Getting There Now!
November 24th, 2005
Well, its only a few months before I depart on my trip.
Its only right that booked my ticket now I suppose so thats what I did last weekend! As I predicted my plans have changed again. The main reasons for this is the bird-flu situation in China and SE Asia, i’m not worried about catching the virus but if it breaks out bigtime in any of those countries whilst I am there then I feel it will be an abrupt end to my trip and a flight back to England 
So, rather than doing the Asian countries first, I have decided to go the opposite way round the world. The nice peeps at STA Travel have helped me enourmously - they know their stuff - and so in return I decided to book my ticket through them. The ticket I have booked is called “The Great Escapade” and allows me to make pretty much unlimited stops up to 30,000 miles, it also allows me to make date changes on my schedule for free! - Although if I decide to change where I want to fly to then that will cost me. The ticket lasts for a year and comprises of an alliance of several major airlines; Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines, Silkair, Air New Zealand.
Right well now for the Itinerary:
First stop the U.S. of A!
Flying into San Francisco (Frisco/San Fran - but I can’t actually call it that until i’ve been there…apparently!). Not 100% sure what i’m going to do there but will have a few weeks and try and get over to Yosemite National Park and see what the fuss is about with that. From Frisco (sod it, i’ll be there soon anyway!) I will make my own way to LA where i’ll catch a flight to…
French Polynesia
Lots of beautiful islands and relaxing to do here me thinks! Only flaw I can see with this part of my journey is that my flight looks like it will land at 05:40…NICE. Spending about a week here before moving on to…
The Cook Islands
Again, another stunning set of islands in the South Pacific, might be a little expensive so doubt i’ll be staying any longer than a week or so. Eeek, flight out of Raratonga (Captital of The Cook Islands) is 01:15! Sigh, such hardship 
…
Fiji
More lovely islands to look at, might be a chance to learn to dive properly here so will take a look at doing that if poss. Supposed to be a bit more backpacker budget friendly than the previous two destinations so will spend a bit longer here, maybe 10 days, before moving on to…
New Zealand
I’m looking to spend a good month or so here, considering an adventure tour which will take me around both of the islands. Maybe take a bit more time out afterwards and re-visit some of the spots I like - i’m sure there will be lots! After the Kiwi’s its on to the Ozzies!…
Australia
This is where i’ll be spending the longest time, all being well. I plan to work in Sydney for a while before moving around the coast and taking in as much as I can see whilst doing odd jobs on the way. Its a pretty tall order but if i can i’d like to do a complete loop around the coast and end up in Cairns, back on the East Coast. I’ll have to fill in the blanks on this one as I go! 
The next few countries are very much subject to change but if bird-flu, or any other disaster, doesn’t ruin things then here is the best of the rest…
Singapore
Simply getting a transfer to Bangkok, don’t worry though “I’ll Be Back.”…
Thailand
Using Bangkok as a starting point I plan to visit the northern capital of Chang Mai and from there I will go overland (or possibly by plane if that doesn’t work out) to…
Vietnam
Making sure I eventually end up in Hanoi for my flight back to…
Singapore (Again)
I’ll stay here for a few days just to have a poke round and see whats what before moving on…
China
My final destination before returning home, I intend to vist the Great Wall, Three Gorges Dam, and the Terracotta Warriors at the very least. It’ll all depend on time though.
So there it is, things will probably change on the way but that’s an outline for my trip for you all to follow - i’ll probably find it useful too!
Oh yeah, and the price of my ticket: £1,250 … Not bad! 
TTFN! 
