The Ramblings of Sharon

OK, I'm starting to get things together in my slow, rambling way.

I have booked flights to Scotland and planned a quick journey around the countryside.

This is what the plan looks like at the moment, but somehow I get this feeling I am going to spend all my time in the Shetlands and have to return another day.

The UK2OZ group is having a get together on the 27th May in Wimbledon and I can't miss that, hence the rather hectic timeframes.

You young'uns reading should really get your butts out there. The whole industry is geared towards the under 30's. Once you reach the ripe old age of 26 you are no longer eligible for cheap Rail Passes. It seems that over 26 you only want (read have) to travel 1st class which puts the prices way up there.
Rock on Easyjet. Because I have booked so far ahead, the fare from London to Edinburgh is .. tada .. wait .. yes just under 3 pound. Add taxes and its still under 40 pounds for return airfare, taxes and bus fare to / from London to the Airport. How ridiculously wonderful is that !!!!!!

I have also been reading up on travelling light. As anyone that knows me knows, it is not a skill I am even remotely close to achieving. I am really serious in learning how to do this, I am so tired of carting around a tonne of junk that in reality I never use.
I found this fantastic website which is putting me on the right track (http://www.onebag.com/) and I am going to follow as best as I can.
I went out and tried on backpacks today, not that we have a great selection in Perth, and found a nice one from Mainpeak which fits within the carry on baggage limits and also fits me nicely. Being very short between the hips and the shoulders makes fitting a pack extremely frustrating, so I'm glad I found such a comfortable one here.

I keep looking at it and shaking my head, I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I am determined that I WILL do it ....

To put some perspective on it, here is a shot of the new bag (blue) vs my usual bag for 2 - 3 day trips .. oh boy !!!

While I'm at it I will also put up this shot I took yesterday. I was sitting outside getting some fresh air as usual .. haha ... and decided to take a shot of the view for posterity. I couldn't believe it when I downloaded the pic, the cloud formation just made the shot.

The no plan plan is already morphing.

Look what I found while surfing today !!!! OMG it sounds fantastic.

There's a group heading off from London in late August heading to Australia via the Trans-Siberia route.

The journey is broken down in the following way. All legs are by train unless otherwise mentioned...

1. London to Moscow, via Brussels and Cologne (Germany).
2. Moscow to Beijing (China)
3. Beijing to Hanoi (Vietnam)
4. Hanoi to Saigon
5. Siagon to Phnom Penh (Cambodia) by bus
6. Phnom Penh, via bus to Battembang, to Bangkok (Thailand)
7. Bangkok to Singapore

I can drop out at Singapore, visit Norrie, head up to India and visit Venkat and might as well get my Nepali friend to come down and holiday .. so I feel Goa coming up as well, head back over to the UK for a couple of weeks and then over to the states.

This totally changes the focus of my trip, but this looks like something too good to pass up.

Keep watching this space as I find a million other things that I can't bear to pass up, its like standing in front of the ultimate smorgasbord and I just know I am going to overeat.

Ah well, life is for living and you only get one shot at it (this time around) ... oh the link .. UK2OZ

Yep, I've been back in Perth for 2 years now and I'm well and truly ready to get on the road again.
I don't know what it is about my home town.

I love coming home to Perth and I love leaving Perth .. its just the bit in the middle I can't get the hang of.

I don't think my home town is very kind to people who don't fit in the box so to speak.

When I'm travelling I'm a foreigner and I love it .. I am meant to be different, when I feel like a foreigner in my home town it doesnt feel right .. Oh well .. plenty of time to work through that little issue.

Now !!!!!

Thanks to the wonderful Jakki I am off on the road again.

It was something I probably needed to do a while ago, but she kicked my butt into action and I'm getting so excited.

Whats the plan .. haha !!! somethings never change

A ticket has been booked from Perth to Heathrow via Hong Kong on the 7th May.

A ticket has been booked from Heathrow to Boston on the 1st Nov

The rest will sort itself out as I go.

There are soooooo many things I want to see and do, I am so confused and overwhelmed by the choice.

First up I better sort my junk out, finish up work, get through all those windup/leaving parties (yeah its a hard life but someone has to do it) and a general plan will fall out of that.

For those that didn't join in the last wandering here is the link for my old blog

The Ramblings of Sharon

I thought I would roughly chronicle the destinations so far.
Quite a few of the Aussie cities I have been to more than once, but for this exercise I tried to get the rough dates for the first time I went.

I am suprised at how far I've come and yet when I look at the map all I can see is how far I still want to go ... no pleasing some people !!

All in all, considering I only started travelling in 2004, not a bad effort.