Here's the Plan

Or, more specifically, Plan A. I always craft a Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C. Plan A is typically very tightly packed and very ambitious with the goal of doing and seeing the very most on each and every day. Plan A is for Type A, heh heh. Plan B is more realistic for which I prioritize that which is most important to me based on my travel research. Plan C is the Contingency plan -- if I should miss a connection or get sick, I've still covered the essentials. Of course, a part of what makes the trip exciting and truly a journey is the unplanned.

I learned a huge lesson the first time I visited Africa in 2003, I was so attached to my expectations for Plan A, that I did not craft Plan B or C. The trip was disappointing from the start (due not to the place but to the other travelers and the organizer), and I did not have the wherewithal to salvage the trip for myself (change it, go somewhere else) because I had no preparation for anything else (and I had a 103.4F fever due to horrific food poisoning and flew home early).

I usually end up doing something between A and B with some amount of unplanned -- a lot or a little based on my adventure appetite in the moment.

With regards to my plans, some of my (sane and worldly) friends have made the observations:
-I need not make the whole trip hard, I can and should include some easier, relaxing interludes -- to which my rebuttal is, I can always do the easy stuff later, I don't ever anticipate having this amount of contiguous time for travel (until I am old and gray).
-I should "save" some places for future trips so I don't run out of places to travel. Well, I know there will always be many places I want to visit/re-visit, some for which I've had an enduring passion but still could not make fit on this trip.

The Plan:

Broadly, it's Asia, Africa and South America, about 3 months in each place with a bit more time for Africa since I've decided to overland (yes, that is a verb) a significant part of it.

More specifically, in Asia, it's Korea, China and Tibet, and Vietnam.

In Africa, it's South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, (Sudan which may be impossible due to the difficulty of obtaining a visa in Ethiopia), Egypt, and Morocco.

In South America it's Brazil, Chile (including Easter Island), and Argentina.

From a timing perspective:

August: Korea
late August to early-October: China and Tibet
couple weeks in October: Vietnam
Rest of October and early-November: South Africa and Mozambique and
mid-November: Namibia and begin overland section and travel through Zambia
December: Tanzania and Uganda
January: Kenya and Ethiopia
through mid-February: Egypt and Morocco
mid-February: Brazil
mid-March: Easter Island and Patagonia
through early May: Argentina

During the trip, while the flight dates are changeable, there are a couple anchors around which I am shaping my trip. Specifically, the Korean language class at EWHA, set reservations for Kruger in November, planned safari in Tanzania in December, Carnival in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Bahia) February 17-21, 2007, getting to Patagonia at the tail end of the season while it is possible to be outside without bitter, bitter cold.

For those friends who are thinking about joining me for parts of the trip along the way, email me, and I'll tell you my planned dates.

Regarding the overland section in Africa. I realized that rather than flying from point A to point B, from point B to point C, etc., to really know and get a sense of and have seep into my bones Africa, I need to be on the ground. So, I am doing a clipped version of the classic overland Cape Town to Cairo -- clipped simply because I don't have time for all of it and as an American citizen likely I will not get the Sudan visa. So, the overland becomes Windhoek (Namibia) to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) -- by bus, train and truck. Some legs of the journey lack public transportation, so it will be necessary to find someone/a truck going that way and for a fee to hop on.

I really hope I don't find me asking myself, 'What the hell was I thinking???!?'