!
the reason is i'm gonna be traveling with the feejee experience, the kiwi experience and the oz experience for this three countries.. they are hop-on/hop-off style backpacker buses, they have a variety of passes you can choose and usually you can travel up to a year with each pass.. but i only have a week in fiji, one in new zealand and two in australia, so i'm gonna do the best i can and visit some awesome places..
here's some examples:
this is beachcomber island, in fiji. is only 30 minutes off the northwestern coast and it takes only 10 minutes to walk around the island.. it's where the party happens!
---
i'm planning on doing some canyon swing in queenstown, new zealand (the adventure capital of the world). you see that little white spot on the left? that will be me!
---
and like i said, the blue mountains, in australia.. the plan is to do some abseiling (rappelling) there...
---
...and from now on, i'll try to translate the posts to portuguese as well.. here we go:
---
nos 2 ultimos dias, eu acumulei por volta de 20 horas estudando um pouco das minhas tres primeiras paradas na viagem: fiji, nova zelandia e australia.. eu vou passar um mes viajando por esses tres paises, e pelo que estou planejando, eu vou dormir em pelo menos 20 lugares diferentes ao longo desses 30 dias.. coisa de doido ne'?
isso porque eu vou viajar com a feejee experience, a kiwi experience e a oz experience nesses tres paises.. eles sao onibus para mochileiros, que voce pode entrar e sair em qualquer das paradas, eles tem uma viariedade de passes e voce geralmente pode viajar ate' um ano com cada passe.. mas eu so' tenho uma semana em fiji, uma na nova zelandia e duas na australia, entao eu vou tentar o possivel pra ver alguns lugares maravilhosos..
por exemplo:
(foto 1)
ilha de beachcomber, em fiji. fica a apenas meia hora da costa noroeste e em 10 minutos voce percorre a ilha toda a pe'.. e' onde a festa acontece!
(foto 2)
eu estou planejando fazer um cayon swing em queenstown, nova zelandia (a capital mundial dos esportes radicais). ta vendo aquele pontinho branco no canto esquerdo? vai ser eu!
(foto 3)
e como eu disse antes, as blue mountains, na australia.. o plano e' fazer rapel la'..
e e' isso!
Dec 25, 2009
point of no return
and i've done it.
for my christmas gift (but not really), i finally booked the flights for the 1st and 2nd legs of the trip..
and i made some (literally) last minute changes, basically changing the departure date from feb 2nd to jan 31st, and skipping auckland (new zealand) on the itinerary, so i have the whole week on the south island...
i'm planning on booking the 3rd leg flights on the 1st week of january..
happy ho ho ho!
for my christmas gift (but not really), i finally booked the flights for the 1st and 2nd legs of the trip..
and i made some (literally) last minute changes, basically changing the departure date from feb 2nd to jan 31st, and skipping auckland (new zealand) on the itinerary, so i have the whole week on the south island...
i'm planning on booking the 3rd leg flights on the 1st week of january..
happy ho ho ho!
Nov 18, 2009
packing is a pain
i obviously haven't started packing yet, but i started looking for the ideal backpack, and little did i know that before i decide how i'm gonna carry all my stuff, i have to decide what stuff i'm gonna carry... duh.
apparently i'll need a whole new set of clothes and accessories, head to toes (literally).. i'm a planner and i'm a neat freak, so i want and i will pack light and as efficiently as possible without having to sell a kidney for it..
i was gonna get a huge backpack and have it checked in for every flight, but after a few hours of study i realized i'm better with a backpack about half the size, so i can carry it with me, saving time and worries (not so much money, though..)
research, research, research... i'm getting stressed.
apparently i'll need a whole new set of clothes and accessories, head to toes (literally).. i'm a planner and i'm a neat freak, so i want and i will pack light and as efficiently as possible without having to sell a kidney for it..
i was gonna get a huge backpack and have it checked in for every flight, but after a few hours of study i realized i'm better with a backpack about half the size, so i can carry it with me, saving time and worries (not so much money, though..)
research, research, research... i'm getting stressed.
