This is an edited-down version of the blog from my RTW. It’s still long, but hopefully can be helpful to others planning this kind of adventure. I’ve split it into several parts: Preparations; Australia & Japan; Finland, Poland & the Baltics; and Brazil to Home. Each part is broken down further by day of posting. If you’re interested in pictures from the trip, they can be found at www.geocities.com/j379pa . Special thanks to Randy, Flyertalk and Awardplanner, without which the trip could have never happened.
JP

Preparations
Today is May 9th, three months and a week before I begin.

Nearly all flights and rooms are booked. Remaining to do are to book paid flights between Sydney & Melbourne, secure rooms for three nights at a Buddhist temple on Mt Koya, Japan, get a visa for Brazil, and get a few more innoculations.

For those that don't know--I've been saving up frequent flier miles, and booked a "round-the-world" trip through Delta. They offer 6 stops in one direction in coach for 140,000 miles, business class for 220,000 miles. I decided to make a push and get enough miles for business class.

I joined "AwardPlanner", a frequent flier travel agency. It was a good investment: I told them about what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go, when & how long, and they put it together for me, managing all the phone calls. Around 21 flights in all (small adjustments happen as the airlines change flight schedules), including Delta, Korean Air, Air France, and Czech Airlines. All I had to do was spend an hour at the airport while the ticket agent figured out how to issue the ticket (only her second RTW award in 30 years!). The ticket is stapled into two booklets--it was too thick to put into just one.

My work is granting me a renewal leave for two months. I'll spend a few days in Phoenix and in Kentucky as I start and finish. Then, it's Australia, Japan, Egypt, South Africa, the Baltics, and Brazil!

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

I hit my first real booking hitch today. None of my hotel points were good in Riga, Latvia, so I started a Best Western account to take advantage of their hotel there. Much to my chagrin, I called today to double check on the points needed to stay there, and the hotel has decided to not accept any more free stays this year! A bait-and-switch, if you ask me.

I probably just passed the points I would have needed, so plan B will be to cancel a hotel I had booked in Lithuania with Hilton, and use the BW vouchers there. It looks like the BW points expire more quickly than Hilton points, so I want to use them up. There is a second town in Lithuania with a BW, so I'll consider staying there rather than Vilnius--but I'll research it some more, first.

So my Riga stay is now wide open. There seem to be cheap hotels and expensive hotels, and not much in between. I'm looking into staying at Jurmala, a coastal town very close to Riga, where rooms are looking much more reasonable.

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

So, I got my in-country travel in Australia booked this evening. Virgin Blue (www.virginblue.com) offered great deals on one-way or round trip flights, so I booked a one-way back from Melbourne to Sydney, arriving at the airport in plenty of time (famous last words) to get on my next flight out to Tokyo Narita.

I'm in the process of booking a train ride to get to Melbourne from Sydney (www.railaustralia.com.au ). I've sent a request for the trip I want, and they'll e-mail me back in a day or so. The train is a 10+ hour ride compared to just over one hour on the plane, but there's nothing like seeing part of a country from the ground level. You also get to visit with some of the locals--as well as other international travelers--when you're on a train ride together. Now I've got to notify my friends in Melbourne and see if they can get me from the rail station to the hotel!

That price was also very good, a bit less than the airfare, and was much less by booking more than 2 weeks in advance. Total for the rail & airfare is about $123 U.S.

Next to finish booking--Japan!

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

My rail ticket for Sydney-Melbourne arrived in the mail today--pretty good service!

I've e-mailed the Ekoin Buddhist Temple in Koyasan, Japan regarding lodging for three nights, but haven't heard back. It seemed like the right mix of good reviews and a central location. For more information on Koyasan, take a look at the link on the Japan page.
If & when I get confirmed for lodging there, I'll post a link, if available.

I hoped to attach a picture & post it here, but it didn't go. Looks like I'll be posting them on the regular website.

Thursday, June 24, 2004

Received a nice note today from one of the monks associated with the Ekoin Temple in Koyasan, confirming my stay there in September.

