Have a plan so you can throw it out the window

Ok, so I already let the blog slip since my first post... I'll skip the part where I explain that life has been hectic, a lot has happened, yadda yadda yadda. All the excuses aside, I have been stuck home for about a week now with an ear/throat infection plus some serious coughing, courtesy of the crazy weather of Brasilia, so all those excuses are null and void. I've had time. LOTS of time. I'm looking forward to getting back to hectic soon.

In the meantime, here's a short update on the progress of my RTW (that's short for Round The World, BTW) trip planning. Yes, I'm still going. No, I'm not going in August, I've moved that up to New Years 2012/2013 for a million reasons that aren't really important. And ever since I wrote that first post back in September, I've been planning. I've bought guide books and note books and maps. I've researched websites of other crazy people that have done this before (surprisingly, there are quite a few out there!) Most of this planning has been going on in my head, mind you, but that still counts... Right?

So I guess this is the part where I start putting stuff down on (virtual) paper. Starting by the itinerary, which has changed quite a bit. Of all those countries I listed on my original post, I've managed to narrow it down to nineteen, which is much more manageable. I've decided to skip the whole of the Americas, since, well, they're right here. Plus, I'd really like to do a huge trip just for this continent in the future, something like starting up in Alaska and going all the way down to Ushuaia. But that's a whole other story.

So, without further ado, here's the new (tentative) itinerary:

Brazil - Australia - New Zealand - Japan - Vietnam - Cambodia - Thailand - India - Nepal - China - Mongolia - Russia - Ukraine - Turkey - Israel - Jordan - Egypt - Tanzania - South Africa - Morocco - Brazil

You may have noticed that I cut out most of Europe. It's not that I don't want to see the whole of Europe, I really do. But it's all so expensive! I figure if I start there, I'll probably spend half my budget in a month. So the idea is, if by the end of this itinerary I still have money left, then by all means, I'll head up to Europe and spend it all :-)

I also really wanted to do more of the Middle East, but I'll have to see how those folks are doing by the time I get around to that area of the world... Same goes for Africa. As I get closer to that part of the world, I'll check and see how things are looking.

So that's the itinerary. I've already started breaking down the country information, stuff like visas and vaccinations and festivals and weather and, wow, there's a lot to think about! Feel free to comment with info on countries I've listed, suggestions on places I've missed, or any other knowledge you wish to share...

Coming up next: Australia breakdown!!