Trips of a Lifetime

As long as I can remember I love going and being away from home. As I have grown older I have discovered I love traveling. I haven’t even begun to travel to everywhere I would like to but I have scratched the surface and that is a start. There are a few key points that I really want to hit like all of Italy, Paris, and skiing in Switzerland but I want to see and experience the entire world. I love learning about and seeing different things. I have a travel bucket list of places I would for sure like to hit but if it isn’t on this list it definitely doesn’t exclude it from my journey. I don’t have many of the countries that lie in the Americas just because they are the most accessible for us American’s and a bit cheaper to experience, unlike Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa which is a bit more expensive to get to and experience. As I go through life I hope to knock most if not all of these off my list plus some.

* indicate I have been there with month and year of visit following

Thailand-  Even though I have been to Thailand I was only actually in the Bangkok airport and then 16 wonderful days in Phutket.  I would really like to take another trip to explore Bangkok and other areas in Northern Thailand since I have visited Phuket the paradise island.

*Bangkok airport- January 2010
*Phuket- January 2010
Singapore
Malaysia

Japan
Nepal

China

Indonesia

Philippines

Maldives

Australia
New Zealand
England
France
Italy
Germany- I visited southern Germany but still the country is so big I will for sure be going back to get more of this wonderful land.
*Munich/Bavaria- May 2009
*Austria- I didn't find Austria that great.  I thought the people there were very rude.  I enjoyed my stay in Vienna but probably won't be making another trip until most other destinations have been struck off the list.

*Vienna- May 2009

Netherlands
Czech Republic

Poland

Switzerland

Spain

Greece

Cyprus

United Arab Emirates
*Dubai- July 2008, May 2009, August 2009, January 2010, April 2010, June 2010, August 2010
Israel

India

Turkey
Morocco

Egypt

South Africa
Kenya

Russia

THE WORLD.....EVERYWHERE!

Read travel post here.

Backpacking Trip
Being in Iraq I get to talk to people who have travelled a lot and have a lot of different ideas about travelling. One of my English mates has been backpacking twice. Once for 7 months and then again for 1 year, as I listen to some of his tales I think… “I want that life experience!” I was asking him all sorts of practical questions about money, accommodations, and routes and after talking with him I am making it a goal to save my money and go backpacking for 6 months. I think 1 year is just a really long time and a lot of money. 6 months is a reasonable amount of money and an enormous amount of traveling. Asia is big for backpackers because it is so inexpensive but I think I would enjoy backpacking through and across Europe so much more. I think I would like all the culture and architecture a bit more and it would be a perfect opportunity to learn more world history and really use my German. I plan on hitting Germany again; I love that country and I have only been to the southern region. Bavaria is stunning but I want to set foot in Berlin. There is so much history there. I have worked up a plan so to speak and hopely within the next year or two I will get to make my journey.

How weird is it that my red lines accidentally made like a super hero M! LOL I think that is a sign.
Length: 6 months from April- September

Goal: To have many life and cultural experiences while traveling the world learning about myself and others

A few must sees/dos:
o Stonehenge
o Eiffel Tower
o Vatican City
o Leaning Tower of Pisa
o Concentration camps in Poland
o EVERYTHING!!!!

Estimated budget (not including airfare): $9,000

My friend said when he went on his journey he had 13 open ended plane tickets that earned him 29,000 frequent flier miles and only cost him $1,200. Isn’t that amazing? I need to talk with a travel agent to see if that is possible now so I can get a better grasp of what I am actually up against. LOL

Where I plan on visiting:
England: London
France: Paris, Nice, Marseilles
Italy: Rome, Venice, Milan, Naples, Florence, Tuscany
Netherlands: Amsterdam
Germany: Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart
Spain: Madrid, Barcelona
Switzerland: Geneva
Poland
Hungary: Budapest
Greece: Athens
Czech Republic: Prague

Where I have been so far on the map:



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