Jackie’s World Tour 2009 - Let the mayhem begin!

A bunch of people have asked me my itinerary so I figured I would post it.

January 6th - leave JFK to go to New Zealand (1 mth)

Feb 4th - Fiji (2 weeks)

Feb 19th - Australia (2 mths)

April 22nd - Indonesia (1 mth)

May 22nd - Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Loas, Cambodia, maybe India or China (3+ months)

Sept 1st - Istanbul, Turkey (1 month) - may change date and move it further back

Oct 6th - Rome, Italy (1 month)

Nov 10th - Home Sweet Home (maybe )

Well got my first round of vaccinations yesterday and although the shots didn’t hurt (except for 1 of them) the pain afterwards really sucks! Both arms feel like they have been punched for hours straight. It hurts to lift them up past my shoulder. Oh well, I would rather have a day or two of dead arm then catch some crazy disease while I am away. So next week I get to go back to be poked again a couple more times. Need to get a vaccination for Japanese encephilitis. It is a good thing I went to the doc earlier than later cause the one manufacturer that produces this vaccination is discontinuing the vaccination and it is becoming harder to get. Now I find that a bit weird that the only manufacturer of a vaccination would stop making it. I mean the disease is not going to go away and people will still be traveling to areas where they need the vaccination, right? So how can you discontinue it? Makes no sense to me but at least I know I am getting it and will be covered.

Things are moving along very nicely with the rest of things I need to do for the trip. I am in the process of packing my apartment so I can move out at the end of September. I am lucky enough to have some great friends that are letting me crash at their house until I leave so I can save some extra money. And one comment on packing…I never realized how much stuff you can accumulate in a year. I have been in my current apartment for only a year and packing it all up seems like a monumental task. I mean it has only been a year! I really need to stop being such a pack rat.

 Lastly, I just want to say thanks to everyone once again. Every person I have spoken to about this has been amazingly supportive. It is great to hear such positive feedback from everyone and it is making it so much easier for me as I prepare for this trip. Sometimes I stop and think to myself that I am crazy for doing this but everyone’s positive reactions makes me forget about those fears. Thanks so much!!! :) 

I am now 4,444.82 poorer! And I am wearing a big grin as I am writing this. I am really doing this. Holy shit, I am really doing this! It was so easy to say to people that I am ... [Continue reading this entry]