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nearing departure

December 3rd, 2007

the 2/1/08 departure date is fast approaching and i still do not have an airline ticket. i have spent the past 2-3 months researching the various approaches to buying tickets for such a huge trip without spending my entire trip budget on airfare. it ain’t easy, folks, lemme tell yez. first, i have gone to the fabulous folks at Bootsnall’s recommended trip planner, AirTreks, and punched in the majority of the major destinations i want to cover and then see what the estimate comes up to. so far the quotes i have received have been waaaaaay beyond the budget (i hope to spend no more than about $6,000 TOTAL airfare, but i am not sure this is practical considering the way airfares have risen in the last year or two). if anyone reading this has any practical (eg, cheap) suggestions on how to shave off some $$$ in airfare, i’m all ears.
next, i have harassed my long-suffering travel agent mother for information and was referred to specific carriers for their Around The World options in order to maximize my travel dollars. i have yet to phone them but will follow up on that soon. the good news is, she really knows her stuff and has been EVERYWHERE herself (you wonder where i get my wanderlust from? well, wonder no more), so i don’t have to worry about them providing good info when i do contact them.
another source i have been using has been an agent at AirTreks who’s quoted me $6K for travel up through July 2008, and including many side-stops that i hadn’t planned on but find rather interesting now that i notice them.
the problem i’m finding with low estimated airfare is that my trip hops around in several directions rather than continuing along in the same direction from sf->world->sf. this side-tracking causes the price to rise significantly. i think the plan will have to be to go with the RTW ticket using the best company/agent offering the best fare and including as many flights as possible, then rely on overland trekking (trains, tuk tuks, buses, boats, hooves, etc.) and separate airline tickets from on the road for the rest.
next up: where to find a group of bicyclists in southeast asia that will let me join them for all or part of a journey through the rice paddies, etc., in springtime. all suggestions welcome, good readers.

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preparing to split

October 11th, 2007

as i figure out this website’s quirks and tools, the next entry i do will include the places i plan to go from the beginning, working through all of the nuts and bolts of how i get there, what i do while i’m there, and finally where i will go next.
for instance, my itinerary shows my first stop outside of the US as Trinidad. i should be writing about whatever crazy stuff i encounter trying to get to trinidad, what crazier stuff i experience once there, and then the exit story. hopefully there will be some fascinating tales to be told right from the start! if not, i guess i’ll just make some sh*t up, post it to wherever it ends up, and see what happens. the latter may be more entertaining, if only i knew some good jokes.

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always changing…

September 28th, 2007

as expected and already, the RTW route is changing. having gotten a couple more connections to/for MUST VISIT places and must meet people, i may have to bump up Turkey, add South Africa and possibly Singapore and/or Hong Kong, and cut short the Myanmar portion (due to the violence there now), although i’d hate to miss out on visiting Burma next spring because of the military vs. monks chaos over there (uh, yeah, didn’t this happen back in 1988 already? do they really have to go through all of this sh*t again now – just give democracy a chance, ya maroons, regardless of how modified/muddified it may be). i saw “beyond rangoon”; i know the score…anyroad, stay tuned…there will be other modifications to the Odyssey, no doubt even before i leave home.

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Hello world traveller!

September 20th, 2007

the background: i have been working at a local government agency for 7 1/2 years. although i have dreamt of traveling to exotic places for as far back as i can remember, one day about six or eight months ago, i decided it’s high time i get out of the day to day routine, strap on the backpack, and go see what’s out there beyond the 7 by 7 mile City i call home. i could think of no solid reason to NOT go, except for those pesky details like The Job, The Mortgage/Bills, The Debt I Will Incur. those are valid points, i admit, to preventing one from taking on such a gargantuan journey; however, i feel that life is too short and we only get one shot on this God Forsaken Planet, so why not seize the day, get out there and experience every culture you can while you can. maybe i’m just naturally curious. i’m a taurus. maybe that has something to do with my wanderlust and curiosity. that and, despite being (a) female, (b) blonde, (c) traveling solo, i’m really, really unafraid of what lies ahead. i like to think that i have a sufficient amount of moxie to get me through the “trouble spots” which are inevitable, and look forward to absorbing as much knowledge and experience as possible in the coming year. am i crazy as some say (you know who you are)? maybe. a little crazy, a little brave…even a little jealous of those who’ve already gone and done a trip like this.

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