I've not even left on my adventure yet, and I've already got flights booked to take me home...way too organised and it's slightly depressing to know exactly when I'll be back before I've even left..especially as I'm supposed to be taking a break from my normal super hyper planning mode! Re-visited Trailfinders today...weird experience.
Last week I was quoted just shy of €1400 for me to fly Perth - Melbourne, Brisbane - Auckland and Christchurch - Dublin (had to change the plan up a bit based on the revelations about trains appearing to be booked & the restriction about validity period of driving licence restricting when I'd be able to do some camper driving). I figured all's I needed to book was the Brisbane - New Zealand (now Christchurch) and New Zealand (now Auckland) - Dublin flights so I matched up with what Conor was booked on. The quote for him last week for his whole round trip was €1213 and I was told it was only valid until Feb 28th so we wanted to move on it.
You can imagine my surprise when we got in there today all ready to book those flights for me to be told that my flight would be a minimum of €4500 while Conor's has dropped to €1169!!!! The guy said I'd be better off calling a travel agent in New Zealand and tell them the exact flights I wanted to get on as it'd work out cheaper. So Conor's all sorted with little or no effort and I'm back online searching like a crazy lady for a reasonable quote as owing to the time difference I wasn't really going to get a travel agent too easily in time for Conor to finalise his booking. So I spent an age searching for a bargain...can you believe that I found the flights Conor's on from Brisbane - Christchurch and Auckland - London (need to sort out London to Dublin separately) for less than €700!!! That's such a saving on what Trailfinders were saying they'd have to charge...WTF??
I'm still in shock over the price difference..and slightly peeved that I won't be getting air miles for the flying I'll be doing. Had to pay more to get them on the flights and as we're now flying with Singapore Airlines (rather than Quantas/British Airways where I'd get the miles automatically) I thought why bother spend the extra. The guy sold us on SA because he started on about the A380 (in my naivety I had no idea what the big deal was about but Conor seemed excited) and the reputation of SA (again..I've never heard good, bad or indifferent I just wanted flights!). Somehow we ended up leaving the building with an itinerary in hand for Conor and with nothing in place for me..just the knowledge that I needed to get on the same flights within the next 24 hours to make sure we travel home together. Managed it but it seems that I don't get to go on the A380...it's one of the planes Conor gets on his way over!! ARGHH!!
Still..at least that latest drama is over..I've got a bus to get me to Oz and I've got flights to get me home :)
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Hyper-Planning Mode
I'm in planning overdrive...my brain's melting from entering dates into pretty much every travel site there is out there. Flights, trains, ferries, camper hire...so many modes of transport to try link up!
Finally popped into Trailfinders to suss out the price of Conor's flights, and my flight home. How depressing is it that he's gonna do twice the distance I'm doing for less money! Looks like we'll get a pretty sweet deal if we book before February 28th, so hoping to finalise flight dates this week and book them next weekend. From there we can start nailing down the rest of the transport. I'm working on camper van hire right now..still hoping for the 30% discount I was looking at for the hire in Australia. If we can get the discount that's another booking to be confirmed before the end of the month. Everything will be falling into place nicely ;)
Plan at the moment looks a little something like this:
Sail & Rail (Dublin - Holyhead - London)
Ozbus (London - Sydney)
Indian Pacific Railway (Sydney - Adelaide - Perth)
Some kind of touring (Perth - Ningaloo Reef - Perth)
Fly Perth - Melbourne
Ferry Melbourne - Tasmania (3 day tour then back to Melbourne)
Meet Conor in Melbourne
Camper van from Melbourne - Brisbane (via Great Ocean Road, Canberra, Sydney and if time up to Frazer Island and back)
Fly Brisbane - Auckland
Camper van from Auckland - Christchurch (looping both islands)
Fly home Christchurch - Dublin
It really does look like it's going to be the trip of a lifetime, and I'm incredibly excited to get it started. It's still a way away, but with everything falling into place bit by bit it's hard to contain the thrill sometimes.
First of my vaccination appointments this week :( Not a needle fan...but it's for the greater good! Not sure what the GP has on the table for me..she reckons three visits will get everything done for me, and thankfully I don't need some of what I thought I might so I'm down 7 shots on what I was preparing for...nice for me and nicer for my wallet!
