Yesterday I spent a few hours sitting at True Move Cafe in Siam Paragon and planned out the next leg of my trip. I generally don’t like to plan, but there are places I have dreamed of visiting for many years now, and I felt it necessary to sit down and figure out how I could hit them all and still have money left over. Oh, if I had a big trust fund, I could travel forever and not have to plan a thing!As the afternoon was beginning to fade and evening was approaching, I left the cafe, fought my way onto the BTS and slogged through the pouring rain to the apartment I’m staying in. I was elated -and soaking wet- to have a plan. Then I realized it would be another 2 weeks before I could start the new leg of my journey and felt slightly deflated. I want to go now!

Where Will SpunkyGirl Go Next?

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*clicking the ‘-’ a few times on the map will give you a better overview.

November 1, 2010 I’ll be leaving Bangkok for Chiang Rai. I have yet to take an overnight bus in Thailand, but it safes on the cost of a hostel for one night. Once I’m in Chiang Rai, I’ll hang-out for a day or two until I can board the ferry to China. Yes, I’m taking a ferry from Northern Thailand, to Jinhong, China. The trip takes about 15hrs and travels along the Mekong River through Burma and Laos before arriving in China.

Once I’m in China I’ll be spending a few days in Kunming before I take a 44hr train ride to Beijing. After my first trip to Beijing in 2008, I swore I would never go back. The pollution and dust made it hard for me to breathe and after 2 days I was growing tired of burning lungs 24/7. I don’t plan on staying in Beijing for a long time, just enough time to secure a seat on the next train to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Mongolia is a country that has been on my wish list for many years. I’m anxious to arrive and explore. I haven’t planned my time in Mongolia. I know I want to go to Ulaangom, but that’s about it. I have a 30 day visa for Mongolia and I’m leaving my time wide open here.

After Mongolia I’ll be heading back to Beijing and then to Northwestern China. In 2008 I witnessed the discrimination of the Uighur people and vowed to learn more about them. Northwestern China is vastly different from the rest of the country and I cannot wait to explore and connect with the locals there. While I’m in Xinjiang Province I plan to stay a few days in Urumqi and Kashgar before trek along the Southern Silk Road route to Golmud. The towns skirt the desert and the journey can be slow at times, but I’m ready. While traveling the Southern Silk Road I’ll be making stops in Hotan, Cherchen, Chaklik and Huatgou.

Once I’m in Golmud -and if my funds are sufficient- I hop to buy a train ticket to Lhasa, Tibet. This portion of the trip is up to chance, but if I do have the funds, I’ll be spending a least a week or two in Tibet before traveling by train to Chengdu.

Chengdu was one of my favourite destinations in 2008 and I hope to spend more time here before I leave China. I’ve ended my plans here for now. I’m not sure which route I’ll take back to Thailand before heading home to Canada. Ideally I’d travel through Vietnam and Cambodia, but time will tell.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. Living in Canada makes Central and South America very accessible and getting there is cheap! Flying from Calgary to Bangkok will cost $1,600-$2,200 however I can take a bus down to Mexico for $270, travel throughout Central & South Americas, take a bus home to surprise my Dad for his birthday and then fly from L.A. to New Zealand and on to Asia. It’s the perfect plan- okay maybe it’s not “perfect”, but it is better.

So here is my new itinerary…

After arriving in Morelia, MX by bus, I’ll be spending about a month traveling through southern Mexico before moving on to Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama (I’m not sure about Belize). I’ll then fly to Bogota, Colombia and travel through Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil before making my way towards LA to catch a flight to New Zealand.

Depending on my funds at the time, I may spend up to 6 months working and traveling through New Zealand before flying to Asia where my original itinerary still stands. This is an open-ended RTW trip and to date I have roughly 30 countries on my list of places to go. I’ll be spending a lot of time in some countries and only a few weeks in others. But either way I’m going to be embarking on an amazing adventure. Is it August yet?

My brain is in mellow mode and it feels like I’ve smoked a bunch of joints (except I’ve never really smoked a joint, so this is merely an assumption). This morning I rolled out of bed, tied up my hair walked to the futon in my living room- the only other room in my apartment- and curled up with my laptop. My plans for my first Pajama Sunday are naps, snacks, trip research, tweeting, blogging, editing photos, and catching up on favourite blogs as well as reading new ones.  I will not be getting dressed. I will not answer my phone (unless it’s my Mom, she’d worry if I didn’t answer). I will relax, be lazy, whatever you want to call it.  Oh, I also refuse to look at my work email!

I’ve got no strings
To hold me down
To make me fret, or make me frown
I had strings
But now I’m free
There are no strings on me
Hi-ho the me-ri-o
That’s the only way to go
I want the world to know
Nothing ever worries me
Hi-ho the me-ri-o
I’m as happy as can be
I want the world to know
Nothing ever worries me
I’ve got no strings
So I have fun
I’m not tied up to anyone
They’ve got strings
But you can see
There are no strings on me…

Like my new theme song?  I know, I stole it from Disney’s Pinocchio- but it fits so well!

I haven’t narrowed down an exact route along with timing, and I probably never will.  It goes against my spontaneous nature!  I do however know the countries I want to travel to and where my starting point will be, kind of.  Basically my starting point is either Beijing or Hong Kong, depending on airfare.  The plan from there is still very much in the air.  What I do know is that my first destinations will be Mongolia and Tibet, along with various parts of China that I missed on my last trip.  After China the plan (for now) is to travel overland through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, then down to Malaysia. From there, who knows what the order will be.  I do know that I’ll be traveling to Brunei, Myanmar, Bali, India and Nepal.  I’m still up in the air over Bangladesh, Bhutan, Philippines and East Timor.  Those countries will be decided while I’m on the road and that’s okay. Either way, I don’t have a time frame for this trip, which is fantastic.

I’m traveling until the money runs out and I absolutely have to go home.  I’ve always taken 2 week vacations, so this will be my first long term trip. I have to admit, although it’s exciting, it’s also scary as hell.  But I’m focusing on the positive side of things.  It’s a liberating feeling, knowing you can take your time. Oh, how my travel style has changed over the years.  In the beginning I wanted to go everywhere and see everything and I didn’t really care if I barely scratched the surface.  Now, I like the idea of having time to explore, discover and relax.  Maybe it’s an age thing?

Over the next 7 months I’m sure I’ll have my doubts, and wonder if I’m doing the right thing or not.  The plan for the next 7 months is to eat, sleep and drink travel, or try to.  I’ll be blogging about day trips and weekend tips, as well as my planning and other bits of travel.  If I can keep travel fresh in my mind on a daily basis, maybe I can stay more focused and keep the excitement alive.  Wish me luck!

My current plan (I’m not going to pretend that this plan won’t change a million times) is to leave around August 2010.  Why then?  Well my lease is up at the end of the July, the condo should be sold by then and I will have even more money saved from my job- not to mention I’ll be 100% out of debt.  So 8 or 9 months from now I’m hitting the road.