And that's that! I'm pretty much packed, I've crossed the final thing off my to-do list, and I'm actually really excited to get on a plane tomorrow and arrive in Rio. The great unknown! (To me...)
It's feeling more like a holiday now than a huge humbling trip. It helps that the weather forecast for Friday in Rio is 31C and sunny. Can't complain! Well, I'm British. I'm sure I'll find something.
The last few weeks have been a manic blur of sorting things out, buying a ridiculous amount of stuff and seeing people for various goodbyes. And it's all culminating in tomorrow morning, when my family and I get up at 5am and make our way to Heathrow for my flight. I've got to have an entourage when I leave the country. Why break the habit of a lifetime?
Having done a practice pack a few days, I knew that everything would go into my rucksack, so I wasn't worried about that. But it was still a relief to see it all go in there. And it only weighs 13kg, which I'm quite pleased with. (I don't find it easy to pack light, so I'm happy with that. I still might lose some disposable things along the way, but from looking at advice online I think I've got the right stuff.
So now all that remains is to have a nice final evening - I'm about to have a bath, and then we're having pie and mash for dinner. Oh yes! That'll keep me going on the British food-front for a few weeks.
My next post will be from Rio, most likely tapped out on my iPod over wifi, so I guess let's see what happens between then and now.
Wish me luck, and I'll see you on the other side!
Showing posts with label Birmingham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birmingham. Show all posts
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
My Trip
I thought I'd just give a brief overview of where I'm planning to go on this trip, although I'm prepared for my plans to completely change at times. This will be a lesson in flexibility! (A lesson I think I need to learn...)
I booked my ticket with STA Travel and it cost £2200, so considering the amount of flights it includes, and the distance I'll travel, I absolutely could not fault the deal. There are some mileage and destination restrictions, but luckily everywhere I wanted to go fitted in nicely with those.
So the plan!
On 20th February I fly London to Rio, and I'm there for the spectacular Carnival period. I've got tickets booked with a friend (who happens to be travelling in Brazil at the same time as me) to go to the Sambadrome and watch the samba parade there, which just looks fantastic. (I'm a big fan of Latin dancing, so that was a big draw of the Rio Carnival for me).
I'm then planning to make my way down the south coast of Brazil and end up at Iguassu Falls on the border of Argentina, and then go to Buenos Aires. From there I'll fly to Peru and work my way down the coast to fly out of Santiago, Chile. I'm hoping to arrange some volunteering for when I'm in Peru (yes, I'm actually volunteering in Peru...) but that's still high up on my to-do list!
Then I've booked a Kiwi Experience bus tour of New Zealand to take in both islands and see the sights. And possibly even do a skydive! It will be winter there, so I'm preparing to wrap up warm. Might be a bit of a change after South America...
Then I've got a Working Holiday visa for Australia, and hope to be there for a few months while I work and build my funds back up. And conveniently wait for the weather to warm up.
I fly out of Cairns and have a week in Hong Kong before heading into Bangkok and traversing South East Asia in a loop, and then I come back to the UK from Bangkok. At the moment I'm expecting to be back in January or February next year (my flight ticket is valid for 12 months from the date of departure) but obviously if my money runs out I'll be back sooner! Flexibility, Miles, flexibility...
My ticket is flexible, in that I can change the dates (and even destinations) for a fee. I bought STA Travel's Multi-flex Pass, which allows for three changes without an admin fee charged by STA Travel. However, if the price of the ticket I want to change it to is more expensive than what I paid, I have to pay the difference.
And that's the flow of my trip! As you can imagine, I am incredibly excited. And while part of me just wants to leave right now and start exploring the world, another part of me is still very attached to the UK and home. I know I'll be fine once I'm out there (I've lived in Japan twice, for which I kept a different blog - Memoirs of a Gaijin) but there's a lot to get done before it's a reality.
Wish me luck!
I booked my ticket with STA Travel and it cost £2200, so considering the amount of flights it includes, and the distance I'll travel, I absolutely could not fault the deal. There are some mileage and destination restrictions, but luckily everywhere I wanted to go fitted in nicely with those.
So the plan!
