Well here goes my crack at a travel blog. I always thought blogs were a way for attention seekers to reach out to the masses and yell "HEY LOOK AT ME, AREN'T I AMAZING?!", but after checking out some of the travel blogs out there I've come to realize it's not only for the masses, but for the travelers themselves. One of my biggest regrets I have was not keeping a blog of my 3 week backpacking adventure through Peru. Sure I have loads of pictures that paint a thousand words, but the memories of how I was feeling at those moments are fading quickly. So here I am baby!
Though I'm not planning to leave until May, I'm already freaking out with excitement. My past travels consist of the majority of major cities in Canada (mostly for business), some major cities in the US, a dozen or so trips all over the Caribbean/Mexico and of course Peru.
So how do you plan a trip like this? I think the secret is not to plan too much, and fly by the seat of your pants (responsibly). I have a solid framework of where I want to go, and some highlights of those areas, but that's about it. I'm a pretty impulsive guy, so why make plans if you know they're going to be changed? I'm bringing a small laptop (netbook) with me that will help with the on-the-fly booking of hostels, looking up train schedules etc.
So far I've got a European kick off point starting in the UK, Ireland and Scotland. From there I may head up to the Scandinavian countries, otherwise I'll work my way through central/western Europe. At some point after that I'll meet up with my buddy Terry (and possibly others) and spend the remainder of the summer roaming the beaches and streets of France, Italy, Croatia and Greece.
I'm not sure how much of Eastern Europe I'll see, but knowing me I'll read up on something or meet people going there and tag along.
However I do want to be in Munich, Germany with my old friend Tim for Oktoberfest (can you think of a more fitting festival for me?), and my parents have said they'd like to meet me in Portugal in September, so I'll have to keep the schedule flexible.
From there I'll head south along the Mediterranean to Turkey, Jordan, Dubai and then the east coast of Africa! From there who knows! India maybe? Tibet to see Everest?
I have a lot of the backpacker essentials already from my trip to Peru which is nice. I recently picked up a small digital camera (great zoom, takes 720p video etc) with waterproof case to store it in, and a few 16GB SD cards. I just need a netbook, an mp3 player, a few other items and I should be all set.
Some of my inspiration to take such a grand journey has come from this guy, who has had the privilege to see a lot of what the world has to offer. If his “Dancing 2008” video doesn’t make you want to turn in your briefcase for a backpack, I don’t know what will.
So, who wants to come with me!
Though I'm not planning to leave until May, I'm already freaking out with excitement. My past travels consist of the majority of major cities in Canada (mostly for business), some major cities in the US, a dozen or so trips all over the Caribbean/Mexico and of course Peru.
So how do you plan a trip like this? I think the secret is not to plan too much, and fly by the seat of your pants (responsibly). I have a solid framework of where I want to go, and some highlights of those areas, but that's about it. I'm a pretty impulsive guy, so why make plans if you know they're going to be changed? I'm bringing a small laptop (netbook) with me that will help with the on-the-fly booking of hostels, looking up train schedules etc.
So far I've got a European kick off point starting in the UK, Ireland and Scotland. From there I may head up to the Scandinavian countries, otherwise I'll work my way through central/western Europe. At some point after that I'll meet up with my buddy Terry (and possibly others) and spend the remainder of the summer roaming the beaches and streets of France, Italy, Croatia and Greece.
I'm not sure how much of Eastern Europe I'll see, but knowing me I'll read up on something or meet people going there and tag along.
However I do want to be in Munich, Germany with my old friend Tim for Oktoberfest (can you think of a more fitting festival for me?), and my parents have said they'd like to meet me in Portugal in September, so I'll have to keep the schedule flexible.
From there I'll head south along the Mediterranean to Turkey, Jordan, Dubai and then the east coast of Africa! From there who knows! India maybe? Tibet to see Everest?
I have a lot of the backpacker essentials already from my trip to Peru which is nice. I recently picked up a small digital camera (great zoom, takes 720p video etc) with waterproof case to store it in, and a few 16GB SD cards. I just need a netbook, an mp3 player, a few other items and I should be all set.
Some of my inspiration to take such a grand journey has come from this guy, who has had the privilege to see a lot of what the world has to offer. If his “Dancing 2008” video doesn’t make you want to turn in your briefcase for a backpack, I don’t know what will.
So, who wants to come with me!
