"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain
Hello Everyone, welcome to my travelog!
As you know, I'm planning an "Around-the-Globe" trip that will take place over 100+ days. Here are some of the details of my trip:
Trip Begins: 8/17/07
Trip Length: 3 1/2 Months
Itinerary: New York-Tahiti-New Zealand-Australia-Vietnam-Cambodia-Thailand-Nepal-India-Kenya-Egypt-Rome-London
Travel Agent: Airtreks.com (They are based in San Francisco and specializes in around-the-world trips. I got this pre-packaged itinerary on sale from their website, but you can customize your own trips with their easy-to-use TripPlanner tool)
Planning Process: I spent past two weeks traveling to Washington D.C. and NYC for travel visas. FYI - for American citizens, tourist visas are required for Vietnam (2-day processing time), India (same day but long lines) and Kenya (same day). Visas are also required for Nepal and Egypt but they can be obtained at airports of entry. Visas are required for Australia and Cambodia but can be applied online (welcome to the 21st century!)
For further information on entry/exit requirements for all foreign countries, you can visit the State Department website (good to see the tax dollars put into some practical use): http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html
For those of you who just have to wait for the last minute to get your passport/visa, do not fret! There are many agencies that offer expedited passport/visa services for the procrastinators among us. But of course, the convenience comes with costs - you will have to pay a service fee for each visa on top of the processing fees charged by each embassy (rush delivery fees extra).
http://www.visaexpress.net/
http://www.travisa.com/
http://www.visa4you.net/
Disclaimer: I personally did NOT use any of these services because I had plenty of time to get the visas myself.
To do list for the upcoming week: finalize Cambodian visa, buy travel supplies and slave in the gym to get my bum into bikini-worthy shape(Tahiti is the first stop after all!)