Nov 16, 2009
ok, now it's for real
15 countries, 4 continents, 30+ thousand miles (50+ thousand km), at least 7 time zones, too many cities to count now, god knows how many people, tons of pictures...
about 6 months from now, that's what i'll have added under my belt...
rough planning is done, itinerary is decided, 'to do', 'to buy', 'to sell' and 'to ship' lists are made, documents and passport are on the mail to get the 1st out of 6 visas (australia, laos, cambodia, vietnam, india and egypt)...
here's the itinerary:
leg 1 (4 weeks):
LA - Nadi (Fiji)
to Auckland (NZ)
to Christchurch (NZ)
to Sidney (Australia)
leg 2 (6 weeks):
Brisbane (Australia) - Singapore
by train through Malaysia and into Bangkok (Thailand)
by land to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam
Hanoi (Vietnam) - Hong Kong
leg 3 (4 weeks):
to Delhi (India)
to Capetown (South Africa)
to Cairo (Egypt)
to Athens (Greece)
to Madrid (Spain)
it begins on february 2nd and it ends (or begins again?) on may 18th...
roughly a week for each country, except for australia (2 weeks), hong kong (4-5 days) and india (9-10 days)...
this is it, baby!
about 6 months from now, that's what i'll have added under my belt...
rough planning is done, itinerary is decided, 'to do', 'to buy', 'to sell' and 'to ship' lists are made, documents and passport are on the mail to get the 1st out of 6 visas (australia, laos, cambodia, vietnam, india and egypt)...
here's the itinerary:
leg 1 (4 weeks):
LA - Nadi (Fiji)
to Auckland (NZ)
to Christchurch (NZ)
to Sidney (Australia)
leg 2 (6 weeks):
Brisbane (Australia) - Singapore
by train through Malaysia and into Bangkok (Thailand)
by land to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam
Hanoi (Vietnam) - Hong Kong
leg 3 (4 weeks):
to Delhi (India)
to Capetown (South Africa)
to Cairo (Egypt)
to Athens (Greece)
to Madrid (Spain)
it begins on february 2nd and it ends (or begins again?) on may 18th...
roughly a week for each country, except for australia (2 weeks), hong kong (4-5 days) and india (9-10 days)...
this is it, baby!
training wheels
i'm a little behind schedule with the planning and the preparations for the trip, but all for a good cause..
last couple of months, instead of working on the RTWT, i was kinda training for it..
i went to see pearl jam play in seattle (their hometown, tour opening), salt lake city, la (2 shows) and philly (halloween, tour closing), and since i was in philly, i went for a week in nyc as well..
of course seeing the band was the main reason for all the traveling, but i took the opportunity to do some couchsurfing, meet people from all over the globe, practice packing efficiently and learn to be less neat-freak and more spontaneous with the planning...
this set me back a little with everything i have to get done for the trip, but it was a little experience that's going to be worth a lot later, and now i'm all focused on it, 100%...
more to come...
last couple of months, instead of working on the RTWT, i was kinda training for it..
i went to see pearl jam play in seattle (their hometown, tour opening), salt lake city, la (2 shows) and philly (halloween, tour closing), and since i was in philly, i went for a week in nyc as well..
of course seeing the band was the main reason for all the traveling, but i took the opportunity to do some couchsurfing, meet people from all over the globe, practice packing efficiently and learn to be less neat-freak and more spontaneous with the planning...
this set me back a little with everything i have to get done for the trip, but it was a little experience that's going to be worth a lot later, and now i'm all focused on it, 100%...
more to come...
Oct 16, 2009
back in the saddle
i haven't had a lot of available time lately, but this week i started going after more detailed information on the visas i'll need..
i emailed the embassies and checked some requirements, so i can start applying next month..
it's all i have for now..
i emailed the embassies and checked some requirements, so i can start applying next month..
it's all i have for now..
Aug 26, 2009
just maybe
the (flight) itinerary plans are finished, with the cities, dates and all, but now the quotes i have are a little bit over what i expected...
so i'm trying to figure something out with the agency... if it doesn't work out, i might have to skip a flight, change a couple of countries, or just find a job that pays me really well...
news soon, hopefully!
so i'm trying to figure something out with the agency... if it doesn't work out, i might have to skip a flight, change a couple of countries, or just find a job that pays me really well...
news soon, hopefully!
