The end of work is nigh!

Well, this weekend I move out of my flat and go to stay with my lovely friend Dawn. I'm currently surrounded by boxes and can't believe quite how much stuff I have. I've chucked out 8 bags full of rubbish, have a full bin bag of clothes to go to the charity shop, a full bag of recycling and I still seem to have far too much stuff. Fortunately my Dad has a very big van! Only have a week and a day left at work. Finally got to believe that I will be able to teach Shea and Janine (my replacements) what they need to know by next Friday which has left me feeling a little bit more relaxed and had my "end of contract negotiation" meeting earlier in the week and so it's all being finalised for my departure. Found out today though I have to pay £65 for my checkout inventory which is a complete ripoff and leaved me really quite relieved I saved up for this and the cleaning (approx £140) whilst I've been here.
Since my last proper post I've been to India to see Sarah and my, what a mad place that was. For the photos you can see my facebook album on http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8352&l=8a110&id=579325733

Manic Manic Manic!!!

Just wanted to say I've not forgotten you blog, it's just that now I'm in the final few weeks of work life is getting a bit crazy. Posts of India and all the plans to date will appear in a couple of weeks when I finally get time to myself!!

When you start to change your mind...

One thing about me is that I am pretty good at talking myself out of doing things that would actually be good for me. This is why some of you reading this may think that I'm being really organised and control freakish in booking my tickets etc etc so far in advance (which partly I am) but also it's because I knew if I booked stuff then I wouldn't be able to unbook it and so I'd have to go. So, with this in mind, I knew myself well as I'm having a "what am I doing?" phase which I can't pay any attention to really because it's all booked and now I can't talk myself out of it without losing vast sums of cash! When I was doing my PhD, a very nice lady called Alice who was a lecturer in the department told me that she thought you should only do a PhD for one of two reasons. The first is because you really enjoy the subject, the second is because you can go no further in life without doing one. I'm beginning to think travelling is the same. The websites say you shouldn't do it unless you really want to. But in actual fact I think the second reason is a good one too. You should only do it if you can go no further in life as you are. And I think that's my reason for this trip.

The needles are out!!

Firstly, thanks for your comment Mad Dog! Exciting to get comments from people reading my blog!
Well, had my first injection today. Rabies. Went to 1st Contact for it as couldn't get it from my Drs. Was planning to get the Japanese B Encephalitis from 1st Contact as well but the nice lady told me that I didn't really need it for where I was going and so given that it would cost over £100 figured I'd give it a miss! So far feeling fine after the rabies jab so hopefully they'll all be as good!
I did book the harbour bridge climb and the 3 day liveaboard as I put in my last post and I've also booked my Africa tour as well! All coming together now which is exciting. Saved 10% on Africa as well by booking more than 6 months in advance. Sunita is going to check out the flight for me in Canada for between Vancouver and San Francisco. What's the nightmare with that one is the taxes. Basic flight about £46. Total cost with taxes £81.60!! Madness! Hopefully there'll be some budget airline out there I don't know about which means she'll be able to get it cheaper for me.
Have my flight booked for going out to see Sarah in India as well. Go there from 8th-16th May and so have needed to get those injections sorted out for that as well. I am so going to fill my passport up this year!

Flights are booked!!

I am soooooo excited! Yesterday I went to Trailfinders and booked my flights! Managed to book every one bar the Vancouver to San Francisco leg on the One World Explorer ticket. Couldn't do that flight because although it's an American Airlines flight it's actually operated by Alaskan Airlines and as they're not part of the alliance I couldn't book it. Can always sort it out when I get to the US so I'm not too worried. Came to £2317.10 in the end which wasn't bad as I have about 17 flights in total on there. Had a really helpful man at Trailfinders called Dan who I'm going to call tomorrow as well to book a 3 day liveaboard trip to Lizard bay and Cod Hole for when I'm in Cairns and also I'm going to book my Sydney Harbour Bridge climb through him as well. Only £3 more expensive than booking it myself so it's just as easy to book the whole thing in one go. Will also book the Africa tour tomorrow. Planning to go into Acacia tomorrow to go book it in person as it's only a 5 minute walk from work. It's all coming together now. When that's booked have no more to book! Am also planning to pop into the Drs tomorrow to start making appointments for my injections. Am going to need some of them for India anyway and if I'm going there in May need to get them sorted out soon anyway! Trailfinders have recommended I get Diphtheria - Tetanus - Polio, Typhoid, Hepatitis A, Meningitis, Rabies, Hepatitis B, TB, Japanese Encephalitis, Yellow Fever and of course, anti-malarials. Fortunately have had Hep B with work and was BCG vaccinated as a kid although working in the field of TB at the moment I know it's fairly pointless me being vaccinated anyway! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!

4 days 'til booking!

Am hugely excited this week as I'm going to book my flights on Saturday. Finalised my plan and did decide not to do Lima (just found out a 4th person from work who went out there had tummy troubles so just don't want to have to deal with that at the start of my trip!) and so it's going to be Philadephia, New York, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Vancouver, San Francisco, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and then back home again. Have the Africa tour on hold at the moment with Acacia Africa as I looked on the Intrepid site who you can book with as well and they only had 2 places left and got a bit worried but it turns out there are a few places left. So anyway, the lovely woman at Acacia sais they'd put one place on hold for me til I can book next week. Been in touch with Sarah in India a bit as well and hearing about all that she's getting up to is making me really keen to go exploring. Probably going out to see her at the beginning of May so will get to try out a few travelling bits and bobs as well so will be a really useful trip. Can't wait. Plus she's only been gone a few days but it feels like a long time already. Yet more experiments failing at the moment so hard not to be too excited about not having to do them for much longer!!

Today's post

REALLY looking forward to my trip today! My best friend Sarah went off to India last night which was very sad, and my close friend Sunita goes to Vancouver on Monday so I want it to be my turn to escape now! I only have another 14 weeks at work which really isn't very much time at all.
I'm getting more and more bits and bobs together for my trip. Bought my day pack and money belt at the weekend. Found an amazing camping shop near my parent's house which stocks just about everything you could ever need! I'm going to book my flights a week on Saturday and then I'm planning to go to Acacia to book the Africa part of my tour after that. Then it's a case of starting to get visas and injections. Pin cushion time! Hopefully I'll be as good as Sarah was and not feel any effects. Well, you can live in hope!
Have been thinking of adding South America to the beginning of my trip but I'm not sure. I know someone who is living in Lima at the moment and it would really good to go and see him but it means adding another continent to my flight which will up the cost somewhat but then it's going to be so much cheaper to live in South America for a week than North America so it could just be swings and roundabouts, but it is just for a week and so not sure if it's worth it. Also, my boss has just been to Peru and ended up with a dodgy stomach (as did another friend of mine when she went) and I'm not sure I want to start my trip getting ill! although obviously I do realise that I might not get ill! Not forgetting it will be winter there in August.

New possibilities for Africa

Having decided that I can't actually do the trip through Zimbabwe I started looking for other possibilities and found a tour that sounds amazing with Intrepid Travel. It's a 41 day tour that starts in Cape Town (which is better for me because it means I can miss out Jo'Burg which I wasn't that keen on going to and also it doesn't start until the 15th December so it gives me extra days to play around with making Australia and New Zealand less of a rush. However, being longer it also means that it costs more but having reworked out my finances last night it's looking just about possible. Might need to make some more money on the side though so I'm currently looking into easy ways to make money. Thinking of doing online paid surveys. May only pay a few pounds a time but it's easy and every penny counts at the moment! Might try selling some stuff through Amazon as well as I have lots of random books at home which I don't really need and could sell. Other than that it's my body!

ya-de ya-de ya-de

My friend's boyfriend went off on his travels for the year yesterday and it seems that it was a while away before he was due to go and yet it's come round so quickly. I'm hoping that my trip is the same. Only 21 weeks and 2 days of work left so it's really not that long. I bought my sleeping bag a couple of weeks ago. Bought a Vango Ultralite 700. Didn't end up being as small as advertised but that may be because I'm not the Incredible Hulk so can't compress it as much as it can be compressed! It's still fairly little though and I'm very pleased with it. Also bought a camera battery from ebay which was a bargain and I'm currently bidding on a memory card! Ebay is quite addictive so I'm having to exert a bit of self-control!
Was reading about San Francisco last night and all sounded very exciting. Think I might miss out LA as I've been there before and I need a few days for Vancouver and then I can spread out SF a bit. Seeing as I've wanted to go there for years might as well make the most of it.
Checked out the Merrell Frond sandals at the weekend but didn't find them that comfortable so will have to find something else. I am not having Epidemics (otherwise known as Tevas but we call them epidemics because when they first came out everyone had them so it was like an epidemic!) or anything like them because I think they are not very attractive and the thought I might have to did actually put me off going away for a while! Have to wait for the sales to finish and all the summer stuff to come out.

Happy New Year!!

Well it's now 2007 - the year of the trip! Had some lovely things for it as Christmas presents. Got a Life Venture towel, a hair turban, a first aid kit, Swiss Army Knife and then went and bought a toiletry roll from Jacksons. Was hoping they'd have a sale on - they didn't - but it was still reasonable. My friends Rachel and Jim (who bought me a great travel journal for Christmas) have given me complimentary tickets to the Travel Show at Earls Court in February so will be good to check out some travel possibilities and Kumuka will be there so can speak to them about the changes to the Africa trip. It's gonna be a good year!

The countdown continues...

Had my last ever PRDP (Personal Review and Development Plan) at work this week and long term goals were put as "traveling round the world and thereafter..." which I'm fairly happy with! I now have less than 6 months to go until I leave here. 25 weeks and 1 day to be precise! Unlikely to have another posting this year so it looks like my next one will be in the year that I actually go traveling round the world! How exciting is that! Also, by then it will have been Christmas and so I'll have (hopefully!) had lots of bits and bobs for when I go away! Tell you all about it in the New Year.
Unfortunately it's looking like I might not be going to India when I'd planned as Sarah's plans have fallen through. Still looks like she might be able to go to India but not working with the charity she had originally planned to so hopefully I'll still get a trip there but maybe later in the year.
One of my other friends has just had her visa application to Canada accepted so she'll be moving there in March and so might see if there's any chance I can include that in the trip as well. Will let you know how I get on!
Hope you all have a great Christmas and I'll be back in the New Year!!

Vaccinations

Been looking at vaccinations today. When you realise how many you need it's quite scary really and makes me very thankful that I live somewhere where these kinds of problems are not something I have to face everyday. I can get some of them done free at the Drs and working in research I have my hep B already. I'm going to be going to India in March as my best friend is moving there for 6 months to work for the Wildlife Trust of India on their anti-poaching campaign so I'll need a few for there anyway so I'll be all up to date for my trip anyway. I got my rucksack the other week which was very exciting. Went for a Berghaus C7 60+10 and got a bargain at Cotswold Outdoor where it was reduced to £60 and the people were extremely helpful so I'd highly recommend them. Also got a Regatta jacket with a zip out fleece from Jackson's of Old Arley (near where my parents live) so I'm definitely getting there with the kit! Want to buy my sleeping bag now!!

