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Brazil

 

Round the World Travel 2007/8

Having taking voluntary redundancy in December 2006, I have since been writing, career planning, travel planning, doing some voluntary work, experimenting with some courses, and gaining my i-to-i TEFL certificate. The trip will be as follows (all flight times are local timings/GAP reserves right to change itineraries), keep an eye on the travelblog for further updates:

Grand Palace in Bangkok

Bangkok (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Friday 28th September: Leave London Heathrow on Flight QF2, 22:15, arrive 15:35
  • Saturday 29th September: 2-day GAP Adventures pre-trip Citybreak, staying at Royal Hotel.
  • Monday 1st October: GAP Adventures: Indochina Encompassed, presumably Royal Hotel.
  • Wednesday 3rd October: Chaing Mai
  • Thursday 4th October: Chiang Kong
  • Friday 5th October: Mekong River [Boat]
Mekong River, Laos

Laos (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Saturday 6th October: Luang Prabang [Flight]
  • Tuesday 9th October: Vientiane
  • Thursday 11th October: Hin Boun
Vietnamese Street

Vietnam (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Friday 12th October: Hanoi
  • Sunday 14th October: Halong Bay
  • Tuesday 16th October: Hue
  • Thursday 18th October: Hoi An [Flight]
  • Saturday 20th October: Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon)
  • Monday 22nd October: Chau Doc
Ankor Wat, Cambodia

Cambodia (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Tuesday 23rd October: Phnom Penh [Flight]
  • Thursday 25th October: Siem Reap/Angkor Wat
Southern Thailand

Thailand (Lonely Planet Guide)

Singapore

Singapore (Lonely Planet Guide)

Perth (War Memorial)

Perth (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Monday 12th November: Flight QF72, depart 09:00, arrive 15:10
    First 2 nights: The Emperor's Crown
    Independent sightseeing
    (No set itinerary, other accommodation to decide when arrive, or based on interim conversations, to include Margaret River, Freemantle, and Rottnest Island)

Alice Springs/Ayers Rock (Uluru) (Lonely Planet Guide)

Australian Boy

Sydney (Lonely Planet Guide)

Melbourne

Melbourne (Lonely Planet Guide)

Sydney

Sydney (Lonely Planet Guide)

Mt Cook, New Zealand

New Zealand (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Thursday 10th January 2008: Flight QF43, depart 11:40, arrive 16:45
    Independent travel (No set itinerary)
    First night, Auckland International Hostel (look out for the Airbus)
  • Purchased: Spirit of New Zealand Magic Buses pass, route:
    • Sector 1 & 2: AUCKLAND-WAITOMO-ROTORUA
    • Sector 3: ROTORUA-TAUPO
    • Sector 4: TAUPO-TURANGI-WELLINGTON
    • Sector 5: WELLINGTON-PICTON-NELSON
    • Sector 6A: ABEL TASMAN NATIONAL PARK
    • Sector 6: NELSON-GREYMOUTH
    • Sector 7: GREYMOUTH-FRANZ JOSEF
    • Sector 8: FRANZ JOSEF - QUEENSTOWN
    • Sector 9A: MAGIC MILFORD DISCOVERY
    • Sector 9: QUEENSTOWN-DUNEDIN
    • Sector 10: DUNEDIN - TEKAPO
    • Sector 11: TEKAPO - CHRISTCHURCH
    • Sector 12: CHRISTCHURCH-KAIKOURA
    • Sector 13: KAIKOURA-PICTON-WELLINGTON
    • Sector 14: WELLINGTON-NAPIER
    • Sector 15: NAPIER-TAUPO-ROTORUA-MT MAUNGANUI
    • Sector 16: MT MAUNGANUI-THAMES-AUCKLAND
    • Sector 41: AUCKLAND - HAHEI - WHITIANGA
    • Sector 42: WHITIANGA - AUCKLAND
    • Sector 17: AUCKLAND-WAIPOUA FOREST-BAY OF ISLANDS
    • Sector 17A: PAIHIA - CAPE REINGA DAY TRIP
    • Sector 18: BAY OF ISLANDS-AUCKLAND
Santiago

Santiago, Chile (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Monday 18th February: Flight QF321, depart 17:25, arrive 12:45 (bit of time travel involved there!)
    Staying Happy House Hostel
    Independent city sightseeing (think what want to see).
Plaza de Armas in Lima, Peru