Aug 18, 2009
it's almost too much
this past week i've been gathering more in depth information for the trip.. the large scale itinerary (countries and length of stay for each one) is 90% defined, and the other 10% depends on the detailed itineraries for each country..
so what i'm doing now is studying each country: weather, high and low seasons, currency, average daily costs, visa requirements, regions to (or not to) visit, itineraries and other useful info.. it's a HUGE amount of information, so i'm trying to do a country each couple of days...
this is how i'm organizing it:
leg 1 (4 weeks): fiji, new zealand, australia
leg 2 (6 weeks): singapore + malaysia, thailand + laos + cambodia + vietnam, hong kong
leg 3 (4 weeks): india, south africa, egypt, greece
i'm not counting la or madrid, as i don't need plans for them!
there's a lot of work to be done with leg 2... today i had the idea of going to singapore, then take a train through malaysia into thailand... this in a week.. staying and exploring for a few days on each stopover... as far as i could see, the train it's pretty cheap, safe and comfortable..
i haven't planned from thailand on yet..
and as you can see, it seems i'll be traveling a couple of weeks more than i first planned..
dude, i'm tired..
so what i'm doing now is studying each country: weather, high and low seasons, currency, average daily costs, visa requirements, regions to (or not to) visit, itineraries and other useful info.. it's a HUGE amount of information, so i'm trying to do a country each couple of days...
this is how i'm organizing it:
leg 1 (4 weeks): fiji, new zealand, australia
leg 2 (6 weeks): singapore + malaysia, thailand + laos + cambodia + vietnam, hong kong
leg 3 (4 weeks): india, south africa, egypt, greece
i'm not counting la or madrid, as i don't need plans for them!
there's a lot of work to be done with leg 2... today i had the idea of going to singapore, then take a train through malaysia into thailand... this in a week.. staying and exploring for a few days on each stopover... as far as i could see, the train it's pretty cheap, safe and comfortable..
i haven't planned from thailand on yet..
and as you can see, it seems i'll be traveling a couple of weeks more than i first planned..
dude, i'm tired..
Aug 11, 2009
hands on the dough
i'm finally in denver, part of the chaos is gone and another part is still to come, but after some three weeks away from the RTWT planning, i'm back on it, and getting closer to the final decisions..
not much news here..
i'm pretty close to having the "final" itinerary, and i've been studying itineraries for each country, to decide how long i'm going to stay in each one...
it's looking like two weeks in australia, three weeks between malaysia, thailand, laos, cambodia and vietnam and one week everywhere else..
the three week / five country part is the one i still have a lot of doubt. i know for sure southern asia is the cheapest place i'll be the whole trip, so it's definitely worth it..
i gotta pretty much plan this whole leg of the trip at once.. it's like one planning for the whole RTWT and one separate just for this three weeks.. tough job.
i'm waiting on some info from the travel agency and i may have news soon..
yup.
ps: hands on the dough = back to work.
not much news here..
i'm pretty close to having the "final" itinerary, and i've been studying itineraries for each country, to decide how long i'm going to stay in each one...
it's looking like two weeks in australia, three weeks between malaysia, thailand, laos, cambodia and vietnam and one week everywhere else..
the three week / five country part is the one i still have a lot of doubt. i know for sure southern asia is the cheapest place i'll be the whole trip, so it's definitely worth it..
i gotta pretty much plan this whole leg of the trip at once.. it's like one planning for the whole RTWT and one separate just for this three weeks.. tough job.
i'm waiting on some info from the travel agency and i may have news soon..
yup.
ps: hands on the dough = back to work.
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!
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..
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!
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!