Finally popped into Trailfinders to suss out the price of Conor's flights, and my flight home. How depressing is it that he's gonna do twice the distance I'm doing for less money! Looks like we'll get a pretty sweet deal if we book before February 28th, so hoping to finalise flight dates this week and book them next weekend. From there we can start nailing down the rest of the transport. I'm working on camper van hire right now..still hoping for the 30% discount I was looking at for the hire in Australia. If we can get the discount that's another booking to be confirmed before the end of the month. Everything will be falling into place nicely ;)
Plan at the moment looks a little something like this:
Sail & Rail (Dublin - Holyhead - London)
Ozbus (London - Sydney)
Indian Pacific Railway (Sydney - Adelaide - Perth)
Some kind of touring (Perth - Ningaloo Reef - Perth)
Fly Perth - Melbourne
Ferry Melbourne - Tasmania (3 day tour then back to Melbourne)
Meet Conor in Melbourne
Camper van from Melbourne - Brisbane (via Great Ocean Road, Canberra, Sydney and if time up to Frazer Island and back)
Fly Brisbane - Auckland
Camper van from Auckland - Christchurch (looping both islands)
Fly home Christchurch - Dublin
It really does look like it's going to be the trip of a lifetime, and I'm incredibly excited to get it started. It's still a way away, but with everything falling into place bit by bit it's hard to contain the thrill sometimes.
First of my vaccination appointments this week :( Not a needle fan...but it's for the greater good! Not sure what the GP has on the table for me..she reckons three visits will get everything done for me, and thankfully I don't need some of what I thought I might so I'm down 7 shots on what I was preparing for...nice for me and nicer for my wallet!
Friday, February 6, 2009
It's been a while
My doesn't time fly when you're waiting for a big trip to come around ;)
Today marks 62 work days left *bounce*. I'm sure I'll miss it somewhat when I'm on the road, but I really can't wait to finish up and not have to think about oncall and whether I'm free to work in 17 weeks time. I'm sure I'll struggle with the lack of regime a little bit, but I'm excited about the challenge. I'm either super organised, or super lazy - 100% commitment in either direction, but never been too good with down the middle. I'm hoping to work on that!
My camera has arrived and is very swish and beautiful. I severely struggled with it the first day I tried to use it and ended up with every photo being a blurry mess. I couldn't work out how to set a shoot mode on it (really should have read the manual first) but I've eventually got there and managed to get some non-blurry, very clear images, so I'm a happy camper. Next item on the wish list is a netbook to bring along with me. (Conor's just bought one and I'm tempted to 'borrow' it). As much as I'd love to be able to leave my inner (and sometimes outer) nerd behind, I'm not sure I could function without a computer for the three months of the bus trip. I reckon it'll be handy for entertaining me on the days we're driving for 18 hours, for sorting out my good photos from my crappy ones, keeping a journal (though I'm very tempted to keep a physical one that gets stained with coffee and whatever else along the way) and for getting emails and blog posts ready on the road for mail at the next stop along the way.
I've still not done anything about a new passport - really need to get onto that. Because I'm being so laid back about sorting that I've not done anything about Visas either. Though on the Visa front I don't know what I can do until OzBus provide some kind of itinerary for the trip. All well and good using the itinerary off their website and calculating days that way but I'm sure that's all very much subject to change and may not be valid any more. The one thing that I have done is started some research into vaccinations - now I'm scared!! For the list of countries we should be hitting there are a good few vaccinations recommended/suggested. I did a count of the number of shots we're taking about..and it's 18!! I'm not a happy camper..I hate needles..HATE HATE HATE them. But, I know I need to get them so I've called my GP to try set up a schedule to get them all done in enough time to spread them out and avoid having to get a massive cocktail all in one go. We'll see what she comes back with next week.
The facebook group that I set up for the trip has two new members. It's cool to see other people getting excited about the trip too. I'm looking forward to meeting all of these new people when we get to London..wonder how many of us will stay in touch after the trip.
Loonie has resurfaced at last...she's working herself to the bone to save for the trip. Wish I could say the same about myself!
Today marks 62 work days left *bounce*. I'm sure I'll miss it somewhat when I'm on the road, but I really can't wait to finish up and not have to think about oncall and whether I'm free to work in 17 weeks time. I'm sure I'll struggle with the lack of regime a little bit, but I'm excited about the challenge. I'm either super organised, or super lazy - 100% commitment in either direction, but never been too good with down the middle. I'm hoping to work on that!
