Busy, Busy

Can't sleep so I thought I'd share my to-do list with you:Updated in red as of Thursday the 24th

• Get vaccinations... need at least a HepA and B booster Done with Typoid as well
• Get an indian visa done with a Pakistani visa as well
• Get a new credit card Ordered, should be waiting at home
• Get a spare battery for my camera Should be waiting at home
• Start packing not started yet
• Get a dental check-up and deep clean of the choppers Done and done
• Get a health check-up Done, but need to go back tomorrow as blood pressure was high
• Sort out my frickin' health insurance Should be waiting at home
• Get Malaria tablets and antibiotics Done and Done along with €300 worth of other medicinces/supplements/health stuff etc.
• Buy an eBook and download virtual books Can't source one of these in ireland and not enough time to get it sent over... must survive with traditional books, Doh!
• Fill my MP3 player (courtest of Dan Donleavy records) Not done... maybe at weekend.
• Finish the final essay of my Project Management course (eight months overdue) Snigger... never gonna happen!
• Move my shit out of Helen and Paula's place and move back home Tomorrow is the big moving day
• Photocopy all travel documentation To Do over the weekend
• List itinerary/embassy's etc for the oul' pair To Do over the weekend
• Cancel anything that takes money out of my bank account (gym, ntl, those Concern astards) Done
• Generally stop procrastinating and get my finger out... See above list of undertakings and demonstration of this week's productivity

Oh fuck, it looks a lot longer than I thought it was... not so fucked anymore, still need to book Monday's flight to Istanbul though!

T minus 9 days and counting...

For those of you that I haven't seen in a while or for those of you that don't know me, I've been working in Dublin, Ireland for the past two and half years and have decided to take eight months off and go overland from Istanbul to Jakarta (see above for the route).The last time I was away (as in away-away, not holiday-away) was South America for eight months, two and a half years ago (click here for that blog), so I'm well due a little odysee.

So... Why Asia, I hear you ask! (The internal monologue begins...). Well, I had a couple of routes in mind for the next time I go away:I would have quite liked to fly back to Colombia and pick up where I left off on my last trip by continuing up into central America, maybe finishing up in San Fran (I'd be quite attracted to Panama, Nicuragua, Guatamala and Mexico). However, as much as I enjoyed South America, I thought that this time around, I needed something kind of different (perhaps more challenging).

Similarly I was considering a sojourn in the Middle East and Africa, perhaps from Istanbul to Madrid, down through the Arabian peninsula, the horn of Africa, crossing central Africa, up the West African coast and back into the good ol' EU through Gibraltar. The opposite argument applied here: Perhaps this was a little too ambitious, travelling in Africa is a different ball-game... there ain't an established gringo trail (not that that's what I'm looking for, but sometimes the familiarity of it can be comforting).

So, I decided in the end for Istanbul to Jakarta... This should bring me through some combination of the following countries: Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.Here are some reasons for the choice of route:

• Good combination of 'gringo trail' countries (i.e. India/SE Asia) and more unexplored countries (Iran/Pakistan/Burma).
• Like the food (food expectations, in order of travel, are: Kebabs, kebabs, kebabs, curries, curries and curries)
• Don't speak the lingo (a challenge I didn't have in South America)
• Weather
• East-West contrast (Istanbul as the gateway - plan to touch the western side of the Bosphorous with my foot to mark 'point de depart')
• Sociopolitical importance of Iran
• Religious variety: Islam, Hindu, Buddhism etc.
• Beaches
• Variety of climate/landscape
• China, India as BRICS

That's all that I can think of for now...So, I'm still in Dublin... All I've done so far in preparation is (1) got an iranian visa and (2) quit my job. Haven't booked a flight yet but I'm hoping I can get a one-way to Istanbul for the 28th of July (i.e. in nine days). Passport is currently with unfriendliest person in the history of humanity in the pakistani embassy getting visa'ed... Due for collection on tuesday and then straight to Indian Embassy for sooper dooper express visa.Will update on preparation during the week.

Peace Out.

Conor