Round the World (RTW)
As some people may know, I left my job back in October and decided it was time for a break. At the same time news surfaced that Delta was going to discontinue award tickets for round the world adventures. I've spent the last few months moving all my stuff to my mom's house, researching destinations, getting vaccinated, buying strange items for my pack and so on and so forth.
This is my first post about the journey, even though I don't leave for another 4 weeks. To those who know me well, I'm a planner, I like to cram as much stuff as I can into a short period of time and I have a relatively healthy amount of OCD. I thought I'd share some information about the logistics of such a trip and some things I've learned along the way--in case you ever want to embark on such a journey.
I'll start today with the itinerary outline. Let me know if you want to piggy back on part of it.
January 29, 2015
Leaving Milwaukee, spending a day in Seoul on a layover before arriving in Queenstown, New Zealand where I will travel north for two weeks to get to Auckland, New Zealand.
February 15, 2015
Fly to Cairns, Australia, home of the great barrier reef. I'll spend the next two weeks traveling by train down the east coast of Australia to Melbourne, Australia with stops along the way.
March 1, 2015
On the way to Delhi, India I have another long layover but this time in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I'll be spending the first week of March in an ashram in Vrindivan to celebrate Holi. From there I'll likely explore Agra, Mumbai (see some Bollywood in action) and Goa then go volunteer taking care of elephants in Jaipur. Visit the golden temple in Amritsar and visit another ashram in Rishikesh. It'll be almost two months in India all told.
April 21, 2015
After a day layover in Paris, I'll be in Johannesburg, South Africa the following morning. I don't have much sketched out here yet, but I know I'll head to Capetown as well as Johannesburg.
May 13, 2015
I'll arrive in Rome, Italy. My plan is to spend a month in Italy (actually my sabbatical plan had I not left Epic) traveling down the coast and back up the other side, likely spending time in the Cinque Terre as well as Milan (for the World Expo!)
I have a 3 month Eurail pass so I can't say where I'll be any given day (not yet anyway) but I'll likely go---> Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Luxembourg, Iceland, France, Spain. Ambitious...I know...believe it or not, I actually cut Greece and Turkey already, more might have to go as I find places I love in those 3 months.
Mom is meeting me in Paris and I think some of the wonderful guys I worked with in Lancaster, PA will also meet me in Iceland.
August 11, 2015
A week in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
August 16, 2015
Landing in Lima, Peru I'll travel north to Ecuador, stopping along the way. I leave Quito, Ecuador on August 21 for the Galapagos. I'll camp on various islands in the Galapagos for the week and return to Quito on August 29. I'll travel back to Peru to meet up with Saba my lovely friend from high school, so we can do the Machu Picchu thing. We are still thinking about if we want to hike it or bus it :).
This is my first post about the journey, even though I don't leave for another 4 weeks. To those who know me well, I'm a planner, I like to cram as much stuff as I can into a short period of time and I have a relatively healthy amount of OCD. I thought I'd share some information about the logistics of such a trip and some things I've learned along the way--in case you ever want to embark on such a journey.
I'll start today with the itinerary outline. Let me know if you want to piggy back on part of it.
January 29, 2015
Leaving Milwaukee, spending a day in Seoul on a layover before arriving in Queenstown, New Zealand where I will travel north for two weeks to get to Auckland, New Zealand.
February 15, 2015
Fly to Cairns, Australia, home of the great barrier reef. I'll spend the next two weeks traveling by train down the east coast of Australia to Melbourne, Australia with stops along the way.
March 1, 2015
On the way to Delhi, India I have another long layover but this time in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I'll be spending the first week of March in an ashram in Vrindivan to celebrate Holi. From there I'll likely explore Agra, Mumbai (see some Bollywood in action) and Goa then go volunteer taking care of elephants in Jaipur. Visit the golden temple in Amritsar and visit another ashram in Rishikesh. It'll be almost two months in India all told.
April 21, 2015
After a day layover in Paris, I'll be in Johannesburg, South Africa the following morning. I don't have much sketched out here yet, but I know I'll head to Capetown as well as Johannesburg.
May 13, 2015
I'll arrive in Rome, Italy. My plan is to spend a month in Italy (actually my sabbatical plan had I not left Epic) traveling down the coast and back up the other side, likely spending time in the Cinque Terre as well as Milan (for the World Expo!)
I have a 3 month Eurail pass so I can't say where I'll be any given day (not yet anyway) but I'll likely go---> Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Luxembourg, Iceland, France, Spain. Ambitious...I know...believe it or not, I actually cut Greece and Turkey already, more might have to go as I find places I love in those 3 months.
Mom is meeting me in Paris and I think some of the wonderful guys I worked with in Lancaster, PA will also meet me in Iceland.
August 11, 2015
A week in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
August 16, 2015
Landing in Lima, Peru I'll travel north to Ecuador, stopping along the way. I leave Quito, Ecuador on August 21 for the Galapagos. I'll camp on various islands in the Galapagos for the week and return to Quito on August 29. I'll travel back to Peru to meet up with Saba my lovely friend from high school, so we can do the Machu Picchu thing. We are still thinking about if we want to hike it or bus it :).
View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint
