Research is key to any sucessful trip!

Going straight from 'boring' and 'safe' to 'adventurous' and 'excitement' is not an easy transition. Therefore I decided to perform this transition slowly. I've decided to go travelling (great!) but whats next? Well firstly I had to decide where I wanted to go, what are the top countries I just have to visit; for me these were...

Canada,

Japan,

New Zealand,

China,

Vietnam,

In all reality it wasn't a difficult decision as these countries have always been places I've wanted to travel to, however now was the tricky part; how was I going to link these five countries into a 'round the world tour'?

For this, a lot of 'umming' and 'arrring' took place; I also had to schedule in coming home for my sisters wedding around August / September (I DECIDED TO GO TRAVELLING FIRST YOU KNOW!) until eventually the below route was decided as a guide:

(click on the map to enlarge)

UK to east coast of Canada

Travel to the west coast of Canada - (6 weeks),

Travel north to Alaska and spend 2 weeks on the 'Alaskan Wonder tour' - (3 weeks),

From Alaska travel south to Vancouver to fly home - (2 weeks).

Sisters wedding and Spa F1

Fly to Los Angeles for a stop over - (3 days),

Fiji - (3 weeks),

Fly to New Zealand - (5 weeks),

Fly to Sydney for a stop over- (3 days),

Fly to Japan - (2 weeks) - it's expensive you know,

Fly to Singapore - (1 week).

Travel North through Malaysia - (3 weeks),

Head north-east through Thailand - (3 weeks),

Head south through Laos - (4 weeks),
Head south-east through Cambodia, spending 3 weeks (volunteering) helping Cambodian children, in children's homes, to learn English, play games and learn basic life skills in Phnom Penh - (6 weeks),

Head north through Vietnam - (4 weeks touring),

Head north through China eventually arriving in Beijing for my flight home - (5 weeks),

As you can see I've given myself a rough estimate of time for each country but that's it. Very little planning will be done looking at where I want to go in each country as I want to keep my options (and mind) open to things I wouldn't normally opt for, but lets just make it clear, I draw the line at bugee jumping.

So what next?

Well I think a couple of guide books would be the next best thing to purchase:

Now when I said a couple I actually meant 8 ... but that's okay I've got plenty of time to read them. And that's where I am at the moment. To date I have read the South East Asia one, The Backpacker's Bible (very good, well worth buying) and I've just started the China guide book (blimey ... better get reading!).

As you can see I went for the Rough Guide books instead of the more popular Lonely Planet ones. Personally I've found the Rough Guides allot more easier to understand and to get on with (plus the sense of humour in the books is on my level).

Hopefully I'll have more updates on my preparation for my world travel soon, but first I need to plan my trip around Europe in September.

Cheers