Moving right along now

Woo hoo! Itinerary delivered to Travel Agent. Forms for visas downloaded and will be filled out and express mailed to visa processing place (Wow $$$). Tour company contacted and I'll be able to have someone hold my hand from Mumbai thru to Hanoi. Those tours will be finalized Thursday next week. One minor hitch I ran into was the regulations regarding the Schengen countries. Pardon my ignorance, but I had never heard the term before but during a chat with a very helpful gal from the Study Abroad offices of the nearby college, she brought it to my attention that there is a limit of 90 days to staying in the Schengen countries which is most of the EU! In all my research, this was the first time I had heard of this. I'm planning about 4 months in that area so this is a potential problem. I've found the Schengen website so I'll be talking to them on Monday. I think I'll be OK. If I extend my stay in the UK a bit, I'll be able to keep my days within the EU below the 90 day limit. I was thinking that maybe a week or so in Switzerland would give me a few days but as I read the regulations, I'm not how long I'd need to stay there to stop the clock. I'll let you know on Monday how that works out. Inoculations/immunizations start next week, too.
I'm learning lots this first time out. The biggest lesson is to start the preparation waaay earlier. I'm setting everything up to leave by Sept 1st and I'm crossing my fingers that my papers will be ready! Of course doing the paper chase is the only excuse I have for not getting more packing done.
I'm still trying to figure out if there is a way to take my Swiss Army Knife with me without having to check luggage but I am more or less resigned to the idea of simply buying one when I get there. Check my bag for $15 and a wait at the baggage claim or buy a new knife for $35 and walk away after customs. I think the $35 is worth it and I'll be able to donate the knife to the next person who stays at the hostel in Greece.
Oh, that reminds me-I'm trying to come up with some kind of worldwide scavenger hunt. If anyone has an idea on that, drop me a line. I'm thinking it might be a hostel thing, clues left for anyone who knows the right sign/counter sign or maybe symbols could be left like the signs hobos used to leave when it was popular to ride the rails in the US. (Uh, that may still be popular for all I know!) Could be a letterbox thing as well. . .http://www.letterboxing.org/
Another trip to REI today and I think that'll do it as far as new items for this trip. . .maybe. I'm debating whether or not to get a digital camera. I'v e been wanting to get one for a while but the cost of new camera is almost a month's lodgings at hostels. What I might do is get a couple of the data memory card deals and just ask other people to take pictures for me. There are two benefits to that-first, I have to talk to other travelers and second, I get to be in the pictures. All of my other travel pictures could have been taken by anyone or they are shots of me holding the camera at arms length and there may or may not be a glimmer of the place I'm visiting.
Well, I think it's coming together and as long as I get the packing done (sure could use some help on that- hint, hint-I'm not being too subtle on this point, am I?) I should be soaring over the globe in a little over a month from now.
I am eager to get your questions . . . comments. . .snide remarks, so please feel free to drop a line anytime.
Hasta la bye bye for now.
Keli

Okay, nailing down the itinerary is proving to be a challenge but I'm getting closer AND I have found a tour company I'm going to connect with to go through India. I'm also going to use this same tour group to cover parts of Southeast Asia. I'm thinking by that time, I'm going to be needing a bit of support. Speaking of support-if anyone is interested in helping me get this adventure underway, I would gladly accept a day or two here and there to help me get packed up. I all ready pretty much have my backpack packed and ready to go! Now the rest of my stuff is going back into storage. (A lot of it was there for about 17 years-here we go again!) Anyway, I'm loading a box here, emptying a shelf there in between online research sessions. The plan is to do it a little at a time throughout the week and make trips to the storage unit on weekends. Kinda break it all up into small bits. It's a good idea but it's not getting the crap into the boxes fast enough so please get your butts over here and lend a hand. Sadly, I think I might have to have a yard sale, too but I'm hoping to avoid that so I'll need help cramming everything into the storage unit, so again, I ask-come 'on to the Heart of the Valley and let's get packing, eh? Everyone who chips in now, will be given dispensation when I unload the storage unit when I get back! (OK-that's a lie. I'll probably ask for help then, too.)
I have an appointment next week to start my series of immunizations. I've been notifying all the places that need to be notified of my pending departure as I remember that they need to be notified. A second trip to REI this weekend for some final travel items (small ones, I promise!). I've found a hideout for Harry Isuzu while I'm gone. I was thinking of parting ways with Harry but we've been together too long to just let him go and besides that may be where I'll have to live when I get back until I totally decompresss. OK- so can anyone think of any reason not to get this show going?
Oh, hey-here's a shout out. If anyone knows how I can get in touch with Luke E, let me know. All of my travel research has been mostly online, thru travel guidebooks and friendly strangers at travel places. All valuable resources but Luke is well traveled and a known quantity to boot. That kind of resource would most certainly add much this traveler's soul.

Well, hasta la bye-bye for now.

