Beghaus C7

My new favourite bag. This one is retailing at about £80, and comes in blue as well as grey. Its got a wicked frame, and is quite big and skinny, but unfortunately it has side pockets which spill out, making it really wide and a bit clumsy (if they are full). If I went with this one, I'd need to keep a check on how much stuff I carry around with me, but its definitely one of the better ones I've seen so far...

Fixed

I found out the cost of my vaccinations today. Details below, but I have been advised to go to the clinic just 8 weeks before I fly. This seems a bit short-notice to me, so I will look into getting it done sooner, but its gonna be expensive.

Below is a list of vaccinations I will need (based on the www.cdc.gov website) and how much the Richford Clinic is going to charge me.

Hep A - free
Hep B - £25 per shot (plus NHS prescription charge)
Malaria - n/a
Rabies - £35 per shot (plus cost of medicine)
Typhoid - free
Yellow Fever - £40
Tetanus - free
Measles - not offered
Japanese encephalitis - not offered
Polio - free

Arrangements

How good am I? So yesterday, I managed to do three productive things. I have

(a) arranged an appointment with the docs to check my health and enquire about jabs
(b) arranged a potential credit-card
(c) applied for a replacement driving licence

I'm practically the organised one. Next on my list - dentist checkup and a list of equipment I need.

Here's my new doctor's surgery: http://www.richfordgate.org.uk/home.html

Excellent site for backpacking equipment

http://www.gear-zone.co.uk/index.html

Things to do:

Here's a quick list of things which I need to do in the next couple of months...

a) get a new driver's licence
b) Buy backpack (current favourite is the Mountain Equipment Diamond 55+) although I'm not sure it will be big enough.
c) Sort out my finances and get a good credit card
d) Arrange jabs, doctor's checkup and dentist appointment
e) decide on insurance provider
f) book flight tickets
g) get ten passport photos for visas etc.

RoundTheWorldFlights

The flight below (down 2) has gone down in price in the last week. It was originally £1899, dropped to £1819, but now its gone down by £200 to £1699. Its still pricey, but it seems to cover a nice area. Available on RoundTheWorldFlights.com until may 2006.

London - Delhi - surface - Bombay - Singapore - Bangkok - surface - Hong Kong - Australia Stop - New Zealand Stop - Easter Isl - Lima - US Single Stop - Mexico - surface - San Jose - London(or v.v)

Western Air Rock

www.WesternAir.com rock. They have about a million different round-the-world packages, and are totally up for tailoring the trip. Here's probably the closest one to what we want. It looks awesome. However, again, these are pretty expensive. This one checks in at £1839 (not including taxes!). Killer.



London > Madrid > Havana > Punta Arenas > Puerto Montt > OVERLAND > Santiago de Chile > Easter Island > Tahiti > Auckland > Christchurch > Sydney > Ho Chi Minh City > OVERLAND > Bangkok > Hong Kong > OVERLAND > Moscow > London

Current favourite

This is a map of the route offered by www.roundtheworldflights.com. Its WELL expensive, but it kinda covers the ground we are interested in. I've added a few blue lines to show where I want to go travelling in south america, but this isn't included in the price. killer.

but it looks like an awesome trip. Just need to get Sam to part with two grands and we're off!



London - Delhi - surface - Bombay - Singapore - Bangkok - surface - Hong Kong - Australia Stop - New Zealand Stop - Easter Isl - Lima - US Single Stop - Mexico - surface - San Jose - London(or v.v)

£1819

Flight centre

A couple of hot offers, expiring October 31st, but worth remembering:

http://www.flightcentre.co.uk/

£1099 - London - Bangkok - Sydney // Overland // Melbourne - Auckland - Fiji - Los Angeles - London