Lima, Peru (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Wednesday 20th February: Independent flight with LAN Airlines, LA634, depart 08:35, arrive 10:20
    Sightseeing; Hostel to book, maybe Barranco's Backpackers or Inka Hostel, but think I will see if anyone at the Asia end has been to Lima!
  • Friday 22nd February: GAP Adventures: Southern Cross (this trip is not yet guaranteed, so here's praying!), staying at Hotel La Castellana
  • Saturday 23rd February: Pisco
  • Sunday 24th February: Nazca
  • Tuesday 26th February: Arequipa/Chivay/Colca Canyon [Flight]
  • Friday 29th February: Cuzco (Leap Year)
  • Saturday 1st March: Ollantaytambo
Llama at Macchu Picchu

Machu Picchu (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Sunday 2nd March: Inca Trail
  • Thursday 6th March: Cuzco
  • Sunday 9th March: Puno (Birthday)
  • Monday 10th March: Lake Titicaca
Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia

Bolivia (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Wednesday 12th March: La Paz
  • Friday 14th March: Uyani/Sular de Uyani Excursion
  • Tuesday 18th March: Potosi
  • Thursday 20th March: Sucre [Flight]
Iguassu Falls

Brazil, Iguassu Falls (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Saturday 22nd March: Santa Cruz/Puerto Suarez
  • Monday 24th March: Corumba/Pantanal
  • Wednesday 26th March: Bonito/Iguassu Falls

 

 

Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Tuesday 1st April: Curitiba/Illha Grande/Rio de Janeiro
  • Sunday 6th April: Rio de Janeiro, stay at Hotel Santa Clara. (end of group trip)
  • Sunday 6th-10th April: Visit Gaynor (unspecified)
Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo (Lonely Planet Guide)

  • Friday 10th April: Bus to Sao Paulo (unspecified)
  • Monday 14th April, Flight to UK, BA246, depart 16:20, arrive 07:30 15th April
  • Unless secure some TEFL work in Brazil, in which case could return any point by 27th September 2008.

All images are (c) and paid for from iStockPhoto.com

Follow the travels on : www.mytb.org/drbexl
Sign up to receive emails notifying you when an entry is added. Emails and texts (+447909521952) welcomed, although responses will probably come via the travelblog as internet access is going limited at many points, and phone is reserved for emergencies!

Find out more about countries on: http://wikitravel.org/

Find out the time: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ or http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/

ChrisTravel Providers: STA (Chris Mettam @ Manchester Oxford Road branch); GAP Adventures; LAN Airlines; Wayward Bus; Contiki; Magic Bus

Travel Forums: GAP Adventures Watering Hole; Bootsnall Travel Forums; TravBuddy; Contiki Forums

Equipment Stockists: Cotswold Outdoor; Blacks; Millets; Decathlon; The North Face; Tesco; Ebay; World Nomads; Aerotag

Useful accommodation links: Although I'd bought a YHA card, and checked through hihostels, I ended up booking most of my accommodation through hostelbookers.com (kept coming up cheapest), checking trip advisor before booking. I also checked out hostelworld.com; hostels.com; HotelClub (although hotels aren't featuring much on this trip) .

Rough Currency Conversions: (xe.com: September 2007)

  • Thailand: £1 = 66 Baht/1 Baht = 1.5p
  • Laos: £1 = 20,000 Laos Kips/1 LAK = £0.00005
  • Vietnam: £1=33,000 Vietnamese Dong/1 VND - £0.00003
  • Cambodia: £1 = 8,200 Cambodia Riels/1 KHR = £0.0001
  • Singapore: £1 = 3.09 Singapore Dollars/ 1 SGG = 32p
  • Australia: £1 = 2.45 Australian Dollars/ 1 AUD = 41p
  • New Zealand: £1 = 2.92 New Zealand Dollars/1 NZD = 34p
  • Chile: £1 = 1,050 Chile Pesos/1 CLP = £0.0009
  • Peru: £1 = 6.40 Peru Nuevos Soles/1 PEN = 16p
  • Bolivia: £1 = 15.71 Bolivia Bolivianos/1 BOB = 6p
  • Brazil: £1 = 3.97 Brazil Reais/1 BRL = 25p
 

 

 



 

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Last Updated September 27, 2007
© Bex Lewis, 1997-2007. Original concept: mydesigna