My last full week until I disappear.
The nerves are beginning to surface and the butterflies have woken up. At least I know I'm feeling the right things.
So with 9 days left, I still have a few things to do. Not least is the first of my injections (totalling around £250!) on Wednesday. These are mainly for Eastern Europe and Australia. I've also said all the necessary goodbyes to the relatives and given some generic response for the "getting a job when I get back" worries, so I think everyone's happy.
I'm going to start off by buying £500 worth of €uros and see how I go. Unfortunately, I wasn't organised enough to get myself a credit card while I was still earning and getting a Nationwide account for use abroad proved to be impossible. So if anyone else is planning a trip like this, I'd recommend getting those two things sorted before packing the 9-5 in!
Another thing on the old to-do list is to get some Malaria tablets. Malarone and Doxycycline are the two I've been recommended by the Doc. I may leave these until July.
The Australian Working Visa cost £130 by the way and the best part, upon reading the terms and conditions, is that if they refuse my application they keep £120 for "administration fees" or similar bullshit. Needless to say, I hope they accept it! - should find out in 4 weeks by email. I could always try for a New Zealand one if that fails...
Anyway, I've drawn out a vague itinerary to set minds at ease. I've used an InterRail map, which shows the rail lines and used it to plot my route, avoiding the expensive high speed trains. I'll try and translate it to a map, but for now it is as follows:
- Sheffield - Paris (via Eurostar)
- FRANCE
- Evreux - Lisieux
- Alecon - Le Mans - Tours
- Saumur - Nantes
- La Roche-sur-Yon - La Rochelle
- Royan - Bordeaux
- SPAIN
- Facture - Dax - Bayonne
- San Sebastian - Vitoria
- Miranda de Ebro - Bilbao
- Leon - Oviedo - Gijon
- Ferrol - Lugo - Monforte
- Ourense - Valenca
- PORTUGAL
- Viana do Castelo - Porto - Aveire
- Pampilhosa - Figuiera da Foz - Sintra
- Lisboa - Casa Branca - Beja
- Funcheira - Faro - back to Lisboa
- Entroncamento - Valencia de Alcantara
- SPAIN
- Caceres - Merida - Zafra
- Cordoba - Linares - Granada
- Manzanares - Alcazar - Albacete
- Xativa - Valenca - Teruel
- Zaragoza - Tarragona - Barcelona
- Ribes de Freser - Puigcerda
- FRANCE
- Foix - Toulouse - Albi
- Rodez - Figeac - Aurillac - Neussargues
- Clermont-Ferrand - Vichy
- Roanne - Lyon - Chalon sur Saone
- Beaune - Dijon - Dole
- Besancon - Belfort - Mulhouse
- Colmar - Strasbourg
- GERMANY
- Karlsruhe - Heidelberg - Mannheim
- Darmstadt - Frankfurt - Giessen
- Marburg - Kassel - Halle - Berlin
- Wittenburge - Ludwigslust
- Luneburg - Hamburg - Bremen
- Weener
- THE NETHERLANDS
- Groningen - Zwolle - Schiphol
- Amsterdam - Rotterdam
- BELGIUM
- Antwerpen - Gent - Brussels
- Brussels to Sheffield (Eurostar)
I'll decide stuff such as which places to stay and for how long when I'm on the move. I think I'll use this route as something to fall back on if the "playing by ear" doesn't lead anywhere.
And now some set dates for you (or rather me)
15/04/09 - Eurostar to Paris
17/04/09 - 08/05/09 - First InterRail ticket valid
13/05/09 - 03/06/09 - Second InterRail ticket valid
08/06/09 - 30/06/09 - Third InterRail ticket valid
22 or 23/07/09 - Eurostar from Brussels to Sheffield (can't buy it until Apr 28th)
19/08/09 - Plane to Eastern Europe (maybe Czech Republic or Slovakia)
Between 19 - 21/10/09 - Plane from Turkey to Australia (intend to arrive in Australia around 22nd)
Again, I'll try and find a way of displaying all this on a calendar so it makes more sense.
I have yet to get plane tickets for the second trip to Eastern Europe, but I may well do that when I return near the end of August with 3 weeks to kill.
Since starting this post I received the email concerning the Australian working visa and I'm glad to say it's been granted! I'm well chuffed. It looks as though everything is slotting into place. I have until 4th April 2010 to earn enough pocket money for New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
Right I'll leave it there... I'll be sure to add some pictures for the next post....
I have changed the comments thing so that you can leave a message without having to register. Any comments are appreciated! You can also email me: dan_jamesi@yahoo.co.uk
