Planned Intinerary *

California

As my flight Down Under leaves from LA, I plan to stop in California to see some friends and family before fleeing the country. I'll first stop in San Francisco before heading down the coast.

Fiji

Fiji is the first country on my trip. Sadly my ticket to New Zealand means I have to have a layover in Fiji, one that may be up to four weeks in lengh, sigh.. Ideally, I'm hoping to find a beach on which I can pitch my tent.

New Zealand

Ever since reading Douglas Adams' description of of South Island, New Zealand, I've wanted to see Kiwi Land. I plan to take a slow route across all three islands, trying to do a lot of camping and hiking during this portion of the trip. I'm sure there will be some drinking and merriment and probably an unavoidable encounter with a sheep named Bessie, but I truly am looking forward to the natural aspect of this part of the trip.

Australia

After New Zealand, I will make my way up to Australia. A large reason for my excitement in heading to Australia is the chance to see many of my friends from my previous travels. I will likely spend several months in Australia, slowly touring around the country, seeing friends, and trying to learn to surf and scuba dive.

Indonesia

Right now, I want to cross from Darwin, in Northern Australia, into Indonesia. I will make my final decision on whether to go through Indonesia while I'm in Australia. If it doesn't feel safe at that time to cross Indonesia, I will cut it from my trip. I haven't thought too much about his portion of the trip, but Bali's Bali, and that ought to be fun. From Bali, I plan to island hop my way up through Indonesia till I reach the mainland of South East Asia.

South East Asia

In South East Asia I plan to start the Red Light portion of my trip, traveling overland from the Red Light district of Singapore to the Red Light district of Amsterdam, crossing the entire Eurasian land mass in the process. In South East Asia, I plan to make use of mostly buses as I move at a snail's pace up towards Hong Kong and China. I will definitely stop in Kuala Lumpur as I want to see the Patronus Towers. In Thailand, I'm sure I will try and get out to some of the islands. I also plan to make my way through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Myanmar is an option, but I've heard that getting into the country is somewhat difficult.

China

I will then head North from SE Asia, into China. I'm not too clear on my plans for China as of yet, but I plan to see some of the country before taking to Trans Mongolian rail from Beijing. I've started doing some reading on China and the South East sounds beautiful. I'm going to have several months during my journey to better prepare for China but from what I've already read, there are some lovely bits I'm getting excited to see.

Trans Mongolian/Trans Siberian Rail

This portion of my trip again goes back to my love for the writing of Douglas Adams, where I first read about the Trans Siberian Rail, the longest continuous stretch of rail on the planet. From Beijing to Moscow by Air is 3,600 miles. I plan to get off the train at several points along this part of the journey, seeing Mongolia, the Steppes and the Urals. Whether I dip into Kazakstan along the way will be determined by the safety and cost during the course of my travels. After reaching Moscow, I plan to head up and see St. Petersburg, and make a quick circle trip through Helsinki and Talinn.

The Black Sea

I will then make my way around the Black Sea to Turkey, the country I probably most want to visit. I've been wanting to see Turkey for at least five years now, and had to abort my plans to spend two months there in 2001 as my ferry was to be Sep. 12th. Hopefully, I will feel it safe to travel there when I finally reach the Black Sea. I will likely skirt the western coast of the Black Sea, but that, like every other part of my trip, is set in sand, so crossing the Black Sea by ferry or the eastern shore are also possibilities. If I can do Turkey, I hope to spend at least 6 weeks touring this country, before eventually crossing back into Greece.

Europe

After touring Turkey, which may take a few months, I will cross back into Greece. I plan to make my way back up into Europe by ferry hopping up the Croatian coast. I have a strong desire to see Slovenia and will cross through there on my way into Hungary. From there, I will make my way back across Europe, revisiting friends and places from my previous travels. And then, it will be a short hop across the Atlantic and the trip will have come a full circle.

* Subject to Change as the Nature of the Trip dictates.