I’ve had an urge to go travelling ever since going over to Thailand nearly 2 years ago. I’ve always liked going abroad to different places but I think it was the difference in culture and scenery in Thailand that made me realise how little of the world I’d seen.
I had intended to do it last year, but couldn’t afford to go for a decent enough length of time. Towards the end of 2005 it was apparent I could now afford to go ahead, and I had to make the decision to push forward with it. This meant handing my notice in at work, where I’ve been happily and securely for 5 years. Big move! I was struck by thoughts like ‘What the hell am I gonna do when I get back? I’ll be jobless! And skint!’ It was almost to the point where I didn’t want to go, it would be so much easier to just keep going as I have been, and use the money I’d saved up on other things.
However, I’ve found there’s a lot of people who I talk to who say ‘I wish I’d done that when I had the chance’, and I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity as well. I adopted a ‘cross that bridge when I come to it’ attitude towards my fears of returning without work or a penny to my name, and went ahead and booked a 5 month trip around the Pacific and Indian Ocean with STA Travel in Oxford. I booked just before Christmas and leave on January 31st, which hasn’t given me an awful lot of time for planning and preparation, I read a couple of travel related books to get me fired up before taking the plunge but that was about it. I don’t think even by the time I leave I will have an exact itinerary, but I don’t really want one. I’d much rather turn up to these countries and see what happens, meet some people and see what they’re doing, and work out how I’m going to get around as I go. I’m hoping this will make the experience a bit more interesting. I won’t be going in completely blind though, I’ll be consulting the various guidebooks to find out what options are available to me so as I don’t miss out on anything that is a must-do or see.
I think the biggest decision was on whether to go on my own or with a friend, but that decision was kind of made for me as noone else wanted to go! I’ve come to realise that this is the best way, though. By going it alone I will be able to immerse myself in my surroundings. I hope that having complete independence will inspire me to meet people and do things I wouldn’t normally do. I will have the freedom to go where ever, when ever, and for as long or as little as I like. The down side obviously is not having a friend around to share the trials and triumphs of life on the road. At least this website means I can share them with you!
My flights and destinations are as follows:
I’ve only given myself a couple of days in Japan, mainly because I’ll be running short of cash by the end of the trip, and Tokyo is not a cheap place to live! However, my ticket allows me to change my dates around so all it will take is a phone call to the airline and I can extend (or shorten) my stays throughout the trip. Flexibility is good.
I’ve got a big list of things I need to get sorted before the end of the month, and I don’t seem to be ticking them off as efficiently as I perhaps should be, so I’d better get to it. You can find out more about this site on the About page, you can also contact me via email or leave comments below.
Welcome to Turvey’s Travels!
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I look forward to reading about your travels old matey. You’re gonna have a great time. Good luck!
Bon voyage my god friend. I don’t suppose we will get the chance to give you a send off drink but we can party when you return. Now go fill your camera with images of scantily clad ladies from around the globe!!!
January 10th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Cheers guys. I’ll see what I can do, Shay, but there’s no guarantee the scantily clad ladies won’t be scantily clad lady-boys!!
January 12th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
No Ting Tongs!
January 24th, 2006 at 11:52 am
How am I going to keep up to date with my “little” nephew Chris without you blogging all about him??
Enjoy yourself on your trip
January 24th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
I’m sure there’ll be plenty to write about once he joins me in Thailand for 3 weeks…