travel round the world

I would love to travel round the world sometime dont know when but i am sure I’ll do it sometime. Africa is where I live I guess I’ll start from Here and take it one country at a time.

Well turned 30 and commuting to work on one dreary rainy day in london I thought “Why am I doing this when there is a whole world of beaches and adventure out there (and more importantly sunshine!)” So then I there I made the decision to do something I have been dreaming of since Uni – Go Travelling!

Thing is I would dearly love to have someone to share my journey with and most of my friends are career people or did their travelling before going to Uni.Is there anyone out there that would like to share my adventure??

Places I am looking to travel to are Africa, India, South East Asia, Hong kong, OZ & NZ and south America.

If you also want to take a career break and go travelling but are also too scared to go it alone – I would love to hear from you.

xx

So. Interrail is out. I watched Hostel. But thats not the reason, I won’t be going to my planned conferences in Portugal and France. I will be an hour away at the exact time presenting at a conference in Plymouth.

It’s either that or giving a departmental seminar and going through a viva again. I still havn’t recovered from last years’.

I’m hoping for a weekend in Paris at best mid-summer.

Hell yeah.

My grand parents did this when they were in their late 70’s! just proves no matter what age you can do this!

I’m going travelling in Europe this summer – second week of June to be exact. I don’t particularly have much money, or afford to take 2 weeks off my research – but i need to do this NOW! Well, in June.

Anyway, i have a conference in Portugal, for which i have volunteered to be a student collaborator. Which means i’ll be allocated a stream closest to my research and ‘ill be responsible for equipment etc etc, in return i get to attend gratis. That way, my dept. only pays for flight and board. Not that i have much money left from my yearly allowance.

After the conference in the Algarve, i plan to buy the Eurail pass, for 2 weeks going around west Europe. First stop is Spain, i plan to go to Granada and Madrid. Then France – Provence and Paris, Then Benelux: Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxemberg which happen to be counted as one country on the Eurail pass, yayy! Last stop will be Amsterdam and i’ll catch a ferry from there to Dover, and get a train back to Exeter. No itinerary, ie. how many days to spend where etc. I’m just taking two weeks off (incl. 3 days for the conf. – so 11 days in all) and just hop on and off trains, meeting new people (and freaks) and enjoying myself the way i know how.

I’ve already checked prices, budgeted, taken tip from friends, reading through cheap student guides and tips – and i think i can do it all on a budget of ~ £500 – with hostels and dingy B&B’s. Phew – now i can’t wait for June. It is small, and short, and cheap – but parts of the dream are finally coming to fruition. I can’t really think of anything more that i can ask for.

and i’m lovin’ it. i arrived this morning and i think i’ve already pretty much seen all that there is to be seen in the historic center. beautiful is an understatement. i’ll have the pictures posted on slide.com at some point when i get back. though i don’t have a travel adapter and my camera batteries are fast running out.

i have booked a ‘Prague by boat’ tour with the conference organizers on Tuesday and i just can’t wait. i’ve only been here about 12 hours and already what an experience. now so tired i can hardly type now, so it’s goodnight. gotta go read a bit before my conference starts at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

it occured to me a few days ago that if i was to travel to 4 different countries a year, it’d still take me 48 years to go round the 192(3) countries in the world. and thats just for the politically correct soverign states! territories like northern ireland, puerto rico, palestine, taiwan, kashmir etc are not even in the equation. and i’m more interested in visiting them!

considering ineither have the money (no where close!!!) and time guarantee (who says i’m alive tomorrow) it’s pretty darn depressing.

Japan

- attend an elite sumo wrestling tournament
- go to a geisha palour and have them serve me tea
- wake up early and go to tokyo’s fish market (supposedly the largest in the world)
- re-learn origami
- experience haiku at its best

i have always been fascinated my the japanese culture.

i also so want to visit all cliched (mostly movie) places like Rio de Janeiro, Montmartre, Avignon, Havana, Casablanca etc.

i’m leaving for prague next week for a conference. i just can’t WAIT!