My camera has arrived and is very swish and beautiful. I severely struggled with it the first day I tried to use it and ended up with every photo being a blurry mess. I couldn't work out how to set a shoot mode on it (really should have read the manual first) but I've eventually got there and managed to get some non-blurry, very clear images, so I'm a happy camper. Next item on the wish list is a netbook to bring along with me. (Conor's just bought one and I'm tempted to 'borrow' it). As much as I'd love to be able to leave my inner (and sometimes outer) nerd behind, I'm not sure I could function without a computer for the three months of the bus trip. I reckon it'll be handy for entertaining me on the days we're driving for 18 hours, for sorting out my good photos from my crappy ones, keeping a journal (though I'm very tempted to keep a physical one that gets stained with coffee and whatever else along the way) and for getting emails and blog posts ready on the road for mail at the next stop along the way.
I've still not done anything about a new passport - really need to get onto that. Because I'm being so laid back about sorting that I've not done anything about Visas either. Though on the Visa front I don't know what I can do until OzBus provide some kind of itinerary for the trip. All well and good using the itinerary off their website and calculating days that way but I'm sure that's all very much subject to change and may not be valid any more. The one thing that I have done is started some research into vaccinations - now I'm scared!! For the list of countries we should be hitting there are a good few vaccinations recommended/suggested. I did a count of the number of shots we're taking about..and it's 18!! I'm not a happy camper..I hate needles..HATE HATE HATE them. But, I know I need to get them so I've called my GP to try set up a schedule to get them all done in enough time to spread them out and avoid having to get a massive cocktail all in one go. We'll see what she comes back with next week.
The facebook group that I set up for the trip has two new members. It's cool to see other people getting excited about the trip too. I'm looking forward to meeting all of these new people when we get to London..wonder how many of us will stay in touch after the trip.
Loonie has resurfaced at last...she's working herself to the bone to save for the trip. Wish I could say the same about myself!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Small small world!
Latest trip update is a bit of a small world revelation...I had a call from my old flatmate yesterday to tell me he'd bumped into an older flatmate of his from college on the Luas. His news for him was that he's quiting his job..and you guessed it...taking the OzBus in May!!
How mental is that?!?
Camera hasn't arrived yet :(
Well technically it's arrived twice and I've not been here to get it (silly work). Despite having called DHL to redirect it to work, they attempted delivery again yesterday and then gave up. I was expecting to find it on my desk at some point today but instead found that the muppets hadn't completed the update on their system to get the package redirected! So *fingers crossed* I'll get it tomorrow. My goodies from Penrith Survival did arrive in one piece however, so I'm now the proud owner of a fine selection of needles and syringes (really, really don't want to have to think about using them or having to explain them in customs along the way). So basic first aid kit is acquired and will be beefed up a bit with a multitude of migraine and anti-nausea tablets for fear my motion sickness makes an unwelcome return somewhere after Europe!
Loonie appears to have gone underground...has anyone heard from her?
How mental is that?!?
Camera hasn't arrived yet :(
Well technically it's arrived twice and I've not been here to get it (silly work). Despite having called DHL to redirect it to work, they attempted delivery again yesterday and then gave up. I was expecting to find it on my desk at some point today but instead found that the muppets hadn't completed the update on their system to get the package redirected! So *fingers crossed* I'll get it tomorrow. My goodies from Penrith Survival did arrive in one piece however, so I'm now the proud owner of a fine selection of needles and syringes (really, really don't want to have to think about using them or having to explain them in customs along the way). So basic first aid kit is acquired and will be beefed up a bit with a multitude of migraine and anti-nausea tablets for fear my motion sickness makes an unwelcome return somewhere after Europe!
Loonie appears to have gone underground...has anyone heard from her?
Thursday, January 8, 2009
A week in the life..
So first week of 2009 drawing to a close and let's see where I'm at. Now got 82 work days left and I'm getting excited again. It's all excitement one minute, all forgotten the next! It's been quite a productive week really, though I've still not actually sit down to write up my list of things to do/buy/check out and I promised myself I'd have that done by now.
Even with the lack of a list, I'm making headway on the preparations..
a) Dentist appointment made for a checkup to make sure if I need anything done I've got time to get it done.
b) Travel insurance sorted in advance of the 31st Jan end date for the 10% premium discount..now all's I've got to remember is to stay away from the US and Canada for the six months and I'm sorted
c) New compact camera ordered and currently winging it's way to me. As much as I dearly want to bring my SLR, I don't want to have to carry it around, and I really don't want to have to be keeping a constant eye on it. So I've purchased a Canon IXUS 85 IS with spare battery, carry case and 4GB SD Card for a steal on a UK site..now awaiting delivery
d) Also awaiting delivery on a Solo Traveller First Aid kit complete with the needles they're saying to bring (I'm slightly concerned) and a few other bits and bobs from a Scottish outdoor site that had stuff at much cheaper prices than here in Dublin
e) Sleeping bag liner and pack towel purchased here at home for a reasonable price..and the towel amazes me, it's going to save SO much space!