Jun 26, 2009
sta travel
after reading a little bit about matt harding and drawing some inspiration for my own 'round the world trip, i found out the agency he used to book his flights (and maybe the hotels/hostels too): sta travel.
they are an agency with over 30 years of experience, and specialize in helping young people in world wide adventures. they're huge, they're everywhere, and they seem to be pretty helpful.
i just called them yesterday for the first time, told my agent (todd) about my plans and itinerary ideas, and he's working on it right now, so i can have some more in depth info on everything...
once i have the itinerary figured out, i have to check on the visa requirements for all the countries; then work on dates (it's gonna take a lot of research to decide on the length of stay for each country, 'cause that's gonna depend on how much i'll be willing to get to know them, the costs of accommodation, eating and traveling there, etc); then decide where to stay, if hostels, hotels or couch surfing (more on that later)...
gosh, it seems i'm already running out of time...
this is getting more exciting by the day!
they are an agency with over 30 years of experience, and specialize in helping young people in world wide adventures. they're huge, they're everywhere, and they seem to be pretty helpful.
i just called them yesterday for the first time, told my agent (todd) about my plans and itinerary ideas, and he's working on it right now, so i can have some more in depth info on everything...
once i have the itinerary figured out, i have to check on the visa requirements for all the countries; then work on dates (it's gonna take a lot of research to decide on the length of stay for each country, 'cause that's gonna depend on how much i'll be willing to get to know them, the costs of accommodation, eating and traveling there, etc); then decide where to stay, if hostels, hotels or couch surfing (more on that later)...
gosh, it seems i'm already running out of time...
this is getting more exciting by the day!
Jun 22, 2009
blogging with a purpose
i was living without a goal for a while.
sometimes, i thought i had a goal, but nah, just some short-lived idea.
some two or three months ago, i was talking to my friend daniel about taking chances or something like that, and i told him about this video i had seen a while ago, where this dude is doing a silly dance apparently in every corner of the world...
we got back home and watched the video.. and then the two other videos that followed. then we visited the guy's website and learned about him. at that moment, we decided we would travel the world and just gain experience in life, you know, have stories to tell.
i finally had a goal.
he ended up changing his plans, but i stuck with mine. but i was also stuck here for a while, at least until some issues were resolved, and that was supposed to take maybe a couple of years...
then, last week, i got a big surprise.. some good news on my email: the issue that was holding me here had pretty much been resolved, and i was about to be free to go..
funny how timing works, because just a couple of weeks before that, i had decided to move to denver, to take up new challenges, and have a better quality of life (meaning some peace of mind) until it was the right time to go for the big adventure..
when i got the news, the first thing i thought was "hey, so now i don't have to move to denver, maybe i should stay here in la and focus on the trip..", but just a second after, i realized i could focus just as well in denver.. that would be my first big step towards the big change...
so, all of a sudden, it's all here... it *really* starts now.. well, it started about a week ago, but you get the picture...
that's why i decided to reactivate the blog... not to write about what i'm thinking, or what i'm doing.. well, actually, that's exactly why i did it. but i'm blogging with a purpose here, i want to be able to look back years from now and follow how my plans have changed, how my ideas were right or wrong, and how i've grown up after all that.
my family still doesn't know about it. i'm sure they have enough excitement/worries with me moving out to denver, but they will find out soon, after i email them with the link to the blog. god, i can already see some of them just freaking the hell out! (hi, mom!)
so, to begin with, here's the first very rough itinerary plan, just so we can all follow how much it will change. it all starts early february, next year:
From LA to Nadi (Fiji)
Date: 2/2/2010
From Nadi (Fiji) to Auckland (New Zealand)
Date: 9/2/2010
From Auckland (New Zealand) to Sydney (Australia)
Date: 16/2/2010
From Sydney (Australia) to Bangkok (Thailand)
Date: 2/3/2010
From Bangkok (Thailand) to Delhi (India)
Date: 9/3/2010
From Delhi (India) to Kuwait City (Kuwait)
Date: 16/3/2010
From Kuwait City (Kuwait) to Doha (Qatar)
Date: 20/3/2010
From Doha (Qatar) to Nairobi (Kenya)
Date: 23/3/2010
From Nairobi (Kenya) to Cairo (Egypt)
Date: 30/3/2010
From Cairo (Egypt) to Athens (Greece)
Date: 6/4/2010
From Athens (Greece) to Madrid (Spain)
13/4/2010
two and a half months, eleven countries. first changes i might make are:
- remove doha (qatar) and maybe kuwait city (kuwait), and add beijing (china).
