So I have now had at least half my brain in plan mode constantly since Sunday and I am making all sorts of lists and decisions and whathaveyou.
I’ve said I decided to do all of this traveling AGES ago, and I did. But The Weekend That Kicked My Ass (as I’m calling it) is when it really clicked. You know how you can tell yourself you believe something or you’ve decided something or whatever – and you can tell yourself a million times – but there’s all the times you tell yourself and the time it’s FOR REAL? I don’t know if that’s how other people’s brains work, but it’s how mine does. Sometimes it’s the moment you put money to something. Sometimes it’s the moment you realise you give so few fucks about something that you weren’t even thinking about it anymore til someone asked you. And sometimes it’s just a switch flipped in your brain and you just KNOW.
And now that I know, I have buckled down and made a proper outline of where I want to go and for how long. First I decided time – 3 months, or approximately 13 weeks because it’s easier to break things down that way.
Here, roughly, are my 13 weeks:
1 – UK and Western Europe
2 – Russia
3 – Russia
4 – Russia/Mongolia
5 – Mongolia
6 – Mongolia/China
7 – China
8 – China/Vietnam
9 – Vietnam
10 – Vietnam
11 – Cambodia
12 – Thailand
13 – Malaysia/Singapore
I’ve hacked off the original plan of continuing on through Australia, and that’s mostly because I want more time to explore Southeast Asia. I’d rather take my time in these places than rush through for the hell of hitting countries or train journeys.
I might do some shifting around the Mongolia and China weeks because I’d actually like to spend a fair bit of time in Mongolia. All these places are so big it’s hard to decide without finding out a little more first. But this is also for the purposes of starting to sketch out a visa timeline. Figuring out when I need to apply is one of my top priorities at the moment, and I can’t do that without knowing roughly how long I want to be in places.
I LOVE super planning mode. It gives my brain something to idle on. Plus I have all sorts of grand ideas for a massive calendar wall of post-its so I can do this whole thing visually. It’s also a really great excuse to go sit in the pub with a notebook and a sneaky pint after work and do some figuring. Beer and lists: two of life’s great pleasures.