On 20th February I fly London to Rio, and I'm there for the spectacular Carnival period. I've got tickets booked with a friend (who happens to be travelling in Brazil at the same time as me) to go to the Sambadrome and watch the samba parade there, which just looks fantastic. (I'm a big fan of Latin dancing, so that was a big draw of the Rio Carnival for me).
I'm then planning to make my way down the south coast of Brazil and end up at Iguassu Falls on the border of Argentina, and then go to Buenos Aires. From there I'll fly to Peru and work my way down the coast to fly out of Santiago, Chile. I'm hoping to arrange some volunteering for when I'm in Peru (yes, I'm actually volunteering in Peru...) but that's still high up on my to-do list!
Then I've booked a Kiwi Experience bus tour of New Zealand to take in both islands and see the sights. And possibly even do a skydive! It will be winter there, so I'm preparing to wrap up warm. Might be a bit of a change after South America...
Then I've got a Working Holiday visa for Australia, and hope to be there for a few months while I work and build my funds back up. And conveniently wait for the weather to warm up.
I fly out of Cairns and have a week in Hong Kong before heading into Bangkok and traversing South East Asia in a loop, and then I come back to the UK from Bangkok. At the moment I'm expecting to be back in January or February next year (my flight ticket is valid for 12 months from the date of departure) but obviously if my money runs out I'll be back sooner! Flexibility, Miles, flexibility...
My ticket is flexible, in that I can change the dates (and even destinations) for a fee. I bought STA Travel's Multi-flex Pass, which allows for three changes without an admin fee charged by STA Travel. However, if the price of the ticket I want to change it to is more expensive than what I paid, I have to pay the difference.
And that's the flow of my trip! As you can imagine, I am incredibly excited. And while part of me just wants to leave right now and start exploring the world, another part of me is still very attached to the UK and home. I know I'll be fine once I'm out there (I've lived in Japan twice, for which I kept a different blog - Memoirs of a Gaijin) but there's a lot to get done before it's a reality.
Wish me luck!
Let's Get Cracking
Well first off - hello! If you're reading this then I'm guessing you've got an interest in travelling, or like reading about travel in general. So hopefully this account of what I get up to over the next year will inspire you to do something similar, or just provide you with some entertainment!
It's two weeks to go until my trip of a lifetime starts. And for me, it really is the trip of a lifetime. When I got down to seriously planning this epic adventure last year, I thought back to all the places I'd wanted to see since I was a child (Machu Picchu, Iguassu Falls, Ayers Rock, Sydney Harbour, Hong Kong, Angkor Wat... The list goes on!) And I basically connected the dots, took my list to STA Travel, and created a flight itinerary. And boom! Two weeks from tomorrow I leave London and fly into Rio for Carnival.
I've done a lot of planning over the last few months, but there's still a pile of stuff to sort before I'm actually ready to go. But my to-do list is gradually getting smaller and smaller. And the smaller it gets, the more excited I allow myself to get.
During the course of this blog, I hope I'll be able to provide you with some information about how to do what I'm doing, create an accurate account of things that I get up to across the globe, and give you a few chuckles when things don't quite go as planned. And of course, I'll post photos galore of the places I see. (Not gonna lie, I'm a bit of a photo fiend).
I hope you enjoy taking this journey with me!
- Miles
It's two weeks to go until my trip of a lifetime starts. And for me, it really is the trip of a lifetime. When I got down to seriously planning this epic adventure last year, I thought back to all the places I'd wanted to see since I was a child (Machu Picchu, Iguassu Falls, Ayers Rock, Sydney Harbour, Hong Kong, Angkor Wat... The list goes on!) And I basically connected the dots, took my list to STA Travel, and created a flight itinerary. And boom! Two weeks from tomorrow I leave London and fly into Rio for Carnival.
I've done a lot of planning over the last few months, but there's still a pile of stuff to sort before I'm actually ready to go. But my to-do list is gradually getting smaller and smaller. And the smaller it gets, the more excited I allow myself to get.
During the course of this blog, I hope I'll be able to provide you with some information about how to do what I'm doing, create an accurate account of things that I get up to across the globe, and give you a few chuckles when things don't quite go as planned. And of course, I'll post photos galore of the places I see. (Not gonna lie, I'm a bit of a photo fiend).
I hope you enjoy taking this journey with me!
- Miles
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