2012 is the year when Armageddon is suppose to come a callin’. There are movies about it. There are books about it. Some people are nervous. Some people seem to think aliens will come and are dying to meet them (which I find particularly disturbing). I, however, think ‘Meh’. Sure it could happen, anything is possible (except the alien part. Dude, there are no little green men. Sorry), but in my mind it’s 50/50. I could sit at home and ‘play it safe’, or I could go out and have the time of my life, participate in crazy adventures and do things that many people only dream of doing. So, as you have probably guessed, 2012 will be ‘The Year of Adventure Travel’ for yours truly.
Mongol Rally
Chinggis Khan monument in Mongolia
When I saw a tweet from @ottsworld (Sherry Ott) about the Mongol Rally, I began to salivate. I’ve heard of the Mongol Rally before. I knew that Sherry had participated in the rally last year along with Dave & Deb from The Planet D. In the past I would think of the Mongol Rally being on my bucket list and then go back to planning my travels for that year. This time was different. For one, I’m planning to travel the Silk Road (keep reading to find out more about this part) in 2012, which means I’m already planning to be ‘in the area’. Secondly, I’ve been to Mongolia and I an dying to return. Thirdly, the Mongol Rally is epic adventure waiting to happen. It’s messy. It’s challenging. It’s quirky. It’s everything I want in adventure travel, and more!
Solo on the Silk Road
Everyone loves a fuzzy camel!
You may or may not have read about my plans to travel the Silk Road, solo. Traveling solo on the Silk Road is one of those travel decisions that made my entire body tingle for days -as does any epic adventure. I have been fascinated by the Silk Road for years and as with the Mongol Rally, I have shelved the idea of traveling the Silk Road for a long time. Until now. In October of this year I made the decision to finally do it and similar to my decision to participate in the Mongol Rally, traveling solo on the Silk Road was an impulse decision. The idea is to travel from Xi’an, China to Istanbul, Turkey over a 3 month period, avoiding planes and trains. This means I’ll be traveling by bus, car, jeep share, camel, horse, donkey cart…You get the idea.
A Return to Africa
In the middle of Tanzania
Yes, I am returning to Africa. I know, I’m excited too!! I realize that Africa is a rather large continent with several countries, however I have yet to decide which country I’ll be going to. At this time it is a toss-up between Kenya and Tanzania. I’ll be spending at least 3 months in the country I choose and while I’m there I’ll be heading a pretty cool project called Photolanthrophy. I know. You have questions, lots of them. I’d love to answer them all, but some of them will have to wait. There are a lot of details that still need to be worked out for my return to Africa and the project. So, for now, I’m asking you to be patient and wait. As soon as I have all the details worked out, I’ll fill you in.
Photolanthrophy is not the only reason for my return to Africa. There are still so many things to see and do there. If I’m going to settle down for a few months, than I’m going to be exploring and sharing my adventures with you. You can count on that!
In Conclusion…
If you had asked me 6 months ago about my travel plans for 2012, none of the above adventures would have been on my list. In fact, my answer probably would have been Asia. But, life has a funny way of making things happen. Traveling solo on the Silk Road, the Mongol Rally and returning to Africa seemed to fit together like a puzzle. Sure, I’ll be pushing my Silk Road trip back by about 3 months, but by doing the Mongol Rally first, I won’t need to fly to Beijing, I can just take the train down from Ulaanbaatar. Traveling to Africa afterward will be no problem as flights from Istanbul to Nairobi are about $400 when they’re on sale. See, they all fit! It’s like I’ve created my very own adventure travel puzzle, without meaning to do it. Man, I love when that happens.
What are YOUR 2012 Travel Plans?
About Pamela
That sounds like such an exciting year of adventure! Looking forward to reading and following along
What epic adventures await you
I know, right?! It’s both exciting AND scary. I seriously need to bone-up on my photog skills before I go.