- maybe sub nairobi (kenya) for capetown (south africa), or just add the second one.
- dates, for sure!
the idea is to meet my sister in spain and stay there for a while, until i make enough money to travel europe.. then, see what the next step will be. i might have to go to england instead, 'cause it might be easier to find a job, get a visa, you know, the works...
i'll post some links and write some more about thoughts and ideas soon... and believe me, there's a lot of them...
well, be free to freak out know, or just be excited for me. i know i'm both! it's *panda no more* time.
sometimes, i thought i had a goal, but nah, just some short-lived idea.
some two or three months ago, i was talking to my friend daniel about taking chances or something like that, and i told him about this video i had seen a while ago, where this dude is doing a silly dance apparently in every corner of the world...
we got back home and watched the video.. and then the two other videos that followed. then we visited the guy's website and learned about him. at that moment, we decided we would travel the world and just gain experience in life, you know, have stories to tell.
i finally had a goal.
he ended up changing his plans, but i stuck with mine. but i was also stuck here for a while, at least until some issues were resolved, and that was supposed to take maybe a couple of years...
then, last week, i got a big surprise.. some good news on my email: the issue that was holding me here had pretty much been resolved, and i was about to be free to go..
funny how timing works, because just a couple of weeks before that, i had decided to move to denver, to take up new challenges, and have a better quality of life (meaning some peace of mind) until it was the right time to go for the big adventure..
when i got the news, the first thing i thought was "hey, so now i don't have to move to denver, maybe i should stay here in la and focus on the trip..", but just a second after, i realized i could focus just as well in denver.. that would be my first big step towards the big change...
so, all of a sudden, it's all here... it *really* starts now.. well, it started about a week ago, but you get the picture...
that's why i decided to reactivate the blog... not to write about what i'm thinking, or what i'm doing.. well, actually, that's exactly why i did it. but i'm blogging with a purpose here, i want to be able to look back years from now and follow how my plans have changed, how my ideas were right or wrong, and how i've grown up after all that.
my family still doesn't know about it. i'm sure they have enough excitement/worries with me moving out to denver, but they will find out soon, after i email them with the link to the blog. god, i can already see some of them just freaking the hell out! (hi, mom!)
so, to begin with, here's the first very rough itinerary plan, just so we can all follow how much it will change. it all starts early february, next year:
From LA to Nadi (Fiji)
Date: 2/2/2010
From Nadi (Fiji) to Auckland (New Zealand)
Date: 9/2/2010
From Auckland (New Zealand) to Sydney (Australia)
Date: 16/2/2010
From Sydney (Australia) to Bangkok (Thailand)
Date: 2/3/2010
From Bangkok (Thailand) to Delhi (India)
Date: 9/3/2010
From Delhi (India) to Kuwait City (Kuwait)
Date: 16/3/2010
From Kuwait City (Kuwait) to Doha (Qatar)
Date: 20/3/2010
From Doha (Qatar) to Nairobi (Kenya)
Date: 23/3/2010
From Nairobi (Kenya) to Cairo (Egypt)
Date: 30/3/2010
From Cairo (Egypt) to Athens (Greece)
Date: 6/4/2010
From Athens (Greece) to Madrid (Spain)
13/4/2010
two and a half months, eleven countries. first changes i might make are:
- remove doha (qatar) and maybe kuwait city (kuwait), and add beijing (china).
- maybe sub nairobi (kenya) for capetown (south africa), or just add the second one.
- dates, for sure!
the idea is to meet my sister in spain and stay there for a while, until i make enough money to travel europe.. then, see what the next step will be. i might have to go to england instead, 'cause it might be easier to find a job, get a visa, you know, the works...
i'll post some links and write some more about thoughts and ideas soon... and believe me, there's a lot of them...
well, be free to freak out know, or just be excited for me. i know i'm both! it's *panda no more* time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