I've also started to read the Insight Guide to Australia...WOW! I can't wait :)
The latest food for thought for me is how to get to London in advance of May 24th...I can fly, but it feels a bit like cheating..it's hardly overland now is it, even I can't justify that one. I'm toying with the idea of the bus to London, though I really want to avoid ferries as much as possible to avoid the sea-sickness. We'll have to wait and see how brave (or stupid) I am closer to booking time!
Now to check how Loonie is getting on with her preparations?!?
Even with the lack of a list, I'm making headway on the preparations..
a) Dentist appointment made for a checkup to make sure if I need anything done I've got time to get it done.
b) Travel insurance sorted in advance of the 31st Jan end date for the 10% premium discount..now all's I've got to remember is to stay away from the US and Canada for the six months and I'm sorted
c) New compact camera ordered and currently winging it's way to me. As much as I dearly want to bring my SLR, I don't want to have to carry it around, and I really don't want to have to be keeping a constant eye on it. So I've purchased a Canon IXUS 85 IS with spare battery, carry case and 4GB SD Card for a steal on a UK site..now awaiting delivery
d) Also awaiting delivery on a Solo Traveller First Aid kit complete with the needles they're saying to bring (I'm slightly concerned) and a few other bits and bobs from a Scottish outdoor site that had stuff at much cheaper prices than here in Dublin
e) Sleeping bag liner and pack towel purchased here at home for a reasonable price..and the towel amazes me, it's going to save SO much space!
I've also started to read the Insight Guide to Australia...WOW! I can't wait :)
The latest food for thought for me is how to get to London in advance of May 24th...I can fly, but it feels a bit like cheating..it's hardly overland now is it, even I can't justify that one. I'm toying with the idea of the bus to London, though I really want to avoid ferries as much as possible to avoid the sea-sickness. We'll have to wait and see how brave (or stupid) I am closer to booking time!
Now to check how Loonie is getting on with her preparations?!?
Thursday, January 1, 2009
It's 2009!
January 1st is finally here so at least our trip is now THIS year! I've just been practising for pitching the tent..and it's a splendid sight to behold..though it's crowding the living room and so that means I'm gonna have to take the blasted thing back down...that or sleep in there tonight (I don't think so!). I'm pleasantly surprised by how quick and easy it was..though I think perhaps they forgot to colour code the poles like the instructions say. Definite relief that I went for the three person size..we'll comfortably fit in there with our bags :)
Trip countdown is now down to 144 days..of that only 88 are work days for me!! How exciting?!?
Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year in 2009, and hoping all your dreams come true :)
xx
Trip countdown is now down to 144 days..of that only 88 are work days for me!! How exciting?!?
Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year in 2009, and hoping all your dreams come true :)
xx
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Just 5 more months
So Christmas is almost here..and the trip is now just 5 months and 1 day away from starting..that coupled with a day off yesterday, this morning off and only a few hours of work tomorrow morning, it's a pretty darn great week!
The tent arrived this morning after a bit of confusion with GLS who couldn't locate the building - it should have gotten here last week but the courier for some reason didn't try to call me and I only figured out what was happening when I thought to check the tracking info on their site. All's well that ends well though :) There I am snoozing on my morning off and the phone rings with a jolly voice telling me he'll be at the front door in 10 mins to deliver a package if I'm available to take it. Hell yea I say..tis Christmas after all and I love opening presents (though this is technically one I bought myself). Disappointingly, the guy was not very Santa-esque..he had a hat..but it was a brown baseball cap. Not a bit of red and white to be seen.
I've not tried to pitch it yet (if I start I'll get halfway through, bored and abandon it in the living room..not the best idea when I've gotta sort out the present piles into bags for delivery later. The tent seems pretty light which make me happy..not sure how much carrying I'll have to do with it along the way but I reckon once I hit Oz, I'll be posting it along with my Thermarest & any other awkwardly shaped items I don't necessarily need back home. The question will be whether they go surface mail or something quicker because if I get the career break extension I'm hoping for, then who knows how soon after I get back to the Emerald Isle I'll need them :) All will be revealed in September '09!