I've put a link to Ekoin on my Japan page, but most of the pictures seem to refer to a temple in Tokyo. There is some helpful history and background about the order that is in english. If anyone can translate some of the Japanese and let me know if any of it refers to their temple on Mt Koya, let me know...

Thursday, July 01, 2004

So, I spent an hour with the doctor this morning. Great guy, he did at least a cursory check-up for me and quizzed me on the trip. He was very familiar with Sydney & Melbourne, and wrote out a list of "don't miss" sights in both cities. He also shared the name and number for a doctor friend in Melbourne, in case I get sick there. Nice guy!

I completed my hepatitis A & B shots, and learned that he doesn't stock the yellow fever vaccine (go figure), so I'll have to get myself down to the health dept soon. That one seems to be required to get into Brazil.

He also set me up with some pills in case I get sick en-route. Nothing exotic, just some stomach-upset stuff (I did survive the bar-b-que pigeon the last time I was in Cairo), and some general high-octane anti-biotics that can kick most any evil infection/bug/etc.

Still to do--hopefully this weekend--is the visa for Brazil, and figuring out whether to switch to Best Western in Vilnius & burn the points, or stick with the Skandic/Hhonors deal. Oh yes, and, buy a suitcase, new deck shoes, mail books to my destinations (too many to carry the whole way), and stock up on vitamins, neosporin, deodorant, etc.

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Got my Brazilian visa back today, after a bit of a bump. Hint: follow directions for getting a visa on the Consulate website, not the tourism one. Courteous and speedy service, though, and it was much appreciated. I get the yellow fever shot in the morning.

Best Western just started allowing the transfer of points to airlines, so I've now got 23 points left with Best Western, and 5,000 miles on the way to my Delta account--putting me over the top for another free trip to Europe! I still have the two certificates, and need to see if I can get those points redeposited.

Mailed books to myself today, with destinations of Osaka, Tallinn, and Nysa (Poland). Spent about $55 doing it, a bit steep, but it will keep my luggage under the weight limit, and save my back. I plan to tackle "Finnegan's Wake"--along with Joseph Campbell's
"A Skeleton Key to Finnegan's Wake"--while traveling in the Baltics.

Lots of little tasks yet to do, but the big ones are falling into place. Until next time...

Saturday, August 14, 2004

It's been a wild month.

The sad news is the death of my mother Olive, not unexpected and yet we thought she might just last forever... So, a quick trip to Kentucky became an eight day stay.

Just prior to that, I was at a camp across the Puget Sound from Seattle with a group of young people. Beautiful location, good people, great coffee.

One of my plans has been to sell my car prior to the big trip, and that is happening. I was down at the Department of Motor Vehicles getting the title, and was sitting across from a man who was pretty agitated. He was muttering to himself, uttering expletives, then began walking around and yelling at the staff. He left, then tried to come back in, but someone hit a hidden button and locked the doors. He left again, but came back this time in his pick-up truck, and drove it through the front doors! Glass flew everywhere, but the metal door frames held. We were afraid he was coming in with a gun, but thankfully
left and was soon caught by the police.

When it was over, I realized the clerk had gone to print my car title when all this happened. This being my fourth or fifth trip there (and they thought that guy was mad!), I decided to stick it out. So, with the place emptied out, broken glass on the floor, police inside interviewing staff, and my clerk shaking her head saying "I'm gonna look for another job—I can't take this anymore", I finally got my title. You can view a news report at http://www.abc15.com/news/schedule_archives/ and looking for stories from August 12.

I'm often asked if it is safe where I'm going. This story illustrates that bad stuff can happen anywhere, when you least expect it. If we hide ourselves at home, if we fail to interact with and learn about our friends in other countries, if we fail to be open to new ideas and different ways of thinking, we are all at great risk. Risk of intolerance, violence and war. There are certainly risks inherent with travel, but they can be managed with good planning and decision making. The risks of living a life of isolation and geocentrism are much greater.