One month to go, and plans are changing already

So ya, remember when I said I'd probably be starting out in Europe?  Toss that out the window, it's Central America baby! (for real this time, non-refundable flights booked).  May 7th I'll be taking my first flight of the world trip from Toronto to San Jose, direct with Air Canada!  My buddy Terry can't do Europe until later in the summer, and my brother-from-another-mother Chris and his better half Sarah were going to Central America anyways...weird how that stuff works out eh?  This will be a great way to launch into the trip, as half the time I'll be sipping rum watching the afternoon sun melt into the horizon, and the other half climbing volcanoes, exploring rain forests and learning to surf.  I'll most likely stick to Costa Rica and Nicaragua as I don't want to cram too much into the first month, but who knows.

Pura Vida!

(source)

Coubs

There are 195 countries in this world and I've been to 10 of them...

Crazy statistic isn't it?  There are a total of 195 countries in the world, and I've only been to 10!  My goal is to hit at least 50 over the next year or two, and all 7 continents (yes even Antarctica!).  This got me thinking about whether or not I have any other goals or guidelines for the trip that I'll attempt to follow.  So here's a short list of some that I came up with:

• If it's known as the "world's biggest, shortest, tallest, sharpest, hottest, spiciest, coldest, bubbliest, best etc"  I'm doing it
• If it's a festival or a local tradition I'm going (and participating if possible)
• If I haven't heard of the country and it's got something cool, I'm going
• If my brother would do it, I'll do it (thanks for the ongoing 28 year battle Ry)
• If someone asks me to see/experience something for them I will try to accommodate.
• If someone points in a general direction and says there's something cool over there, I'm going
• If someone double dog dares me to do something, I'll most likely do it. (You have to right?  it's a double dog dare)

I was reading an article the other day on a fellow travel blog site about '10 movies that will make you want to travel'.  I watched a few of them, but the one that stood out for me was called A Map for Saturday.  It's about a TV producer (single, late 20's) who quits his job in NY and travels the world for a year.  It's a very well done movie that gives you a taste of what it's like to backpack the world while meeting new people every day and staying in hostels.  But beware, this movie REALLY makes you want to travel...like right now.

I also read a great book called "Beyond the Horizon", which is about a guy who circumnavigates the earth on only human power (running, cycling and rowing).  It's an amazing feat of mental and physical strength, which is all done to help raise awareness around the "green movement". 

Source

So it looks like I'll be starting out my trip in southern Europe, with 2 weeks in Italy and Greece with my buddy Terry hopefully as close to May 1st as possible.  I'll probably spend May and June touring the southern countries before heading north.  Several other of my friends have shown interest in meeting me somewhere in Europe at one point or another, so that'll will just add to the awesomeness.  Also my parents and brother and his family have shown interest in either Portugal and surrounding areas, or Turkey!  And of course, let's not forget Oktoberfest at the end of September.  Other than that I'm keeping a very open schedule, which is generally the best way to approach something this vast.

I'm at that stage where I'm too far out to really get excited, as I still have ~2 months before I'll be on a plane, but close enough where this is starting to feel real.  I'm just glad I'm not a conservative planning type, or I'd be driving myself nuts with details right about now!  (Mom don't worry I'll still remember to get insurance!)

-Shawn

New blog site and stepping out of the office and into the world...

Found a new home for my travel blog, it seems to have many more useful feature so I'll give it a try.

So since my condo is sold now (boo ya!) and is closing the same day as my last day of work (April 29th), I figured I would try to step out of work, into a taxi and onto a plane heading for somewhere in Europe.  I now remember that UFC 129 takes place on April 30th at the Rogers Centre and if you know me, you know that I wouldn't miss this for the world.  So maybe May 1st would be a more realistic date of departure.....we'll see.


Can you spot the drunken idiot?

Nothing is booked as of yet except the hotel for Oktoberfest in Munich, apparently it sells out in Jan/Feb.  A good friend of mine Tim heard that I'd be "in the area" during that time and asked if I'd like to stay with him and some friends during the festival!  After much deliberation (0.14 seconds) I accepted.  I'm aiming for this to be the send off from my summer in Europe, and what better way to say good bye then to smash back pints of glory with people from all over the world while yelling at beer wenches....respectfully of course :P

Switching gears here, but I've got a bit of a bone to pick with people as of late.  Why is it that so many of us say we want to travel, but can't seem get around to do it?  Many of the people who I've talked to recently about my upcoming world tour have said something along the lines of "yea I wish I could do something like that, I'm so jealous".  Or "I should have done something like that when I was in my 20's/30's".  What the hell people, you're not dead yet and you only live once...so what's stopping you?  "Oh I have children....".  Right, so you can't dump them off at a relatives for a week or two or bring them with you?  My brother and his wife recently brought their 2 year old son to Japan for two weeks.  It's not impossible people, you just need to allow yourself to make that leap.  "Oh I couldn't take a few weeks off work".  What?  Really?  Your employer won't give you 2-3 weeks off to follow through on a life long aspiration?  If they understand how important it is for you to fulfill that dream, they'll let you go.  "Oh I wish I could, but can't afford it".  You can't afford it, or you don't wan to try to afford it?  I get that some people truly can't, and that's understandable.  But for the people who use this as a scapegoat need to spend 15 minutes budgeting and they'll realize they quickly can.  How about not upgrading your BMW to a 5 series this year?  Or maybe stop guzzling back $7 lattes 3 times a day.  Or send back the autographed Celine Dion life-sized cardboard cutout that you ordered online after watching Titanic and downing a bottle of Pinot Grigio.....wait what?

Anyways, all I'm saying is it's not that difficult to forget about life for a few weeks and take that leap.  When is the last time you spoke to someone who traveled anywhere and said it wasn't worth it?

Preparations have begun...

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!