After dreaming of undertaking a comprehensive trip for a long time we finally found time and money to travel around the world. At the end of the year we will begin our 3 month trip from desert to rainforest and visit a country with roughly the same number of tourists as North Korea.
A few weeks ago the reply came from work “Your request for leave in 2016 and 2017 has been approved”. Many blame lack of time for not being able to travel more, but we have now proved the opposite, and will undertake 3 months of travel literally around the world (1.8 times in actual distance to be correct), without applying for unpaid leave. The solution is to travel around Christmas, when there are a few extra holidays, and the 2017 leave can be used in January. Our 86 days are slightly longer than Phileas Fogg’s famous trip around the world in 80 days, but in return we are planning to see a lot more.
Itinerary
When we started planning we had a few main points on the wish list for our first around the world trip:
- It would be fun to actually go 360º around the world
- Pohnpei is a must
- We have to see Machu Picchu
- A tip from a friend said that Cambodia is one of the best countries she had ever visited, and that we had to go there
Except from this we were quite open to ideas of where to go, but also had some ideas ourselves. Due to lack of experience with this kind of trip we decided to book through STA Travel, who has been very helpful. Because of the the rainy season we were recommended to travel westwards, and the first stop was Peru. From here we would continue to Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia, but due to limitation in flights we have to make connections in both the US, China and Japan. This opens many opportunities to make a few quick visits to new places. After Micronesia we will continue through South East Asia from Hanoi to Bangkok before we finally end up in Southern Africa through Qatar. And at the veeeery end we will have a short stop in Amsterdam before returning home. In the end, our itinerary looked like this (excluding flight connections):
Norway – Peru – USA – Japan – Micronesia – Guam (USA) – Japan – Vietnam – Cambodia, Thailand – Qatar – South Afrika – Namibia – Botswana – Zimbabwe – Zambia – Zimbabwe – South Afrika – The Nederlands – