Many people have been asking asked me about my itinerary so I thought I'd share.

First things first, there is no actual itinerary..... just a basic (but well researched) plan. Second, I hesitate to state all the places I plan to see and go for a few reasons... but mainly because I think the plan might be a little too ambitious and I probably won't be able to do everything. So this is a list of the highlights and "most probables".
Third, I unfortunately failed to find any volunteer jobs that I could actually afford. Apparently "working vacations" are becoming very popular and the administration costs are nuts! The most affordable job that I found was work changing the diapers of disabled children at an orphanage in Romania... and that still came out to $21 a day out of my pocket (I decided to pass on that one). So I depart discouraged, but not defeated. If any of you know about volunteer opportunities abroad (in Central/Eastern Europe and Southeastern Asia) please let me know. I am not opposed to showing up on someone's doorstep unannounced, but ready to work. I have heard of that being done and (minus a nausiating story about pigs) it seemed to work out well.

For those of you interested in the itinerary, here's the basic (but well researched) plan:
Sept 1 - Depart for London
September - England, Germany, Czech Republic, and Austria (in that order)
October - Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia
November - Italy and Greece
December - More Greece and somehow make my way up to Moscow (brrrrrr) making sure to see the Black Sea on the coast of Bulgaria along the way.

Here's where the plan gets real sketchy. I have to take into consideration the fact that
a) I might be completely sick of travelling and be home well before I even reach this point,
b) I might need a vacation from travelling and head off to some island for a break, or
c) an astroid might hit the earth and the least of my problems will be seeing Asia.
BUT, here is where I plan to be from December to April:

End of December - Take the Trans Siberian Railway from Moscow to either Beijing or to Vladivostok. If I end up in Vladivostok, then I'll take the ferry straight to Japan.

Christmas - I do apologize for not making it home for Christmas (Mom, Dad, Eric) but I plan to ship cool trinkets for everyone and hopefully help clear my name.

January - Japan, China, Hong Kong
February - Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore
March and April - India and Nepal
May - New Zealand
June - Back to the good 'ole U. S. of A. and my own bed.

Whew! Thanks to all for putting up with my constant (seemingly obsessed) nature about this. Again, I realize that it's an ambitious plan, but well.... if you know me then you know I don't do anything half assed.
I think it will be interesting (a little self exploration) to see how the actual trip compares with the plan. It may be a little insight into whether I really am carefree (a traveller) or more anal than I thought (a tourist).