Our Unplanned Route Around The World
// February 18th, 2010 // 13 Comments » // Travel, Trip Preparation
Where you headed…?
Many people have asked us the same questions over and over again… “Where are you going on your RTW Trip?” and “What route will you be taking”?
Well, the truth is that we don’t really have an actual planned route around the world. We’re not interested in planning our whole trip out from A to Z. We want to take it day by day. We like to call this type of traveling “itinerary-less traveling”. We might not have a plan that’s set in stone, but what we DO have is a list of eight must-see countries that we need to check off!
Egypt
The land of Ancient History. The kings, the tombs, the pyramids, the temples, the deserts, the culture, the environment and the atmosphere. All of the above were factored into our decision to visit Egypt. After contemplating back and forth about where to start our RTW trip, we decided to do a quick Kayak search for flights to Egypt and we found a great deal [BOS-CAI] for ($600/pp!) We knew that this deal wouldn’t last long so we jumped on it!
Greece
A country that I didn’t get to visit when I traveled Europe in 2008, and a country that Liz has always dreamt of visiting. The sun, the sea, the people, the food and did I mention the sun? You see, Liz is someone that I categorize as a “tanaholic”. You know, someone that is completely obsessed with the sun! She would have no problem spending her days soaking up the rays. Me? Not so much. As much as I love the sun, I love to get out and explore. Considering that Greece will be one of the most expensive places that we visit on our trip, we plan to only spend about two weeks in this expensive country. We will most likely spend a few days in Athens, and then take a ferry to one or two of the many beautiful Greek islands.
Thailand
Sigh… THAILAND. We have heard nothing but GREAT things about Thailand and we’re really looking forward to spending a lot of time here. Assuming it’s as beautiful as it’s portrayed, we will probably end up staying here until our visas expire! To be honest, we’re looking forward to Thailand the most for a million different reasons. The culture, the food, the adventures, the activities, the wildlife, the islands, the beaches, the diving and the outrageous bargains that can be found on accommodations, food, adventure activities and more! Thailand is known to be super beautiful, super friendly, and last but not least super CHEAP!
Laos
We’re still learning about this somewhat unknown country called Laos. We had never even thought about visiting Laos until we saw this incredible video called “The Long Way Laos” from our new travel blogger friends Aaron & Georgie from HappyTimeBlog. After watching them tear through Laos on a motorbike we were hooked! As an avid motorcycle enthusiast/rider myself, I was instantly jealous of their trip through the mountains of Laos. If and when we make it to Laos we’ll be sure to give our new friends a shout out for the recommendation.
Vietnam
Vietnam is another country that we hadn’t really thought about visiting. It wasn’t until after doing a little bit of research on places like Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang, HaLong Bay, Hue, and more until we decided Vietnam would be a place that we were interested in visiting. I’m also hoping that we’ll be able to rent a motorbike and explore the outskirts of this beautiful country.
Malaysia
From the Petronas Twin Towers of Kuala Lumpur, to the beaches of the Perhentian Islands. Malaysia is a destination that we’re pretty excited to travel through. We haven’t done too much research on Malaysia as of yet but we have heard that the assortment of cultures and foods is out of this world. At the moment we don’t plan on spending a whole lot of time in Malaysia but hey, you never know! After Malaysia we plan on traveling south by train to Singapore where we will fly to our next must see destination, Indonesia!
Indonesia
We’re really looking forward to visiting Indonesia. Mostly because we plan to veg out here for as long as our visas allow us to. We’re hoping to do accomplish ALL of the following things during our visit to Indonesia: attempt to learn how to surf, go snorkeling, go diving, hike Mt. Bromo, explore the islands on scooters, fall fast asleep in our bungalow hammocks, catch a few Balinese sunsets, and simply just R-E-L-A-X!
Australia
An expensive, yet must see country on our list. We’re thinking about renting a car and driving along the coast until we reach Sydney. We’ll see what happens! We hope to be able to dive the Great Barrier Reef, drive along Great Ocean Road, visit a national park or two, see the Sydney Opera House, photograph some wild Koala’s and Kangaroos, and maybe even reconnect with few Aussie friends that I met back when I was traveling through Europe!
Then what?
Well, we’re not sure. It will all come down to what our finances look like once we’re ready to leave Australia. If we’re still hungry for more and we decide we can afford to travel on then we’ll most likely head over to South America before heading home. Only time… (and money) will tell!
With just about 3.5 months until departure, we dream of the day that we’ll begin a new chapter of our lives and we look forward to see where in the world the wind will take us.
