It just hit me yesterday that I'm going to be gone for 5 months, which didn't seem long enough when I started planning, but seems like an eternity now that I'm getting ready to leave. I just realized that I'll be spanning 3 seasons, missing the Lakers championship run, March Madness, and 1/2 the baseball season. 150 days on the road is like a marathon compared to the 7 day vacations we are all used to taking. I definitely plan to spend more time relaxing and chillin than rushing around trying to see everything. But in between coffee shops and parks, I'll definitely find time to see the pyramids, Taj Mahal, and the Himalayas. I guess you could say this is what vacation is supposed to be like: part adventure & part relaxation.My goals for the trip are simple:
1. See some of the spots on my ever-growing list of "places to visit".
2. Take a break before B-School (which is kinda like a vacation before vacation?).
3. Spend some time reflecting, thinking, writing and all that other touchy, feely BS.
So I guess the two main questions are where am I going and what the hell did I pack? The answer to the first question is a bit up in the air... but here is my rough route as of now:
Egypt~Jordan~Israel~Turkey~Russia~India~Tibet/Nepal~China. How did I pick those places? Honestly... it sounds corny, but I sat and spun my globe around and around for several nights and just imagined where I wanted to go. My first itinerary looked something like - Antarctica~Africa~Egypt~India~Home. Then I realized that I couldn't afford half those places, so I had to go with option two. Right now my rough schedule includes 1 week diving in Sharm el Sheikh, a few days out in the desert in Wadi Rum, and 10 days at an ashram. So, I guess you could say that option 2 didn't turn out so bad after all.
The answer to the second question is: Not much. I was forced to follow the golden rule of travel packing... pack what you think you need and take out half. So here is what 5 months of stuff looks like:
5 pairs of underwear
5 pairs of socks
3 t-shirts
3 wife-beaters
2 pairs of pants
1 pair of boots
1 pair of flip flops
1 water proof shell
1 fleece
2 long shirts
10 Odwalla Bars
1 emergency roll of TP (very important)
Lots of toiletries and meds.
2 cameras
3 lonely planets - Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan
1 book - atlas shrugged (longest book on my shelf)
1 Ipod
1 Tripod (ya... its a waste of space, but what else am I going to do in the desert by myself)
Its kinda strange how I can find room for my tripod and books, but no space for extra underwear. Like I was telling my mom... traveling is all about underwear extension. 5 pairs can last you 2 weeks if you extend each wear to the max. I'll let you figure out what the "max" is.
Its time to finish packing, then off to the airport!
~Jeff
ps - dude... be kind a give me a shout out on the blog or by email, so I don't feel so lonely during my travels!
