Our Round-the-World Trip Itinerary
1 May
It’s May now. Jeff and I have been in Korea for 8 months. I’m beginning to feel that our time is growing short – after all, we only have 4 months left.
This has been a wonderful experience, and you can rest assured that I will write more about my experience teaching through EPIK in the future.
Even though I’m in the midst of a big adventure (or, what some people would consider a big adventure) I can’t help but look forward to the next big adventure. Part of it is that I’ve gotten used to life in Korea, and now it’s just a routine and a job that is not super different from living back in the USA (okay, it is, but like I said, it’s normal now).
And my next adventure is a huge one – we’ll be traveling home via a massive round the world trip!
Initially, we thought we could get home without flying (after one flight to Thailand). However, though the Trans-Siberian Railroad seems awesome, it will be too expensive and too difficult to get the visas (plus, we would have gotten to Mongolia in winter, which is not something I want to experience!).
So plans have changed a bit, and here is our sleek new itinerary, which is kind of approximate at the moment but probably won’t be too far off.
- Mongolia: August 31 – September 7. We’ll hang out in Ulaanbaatar and take a horse trek.
- China: September 7 – 25. Beijing and Shanghai.
- Hong Kong: September 25 – October 13. This will include a day trip to Macau.
- China: October 13 – 22. Guilin and Yangshuo.
- Vietnam: October 22 – November 22. Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Cambodia: November 22 – December 22. Angkor Wat/Siem Reap, Battambang, Sihanoukville/islands.
- Laos: December 22 – January 22. Si Phan Don, Vientiane, Luang Prabang, and wherever else sounds good.
- Thailand: January 22 – March 22. 1 month in Chiang Mai, 1 month in Bangkok, and 1 month in the islands.
- Malaysia: March 22 – April 5. Quick stop to eat as much roti canai as humanly possible, maybe visit Langkawi, and fly out of Kuala Lumpur.
- Turkey: April 5 – May 2. Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Cappadocia.
- Bulgaria: May 2-4. A quick stop in Sofia.
- Serbia: May 4 – 6. Quick stop in Belgrade.
- Bosnia-Herzegovina: May 6-8. Quick stop in Sarajevo.
- Croatia: May 8 – June 5. Dubrovnik, Split, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Zagreb.
- Slovenia: June 5 – 12. Ljubljana, Bled.
- Italy: June 12 – July 3. Venice, Florence, Naples, Rome, Genoa. And other food-related places. This will be very fast travel.
- France: July 3 – 31. Paris, Loire Valley, Marseille.
- Spain: July 31 – August 30. Barcelona, Madrid, Granada.
Again, this is approximate. I did specific dates so that I would have a good idea of when we’d be there, but I definitely expect this to change (in fact, I plan to update this post along the journey to reflect the real dates). It even leaves out a few countries that we might do day trips to. The Europe part, as it is far off, is very tentative.
I wanted to post this for a few reasons. One, I’m very excited to have gotten the itinerary finished! Two, I want suggestions, especially for the first few places. And three, let me know if you will also be in these places at those times, and I’d love to meet up!
Yay! Sounds awesome. This is really similar to what we want to do
You are going to have a blast, I can’t wait to read about your adventures and get some ideas for ours!
Cool, I can’t wait to be having them and writing about them!
Wow! Big plans! they look awesome… i’m taking notes! I want to do something like that with Europe next summer… right now i’m still looking at the specifics. What were some of the hardest things you came across in trying to nail down the specifics of each stop? How did you decide how much time in each place?
I keep a massive Evernote note with all the places I want to go (often, I get my ideas from travel blogs). One of the big issues was narrowing down where to go – I want to go everywhere, but it’s just not possible. The time to spend in each place was actually not too difficult, as I mostly will go for as long as an easy tourist visa allows (except in Thailand – it is simple to get a 2 month visa which is extendable one month). I also looked at some Lonely Planet suggested itineraries for a rough idea of how long seeing the major sites will take. I also wanted to do more time in the less expensive countries. I plan to do some work exchange in Europe through HelpX which led me to add a week randomly in a few places. And finally, my choices of countries are largely guided by the food I want to eat! Especially cheese, for Europe
I hope your Europe trip planning goes well! I haven’t done a huge amount of planning for Europe yet as it is pretty far off and there are a lot of things to plan before that… plus mostly I will just decide when I get there!
Lonely Island is a great resource! Thanks for the info and i’ll keep checking in to see how you keep planning the trips!
RACHEL I AM GETTING WISTFUL! stop making me want to quit my job >___< i need the money!
But that is my whole purpose, Cla! Mwahahaha.
But in all honesty, traveling doesn’t have to be expensive! It is all about your priorities. If travel is really what you want to do then you just have to put yourself out there and do it. But if your priority is a nice place to live and a steady paycheck, then you should just keep the job and travel when possible.
Personally, for me now is the best time to travel; I have no real commitments. I don’t know if the travel blogger lifestyle is really for me, but I am going to find out on this trip. And then maybe I’ll never need a real job! But probably I want one eventually.
Looks like a great trip: I just wish I was going!
I’ve never been to Mongolia (but think it would be very interesting), so no suggestions there. I used to live in China and spent a lot of time traveling there. I don’t really like Beijing: it is terribly polluted, the traffic is truly horrendous, and the overall aesthetic is very Communist (broad, squat, massive concrete buildings and squares). That said, the big sites of the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the Summer Palace are superb. The food is possibly the best in China (which is really saying something). Do not go on any organized tours: they are almost all scams and in any case geared to Chinese tastes. If you like live music, this is the place to hear it.
I loved walking along Xian’s walls, and of course visiting the Terracotta Warriors. I also really enjoyed the Confucius Temple (fascinating stuff if you have an interest in ancient history). If possible, I recommend hiring a driver in Xian as most of the important sites are out of the city and difficult to access via public transportation.
I lived in Shanghai for a year, so I know the city pretty well. It is very large, very crowded, and very dirty, but tremendously exciting. I really like the area around Lu Xun park for its interesting street vibe and older architecture. You might consider day trips to Hangzhou (famous for its lake and surrounding mountain parks) and Suzhou (famous for its traditional gardens). Both are stunningly beautiful (and might provide a nice contrast to the ugliness of the three cities you are planning to visit).
I absolutely love Hong Kong!! Make sure to take the Peak Tram and Star Ferry, and consider a trip to one of the outlying islands like Lamma or Cheung Chau; it’s a nice change. Also go to a few temples; unlike China, Hong Kong still has a vibrant religious scene, so it’s quite interesting. Macao is absolutely worth a visit: their museum is very good. And the casinos are fun: the most impressive is the Venetian, but the most interesting was the Casino Lisboa with its seedy, old Macao vibe. We went to the Canidrome too, which was a hoot.
Hope this helps!
Wow, thank you, these look like great suggestions!
Let me know if you have any questions: I am so excited for you and hope you have a great time!
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