Booked Our Round The World Trip!

The next 12 months are going to be exciting and taxing. We are going to hit the international road in a few days and won't be back for close to a year. The decision is final: Caker and I finally managed to book our around the world trip! We had tried to do it many times, but we always got distracted half way through. On Monday night, we drove to the airport in Rio and completed the itinerary by paying our non-refundable purchase price of about $10,000 each, which is not a bad deal for 16 business class flights around the world. Remember, our business was losing about $100,000 a month, so it is a lot cheaper for us to take the year off and travel instead of work. In fact, we are saving money by traveling...sort of...

We bought the tickets through the One World pass program. One World program is a cooperative effort run through several airlines around the world. We found it easiest to deal with the staff at American Airlines - every other company that takes part in the One World program was not as competent or interested in helping us figure it all out. The program is a little complicated and the website does not function properly, so it is best to deal directly with a human being over the phone.

www.oneworld.com

The great thing about the program is that you don't need to know the exact dates of travel - you just need to know where you want to go and in what order. You can make changes to your locations for $120 per person and you can fly in/out on whatever days you want for no charge. I think it is a fantastic deal, if you have time to take off and travel. They even have a specific Asia Pass that we are going to use from our base in Hong Kong in May. The flights are cheap and easy. There are 700 possible destinations in 150 countries - the hardest part is figuring out where you want to go!

We are leaving on Monday February 23rd and we think it will be about 12 months until we are back in Rio again. Here is what we have so far:

Rio de Janiero to Santiago
Santiago to Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland, to Sydney, Austraila
Sydney to Perth, Austraila
Perth to Bali Denpasar
Bali to Hong Kong
Hong Kong to Mumbai, India
Mumai to Hong Kong
Hong Kong to Bangkock, Thailand
Bangkock to Hong Kong
Hong Kong to Beijing, China
Beijing to Shanghai, China
Shanghai to Beijing
Bejing to Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo to Helsini, Finland
Helsinki to Madrid, Spain
Madrid to Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul to Warsaw, Poland
Warsaw, Poland to Kiev, Ukraine
Kiev to Istanbul
Istanbul to Amman, Jordan
Amman to Cairo, Egypt
Cairo to London, England
London to Casablanca, Morocco
Casablanca to London
London to Miami, Florida USA - our first time back in the US for over a year!
Miami to Rio de Janiero - back to where we started!

We are going to do a lot of traveling over land, which isn't listed here. For example, I want to see Goa in India, a lot of Eastern Europe, Greece, Portugal, etc. The only places we are skipping (but want to see!) are the heart of the middle east (Iran, Saudia Arabia, etc) and Russia. I really want to go to Iran (I know so many wonderful Persians in Beverly Hills who have great things to say about Iran), but the visa situation is difficult. Caker has given his veto to Saudia Arabia because of some ridiculous conditions the government imposes on US travelers - and I can't blame him because it is a crazy situation. We might head to Russia, if we can get a good visa/travel program. The government of Russia likes to jerk American's around, so we are going to wait until the fall to decide whether to go or not. I used to live in a Russian neighborhood in Boston and I didn't especially like my neighbors, but I want to see Moscow and hopefully meet some Russians who change my mind about the culture! Same for the Chinese - I've never liked Chinese people - too buch bickering, squabling, and ridgidity - but I hope to gain a better appreciation of the people.

You might notice that Africa isn't on the list. Well...We are going to Jordan, Eqypt and Morocco, but we have decided to skip the rest. I don't want to be too harsh on Africa and I am 100% positve that it is beautiful land with stunning colors, but this is a long trip and we simply didn't feel that we were going to have enough energy or bravery to deal with Africa. There is a lot of poverty, harsh conditions, and lack of respect for human life. I know that it is possible to see Africa in luxury, but I don't see the point. I already know what luxury is like. If you have ever been on a long trip before, you know that you hit a point of burn-out where you simply need a clean bed, diet coke with ice and some hamburgers to recharge. We may hit Africa some time in the future, but not in 2009.

Caker and I have already done a lot of traveling around the world. He has seen a lot more than me, but we are going to a lot of places that he has either not seen or has not seen in a long time. Thankfully, Caker has a great sense of adventure and amazing sense of direction! We are OK if we get lost, but we hardly ever do.

I already booked our hotel in Auckland (Rydges) and was impressed at how cheap it was ($93, including breakfast) so we are off to a good start. I am going to do a trial run on the luggage today - I think I know what I am packing, but I want to see how it fits in my suitcase. For a Beverly Hills woman, I pack VERY light. I think I can get everything into one large suitcase, which isn't too bad considering the length of the trip - and that includes my wetsuit, snorkle and fins!

I am only bringing 2 pairs of shoes. One is an ugly pair of Mary Jane crocs (I know!!They are horrible!!) and the other is a nice pair of Zannoti flip flops. Personally, I think that traveling for a year with only 2 pairs of shoes is braver than actually traveling for a year! I used to own over 100 pairs of shoes, so this is a big deal to me. Caker is not as impressed.

Casper went back to LA yesterday. Today we have one of our last meetings with our builder and architect before we leave. When we come back, the house will be done. I hope they make good choices when we are gone!