The planning is at a bit of a stand still because I was doing so much reading about other people's adventures I was getting a bit depressed about how far away mine is, and how quickly it'll pass by before I'm due back to same old same old. I know I've some travel book to unwrap at Christmas so I reckon I can restart the reading in the new year to see what other wonderful things are out there to be done but limit the amount of reading I do until I'm at the 3 month marker. I have to sort out a new passport and call the doctor about vaccinations etc, but these are January tasks :)
I've had some interesting chats with people about the trip of late. I've become one of those people who's started responding to the weird people in the bus/dart/taxi who strike up a conversation with me and when they ask if I've any holidays planned I beam and explain the adventure. Some think I'm mad, some are horribly jealous... One taxi man a few weeks back reckoned he'd book in on the OzBus too because there's no money in the taxi game anymore and he'd be better off sitting on a bus being driven around than driving people around Dublin and putting up with traffic. Another suggested that in order to experience Australia properly I need to go to work there, which isn't really on my plan. He reckons I won't get a rounded view of the place unless I do it and suggested either fruit picking or the traffic diversion jobs that he reckons are freely available. We'll see! The best suggestion to date was from two sisters I got talking to at a party in early December who suggested that instead of flying from Sydney to Perth I should take the train. It takes a few days but goes via Adelaide..perfect much? Apparently it's better to do it Sydney to Perth rather than the reverse..though I'm not sure I understand that logic as I assume the train goes on the same track in both directions?!? Anyways, I reckon it's something I'm definitely on for (or am at this point in time having not spent longer than an hour or so on a bus in the last 18 months). I took Amtrak from LA to NYC a few years back and it was brilliant..I didn't enjoy the lack of shower facilities too much, but I'm guessing after the lifestyle I'll become adjusted to on the overland to Oz journey I'll be less concerned about that this time around..or if money's not too tight I might see about a sleeper carriage :)
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, and the happiest of New Year's for 2009!
The tent arrived this morning after a bit of confusion with GLS who couldn't locate the building - it should have gotten here last week but the courier for some reason didn't try to call me and I only figured out what was happening when I thought to check the tracking info on their site. All's well that ends well though :) There I am snoozing on my morning off and the phone rings with a jolly voice telling me he'll be at the front door in 10 mins to deliver a package if I'm available to take it. Hell yea I say..tis Christmas after all and I love opening presents (though this is technically one I bought myself). Disappointingly, the guy was not very Santa-esque..he had a hat..but it was a brown baseball cap. Not a bit of red and white to be seen.I've not tried to pitch it yet (if I start I'll get halfway through, bored and abandon it in the living room..not the best idea when I've gotta sort out the present piles into bags for delivery later. The tent seems pretty light which make me happy..not sure how much carrying I'll have to do with it along the way but I reckon once I hit Oz, I'll be posting it along with my Thermarest & any other awkwardly shaped items I don't necessarily need back home. The question will be whether they go surface mail or something quicker because if I get the career break extension I'm hoping for, then who knows how soon after I get back to the Emerald Isle I'll need them :) All will be revealed in September '09!
The planning is at a bit of a stand still because I was doing so much reading about other people's adventures I was getting a bit depressed about how far away mine is, and how quickly it'll pass by before I'm due back to same old same old. I know I've some travel book to unwrap at Christmas so I reckon I can restart the reading in the new year to see what other wonderful things are out there to be done but limit the amount of reading I do until I'm at the 3 month marker. I have to sort out a new passport and call the doctor about vaccinations etc, but these are January tasks :)
I've had some interesting chats with people about the trip of late. I've become one of those people who's started responding to the weird people in the bus/dart/taxi who strike up a conversation with me and when they ask if I've any holidays planned I beam and explain the adventure. Some think I'm mad, some are horribly jealous... One taxi man a few weeks back reckoned he'd book in on the OzBus too because there's no money in the taxi game anymore and he'd be better off sitting on a bus being driven around than driving people around Dublin and putting up with traffic. Another suggested that in order to experience Australia properly I need to go to work there, which isn't really on my plan. He reckons I won't get a rounded view of the place unless I do it and suggested either fruit picking or the traffic diversion jobs that he reckons are freely available. We'll see! The best suggestion to date was from two sisters I got talking to at a party in early December who suggested that instead of flying from Sydney to Perth I should take the train. It takes a few days but goes via Adelaide..perfect much? Apparently it's better to do it Sydney to Perth rather than the reverse..though I'm not sure I understand that logic as I assume the train goes on the same track in both directions?!? Anyways, I reckon it's something I'm definitely on for (or am at this point in time having not spent longer than an hour or so on a bus in the last 18 months). I took Amtrak from LA to NYC a few years back and it was brilliant..I didn't enjoy the lack of shower facilities too much, but I'm guessing after the lifestyle I'll become adjusted to on the overland to Oz journey I'll be less concerned about that this time around..or if money's not too tight I might see about a sleeper carriage :)
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, and the happiest of New Year's for 2009!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Awaiting Delivery
Yay! I got an email earlier today to say my shiny new tent has been despatched for delivery and since it's a courier company rather than the regular post..who knows I might just have it before my bday and Crimbo. How exciting!?!