Travel in New Zealand

Have been wondering what would be the best way for me to travel round New Zealand and had been thinking for a while I might do Kiwi Experience, but having thought about it I think that it's probably not for me - feel too old to do something like that now. Also, want to have a bit more control over the trip and was chatting to someone who did it and they said that if the tour is full and you've stopped off somewhere most people don't stop at then you can have a bit of trouble getting back on a bus. So I think the best thing for me to do is to get a flexi-pass. This allows you to buy travel hours on the intercity buses and I worked out last night that to do the places I want to go to I'll need about 75 hours of travel which would cost about £260 whereas the kiwi experience trip would be closer to £450. Means I get to do more whilst I'm there as well as I'll have more money to spend on activities.
Am down to the 20s now for weeks left at work! OK I know it's still 29 weeks and 5 days but it's still in the 20s! Hurrah!!

Good news for Africa!

The company who I'm planning to do the Africa tour with (www.kumuka.com) has had on their website that the trip that I want to do is changing in 2007 but they don't seem to be putting forward any new details so I contacted them and turns out that instead of doing Zambia, the tour will be going to Serengeti which will be fab. That was one place I was disappointed to not be going and now it looks like I'll be able to! How exciting! Will depend on cost of course as the trip is now going to be increasing to 35 days. However, they have a 35 day tour on their website that does what looks like might be the new trip in reverse and the basic cost is only about £80 more expensive and about another $100 local payment which is fine. Delays getting back and having to find a job as well!!

Wishing my life away...

Couldn't believe it when I saw my last post was over a month ago! What a relief! Must mean time is going fairly quickly so with only 32 weeks and 1 day left (not that I'm counting!) til I leave work must say it's quite nice knowing that it might not be such a long haul as it sometimes feels. I've been replaced at work already so nice to know I'm not at all indispensible! Only wish now I didn't have to work out my contract to get the money together to do this trip. I keep buying my lottery tickets but I'm not winning, think it must be too far down on my to-do list to make it happen. Maybe the 75 million euromillions jackpot has my name on it... Or maybe not! The way it's all going I wish I could stay away for longer but without a major cash injection it's not going to be possible. There are so many more better places to be than in this laboratory.

Have been doing a little time planning and I've decided that instead of starting in New York I'm going to fly into Philadelphia instead. Gives me chance to see another city and also I've been to New York before and though would be nice to spend some time there I think I'd rather see more places and spend slightly less time in NY. There are only really a couple of places I really want to go to in NY such as Greenwich Village that I didn't see the last time I was there and a few sights such as Grand Central Terminal and I think I'll be able to fit all of that into a slightly shorter space of time. Also, I've been recommended to book into a hotel or bed and breakfast for the first couple of nights to get over the jetlag properly to be able to really enjoy the trip from the start and they're far more affordable in Philadelphia than in New York. Have found some fairly reasonable places on the Philadelphia tourist board website and as I've recently acquired a self-inflating mattress from a friend which I was thinking I'd need to buy I can put the money towards the hotel instead. Feeling very excited about it all at the moment although worked out today that I've still got 38 weeks before I finish work. Let's hope that goes quickly - not that I'm wishing my life away mind but I just want to get on with the next stage of my life!!

So, having made the decision to go traveling this is the itinerary that I'm currently working on. The plan is to fly to New York then travel up to Boston maybe via Martha's Vineyard. I'll then head over to Chicago to take in the windy city before going up to Minneapolis (my old stomping ground) for a few days to catch up with friends there (thanks Sue for the offer of a bed!), hopefully coinciding with the Minnesota State Fair where I'll definitely have to have some cheese curds - the state dish! From there it's over to San Francisco before heading down to LA then over to New Zealand. Am hoping to cover most of both of the Islands probably traveling with Kiwi Experience. Then it's over to Australia where I think a lot of my time will be spent on a bus! Planning to take in the usual sights, Uluru, Great Barrier Reef (HAVE to dive it!) Sydney Opera House etc. etc. From Australia I'm going to Singapore (looking forward to that Singapore Sling in Raffles!) then on to Hong Kong, Tokyo and finally over to Africa for the last leg of the tour which will see me travel through SA, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and on up to Kenya where I'll spend the last few days relaxing before heading back to the UK and job hunting!