Prior planning prevents blah, blah,blah

OK, so I didn't have enough information available for the travel agent when I went to get my ticket. I did get my bank stuff figured out though and that's ready to go. Gonna go to REI today to pickup a few things to make life easier on the road (as advised by EVERY travel guide). Woo Hoo-there's an REI in Eugene, too. Saves an hour driving/gas each way. I thought I was gonna be driving to Portland today. Seems weird to not want to have to travel to get ready to travel but the more I save here and now, the long/farther I can go once I get going.

So-I now have my basic itinerary ready for the travel agency. I'll be fine tuning it over the rest of the weekend (and throughout the trip) based on travel advisories I will seek out on the net as well. Here's the plan I'll deviate from:

PDX>>>London>overland to Greece>>>Somewhere in India and overland to Calcutta >>> Bangkok >>>Ho chi Minh>>>(Maybe overland to) Hanoi>>>Taipei>>>Shanghai>>> Seoul>>> Osaka> overland to Tokyo>>>PDX

Tentative departure date: Sept 1st
Tentative return to PDX: March 31st

It looks like Sept to year's end in Europe and the start the new year in India. Jan and part of Feb to go across India and in to Thailand, spending the bulk of Jan and Feb in Bangkok (I've heard great things about it). By mid Feb I'll be finished up through Taipei, some of the travel between the cities between Bangkok and Taipei maybe overland, and on my way to Shanghai. Feb and March will find me exploring Seoul thru to Tokyo and then it's non-stop across the Pacific in time for the rainy season in Portland. So if you know of anyone in those vicinities who can put (or put up with) a weary traveler for a day or so, pass along my contact info to them and ask to pass their contact info to me. I'm assuming I'll be able to find internet access in most cities I visit at places like internets cafes, public libraries, universities or even US consulates. I foresee a dead zone, though. However, as I will be hosteling most of the way, I hope to have had enough encounters with other travelers to glean info about what's ahead.

Like I said, that's the plan I'll deviate from. I've read the literature and most of the RTW info says that most folks doing this find that doing an RTW in less than two months is overwhelming. Just too much going on to to cram in to such a short amount of time. Six months is the average 'maxed out' and then it's time to decompress. I know how I am and to shoot for the max my first time is typical as is falling short the first time. So I'm going to be the typical me and go for it. One of the reasons for the trip is to get away from the norm. Maybe by doing that, I'll also get away from being normal (well, normal for me, anyway).

OK, I gotta go research rail travel through India. . . and REI opens at 10. . .and Oh, hey Rhys Thomas is performing at the DaVince Days festival tonight!

Another step here, another step there

I've prepared my REI shopping list according to two different internet sources. I've reserved the first few of a series of Rick Steve's DVDs at the library. By next Friday, I'll have my itinerary roughed out well enough to GO BUY MY TICKET!!!! I'm hoping for an early September departure. If I get the storage unit lined up quick enough, maybe even a mid-August start. If I decide not to go beyond Europe this trip, I don't think the earlier departure will be a problem. If I don't get all chickeny and decide to continue on westward from there, then there will be visas to deal with and maybe all that immunization stuff, too. I haven't looked that up yet. That's it for now.

A Journey of 1000 Miles begins with a single step

First step-I've enrolled in Hostel International. Second step-I'm on the waiting list for a storage unit. Third+ steps-Since there are a ton guide books and 10x that much informationon the internet-I'm going to pick two or three series guides and mix and match the info. Rick Steve's is going to be the main guide series for planning the overall trip route (at least for the European part). Then I'll use Let's Go and the Hostel information as a lodging/transportation resource and the Lonely Planet Guides for things to do/see off the beaten path. I might reverse the reference order as I get to the other side of the planet. I still have lots of research to do. I do know that this trip will take place mostly in the off season and that will save a bit of $ here and there which is good because it's going to cost more than I thought. When I first started looking at the cost of RTW airfare, it was about half of what it is now and that was just a few months ago!

OK, so I want to put the call out to everyone now-I'm interested in collecting names and contact info for folks you may know throughout the UK and Europe who would have floor space for a night for a weary traveler. I'm also looking for contact info for jugglers, juggling festivals, letterboxers and letterboxing events in those places beginning around mid September (I don't have my real travel dates yet. This is a best guess) to January or February. My general plan is to start in the more northern part of the route and follow better weather south (sort of).

Live and be well.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can

The adventure begins. . . I hope. Those of you who know me know the number of times I've changed my direction in life. My most recent efforts to do that have not been as successful as previous endeavors. So I have re-evaluted my position and decided that what I need to do is to get out of my comfort zone and really shake things up this time. Toward that end, I am planning a 'Round The World (RTW). It's been in the back of my mind for a while but has more recently come to the front of my mind. And I've actually started saying it out loud to others so I think it's gonna happen. Watch this spot for the updates on the adventure, the itinerary and ways you can help! (Know anybody who lives in Bruges who can put up a juggling letterboxer for a night or two!) I won't be updated my website for awhile but in case you haven't checked it out yet it's here. . .http://www.oregonstate.edu/~craigk/kelicraig.com. I'll be homeless, broke and unemployed when I return so please tell everyone to check out my website because I don't ge work soon after I get back-I'll be coming to stay with YOU!