Latest trip update is that the information pack I'm longing for won't be produced until February!! Each OzBus journey is unique with the route being constantly upated to add cool stuff and remove not so cool stuff, along with making sure everywhere they take us is 'safe'. So there I was hoping to fill my christmas wish list with every guide book under the sun to make sure I know what there is to see along the way (and prehaps bore everyone to tears or make them very jealous with constant chatter about the millions of plans I'm bound to come up with between now and May). Looks like Little Miss Organised is going to become Little Miss Less Organised by force if necessary ;)
I have however got a guide book for New Zealand and I can't wait to get there. My god that place looks like heaven!! Really not sure how I'm going to see everything I want to see in the couple of week's I'll have to spend there.
Countdown was calculated yesterday as 160 to London departure date...time to try forget about the excitement again til we whittle it down to double digits!
Latest trip update is that the information pack I'm longing for won't be produced until February!! Each OzBus journey is unique with the route being constantly upated to add cool stuff and remove not so cool stuff, along with making sure everywhere they take us is 'safe'. So there I was hoping to fill my christmas wish list with every guide book under the sun to make sure I know what there is to see along the way (and prehaps bore everyone to tears or make them very jealous with constant chatter about the millions of plans I'm bound to come up with between now and May). Looks like Little Miss Organised is going to become Little Miss Less Organised by force if necessary ;)
I have however got a guide book for New Zealand and I can't wait to get there. My god that place looks like heaven!! Really not sure how I'm going to see everything I want to see in the couple of week's I'll have to spend there.
Countdown was calculated yesterday as 160 to London departure date...time to try forget about the excitement again til we whittle it down to double digits!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Countdown 6..5..4..3..2..1
Six months...SIX MONTHS...the countdown is on!!
I'm positively twitching with excitement and trying very hard to resist the temptation to buy a mountain of stuff, book a flight to London and pay off my OzBus balance...trying to get this relaxed attitude started off now so I don't drive Loonie loony with preparation talks. I was bold and started picking up some stuff for the camping side of things in the States in October - but only because it was so much cheaper than buying them here..so I've got my Thermarest self-inflating camping mattress inflated and stored under the bed, my maglite and head torch stored sans battery along with my mosquito net and Swiss Army knife (sorry for ruining your Crimbo pressie idea Lolly).
Word is out in work that I'm heading off...a relief to have that known so I can talk about the plans openly. There's been a steady increase in the number of "are you mad..you want to sit on a bus for 13 weeks..have you lost it?" questions that have been coming to me...but then that's to be expected, it's not really your typical holiday is it? One interesting question was as to whether the trip was for charity...hrmm....maybe I should consider a 'send Emma to Oz' charity ;)
Over the past couple of weeks I've been reading up on my Rough Guide to travelling around the world..they've got some interesting stuff in there and then some fairly out there ideas too. When I look at the mountain of laundry that builds up here in a week I can't help but wonder how I'm going to survive with a single rucksack and day pack's worth of stuff for 13 weeks. I have a tendency to over pack so I've been reading up on suggested packing lists...holy moly there are some people out there who can travel very, very, very lightly...like the one list that suggests a single t-shirt..and for the day that you're washing it you use your swimsuit as your t-shirt...ehhhhh no..no thanks! I've got some idea of what I'll need to bring along..but I reckon it means a bit of shopping before the trip to get some gear that's more suitable to quick wash/dry and anti wrinkle than my current clothing...something that excites and terrifies me. If you've done a backpack excursion with limited bag space and have a swear by packing list please share it!
With all the excitement there is of course a bit of nervousness creeping in...
I'm positively twitching with excitement and trying very hard to resist the temptation to buy a mountain of stuff, book a flight to London and pay off my OzBus balance...trying to get this relaxed attitude started off now so I don't drive Loonie loony with preparation talks. I was bold and started picking up some stuff for the camping side of things in the States in October - but only because it was so much cheaper than buying them here..so I've got my Thermarest self-inflating camping mattress inflated and stored under the bed, my maglite and head torch stored sans battery along with my mosquito net and Swiss Army knife (sorry for ruining your Crimbo pressie idea Lolly).
Word is out in work that I'm heading off...a relief to have that known so I can talk about the plans openly. There's been a steady increase in the number of "are you mad..you want to sit on a bus for 13 weeks..have you lost it?" questions that have been coming to me...but then that's to be expected, it's not really your typical holiday is it? One interesting question was as to whether the trip was for charity...hrmm....maybe I should consider a 'send Emma to Oz' charity ;)
Over the past couple of weeks I've been reading up on my Rough Guide to travelling around the world..they've got some interesting stuff in there and then some fairly out there ideas too. When I look at the mountain of laundry that builds up here in a week I can't help but wonder how I'm going to survive with a single rucksack and day pack's worth of stuff for 13 weeks. I have a tendency to over pack so I've been reading up on suggested packing lists...holy moly there are some people out there who can travel very, very, very lightly...like the one list that suggests a single t-shirt..and for the day that you're washing it you use your swimsuit as your t-shirt...ehhhhh no..no thanks! I've got some idea of what I'll need to bring along..but I reckon it means a bit of shopping before the trip to get some gear that's more suitable to quick wash/dry and anti wrinkle than my current clothing...something that excites and terrifies me. If you've done a backpack excursion with limited bag space and have a swear by packing list please share it!
With all the excitement there is of course a bit of nervousness creeping in...
- What am I thinking signing up to spend 13 weeks on a bus? (I hate buses - I spent many years as a kid getting travel sick - how do I plan on making it through 13 weeks with occasional hangovers aboard a bus in countries without proper roads)
- How am I going to deal with being away from home and the friends and family who keep my days bright and make me smile? (Current theory is to put an album of photos onto my iPod to bring with me rather than having to carry more weight in the form of a paper album so I can look at ye and have a smile whenever I feel a bit low)
- What will I do without daily internet access...if I can't see Facebook how will I know what people are up to? (This will be a struggle because I'm always online...but I need to get a break from computers
I see computers..they're everywhere ) - How many travel vaccinations am I going to have to get - how sick are they going to make me?
- Once I get going am I going to be so bitten by the travel bug that I won't want to come back..or will I be gone a week and wanting to pack it all in to come back home?
Something that I saw on a blog a while back for someone who had done OzBus before was the top three things they'd miss about home..and the top three they wouldn't..I'm still working on my list..it will follow in time.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Get this Blog Started
So...who are we..and what are we trying to achieve here???
Well, we're two schoolmates from Wexford, Ireland who have signed up for the trip of a lifetime with OzBus who are going to take us through 20 countries to get from London to Sydney between May and August 2009. Both of us were looking for a change..a bit of an adventure and weirdly were both thinking that the OzBus was the way to get it without having ever spoken about the idea!
The decision to do the trip together came about at a friend's house when we were having a few glasses of wine and I mentioned I was going to apply for time out of work and planned on taking the trip. Una said she wanted to do it too and so we joined forces and agreed for May 2009 as the time to do it. A couple of the other girls were interested too but they can't make it but said they wanted to keep tabs on us as we went along. So the blog was born and we have the best of intentions to keep it updated as we progress along the trip with the assistance of my new Netbook (which I still have to buy - I can't be without technology for 3 months...I am a nerd after all). One of the girls suggested we should be renamed Lemmie & Loonie and it's kinda stuck from there...Aileen..thank you!
