Around the World

After months of preparation, the day is almost upon us. Like a couple of daft punks, my wife and I are leaving tomorrow to start a trip around the world. We will be visiting 11 countries over the coming 11 months.

Eschewing an organised tour, we have put together an itinerary starting in South-East Asia and proceeding east across the Pacific to continue up the west coast of South America. The schedule looks like this:

• October: Vietnam, based mainly around Ho Chi Minh City.
• November: Cambodia, based mostly in Siem Reap.
• December: Thailand, staying on Ko Lanta.
• January: Malaysia, visiting Langkawai and Georgetown.
• February: Indonesia, based in Bali.
• March: Australia, travelling the coast between Sydney and Melbourne.
• April: New Zealand, touring both North and South islands.
• May: Chile, split between Santiago and San Pedro de Atacama for the salt flats.
• June: Bolivia, based in Cochabamba.
• July: Peru, based in Cusco for the Inca trail.
• August: Ecuador, staying in Quito and ending with a trip to the Galapagos islands.

While this seems like an extensive tour, it is disappointing how much of the world we will not manage to step foot in. The aim is to ensconce ourselves in a particular place and soak up the local environment, rather than trying to exhaustively (and exhaustingly) travel each country's length and breadth.

I will try to record a few of the places we visit, people we meet, and food we eat in this blog. It's going to be quite a trip.