Lemmie = Emma (aka Little Miss Organised)
Loonie = Una (aka Little Miss Laid-Back)
So here we are in November 2008, application forms completed and submitted, deposits paid and the 'Welcome Aboard' confirmations are in hand so we're starting the countdown until May 24th 2009 when we leave the safety and comfort of our respective homes behind to spend 13 weeks in confinement on a bus travelling overland through places we've never heard of before. Adventure is what we wanted...I'm sure it's what we're gonna get ;)
Here's the list of countries that our trip will see us visit:
(1) Ireland
(2) England
(3) France
(4) Belgium
(5) Germany
(6) Czech Republic
(7) Austria
(8) Hungary
(9) Romania
(10) Bulgaria
(11) Turkey
(12) Iran
(13) Pakistan
(14) India
(15) Nepal
(16) Myanmar
(17) Thailand
(18) Malaysia
(19) Indonesia
(20) East Timor
(21) Australia
In keeping with my "Little Miss Organised" title, I've started my initial planning in that I'm starting to form a view of what I'm hoping to do once I get to Sydney at the end of August '09. Number one item on the agenda is to hold up in a hotel for 2 or 3 days where I can enjoy a decent sleep that doesn't involve constructing my accommodation for the night before climbing in and trying to sleep in a mummy like sleeping bag on a wafter thin matress on the bumpy ground. Camping isn't something I've done a whole lot of...so I'm slightly nervous about that..but it's all part of the adventure so I'm quietly excited. After a few days to catch my breath in Sydney a flight to Perth is on the cards to spend a few days there visiting some fellow Wexfordians who'll have set up shop there and then either head straight back to Sydney to meet up with Conor or possibly go back via Adelaide (to do some more visiting). With a base set in Sydney the plan would be to do the East Coast of Australia before moving on to New Zealand (I'm really excited about spending a few weeks there). Depending on where the 27th Ad World Series is on I may be travelling back to Ireland with a stopover somewhere in the USA to make an appearance at the tournie and see if we can defend our Divisional Title! It's all a work in progress and I'm changing my mind on a daily basis...just trying to get some ideas together..so if you have any thoughts let me know :)
Well, we're two schoolmates from Wexford, Ireland who have signed up for the trip of a lifetime with OzBus who are going to take us through 20 countries to get from London to Sydney between May and August 2009. Both of us were looking for a change..a bit of an adventure and weirdly were both thinking that the OzBus was the way to get it without having ever spoken about the idea!
The decision to do the trip together came about at a friend's house when we were having a few glasses of wine and I mentioned I was going to apply for time out of work and planned on taking the trip. Una said she wanted to do it too and so we joined forces and agreed for May 2009 as the time to do it. A couple of the other girls were interested too but they can't make it but said they wanted to keep tabs on us as we went along. So the blog was born and we have the best of intentions to keep it updated as we progress along the trip with the assistance of my new Netbook (which I still have to buy - I can't be without technology for 3 months...I am a nerd after all). One of the girls suggested we should be renamed Lemmie & Loonie and it's kinda stuck from there...Aileen..thank you!
Lemmie = Emma (aka Little Miss Organised)
Loonie = Una (aka Little Miss Laid-Back)
So here we are in November 2008, application forms completed and submitted, deposits paid and the 'Welcome Aboard' confirmations are in hand so we're starting the countdown until May 24th 2009 when we leave the safety and comfort of our respective homes behind to spend 13 weeks in confinement on a bus travelling overland through places we've never heard of before. Adventure is what we wanted...I'm sure it's what we're gonna get ;)
Here's the list of countries that our trip will see us visit:
(1) Ireland
(2) England
(3) France
(4) Belgium
(5) Germany
(6) Czech Republic
(7) Austria
(8) Hungary
(9) Romania
(10) Bulgaria
(11) Turkey
(12) Iran
(13) Pakistan
(14) India
(15) Nepal
(16) Myanmar
(17) Thailand
(18) Malaysia
(19) Indonesia
(20) East Timor
(21) Australia
In keeping with my "Little Miss Organised" title, I've started my initial planning in that I'm starting to form a view of what I'm hoping to do once I get to Sydney at the end of August '09. Number one item on the agenda is to hold up in a hotel for 2 or 3 days where I can enjoy a decent sleep that doesn't involve constructing my accommodation for the night before climbing in and trying to sleep in a mummy like sleeping bag on a wafter thin matress on the bumpy ground. Camping isn't something I've done a whole lot of...so I'm slightly nervous about that..but it's all part of the adventure so I'm quietly excited. After a few days to catch my breath in Sydney a flight to Perth is on the cards to spend a few days there visiting some fellow Wexfordians who'll have set up shop there and then either head straight back to Sydney to meet up with Conor or possibly go back via Adelaide (to do some more visiting). With a base set in Sydney the plan would be to do the East Coast of Australia before moving on to New Zealand (I'm really excited about spending a few weeks there). Depending on where the 27th Ad World Series is on I may be travelling back to Ireland with a stopover somewhere in the USA to make an appearance at the tournie and see if we can defend our Divisional Title! It's all a work in progress and I'm changing my mind on a daily basis...just trying to get some ideas together..so if you have any thoughts let me know :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
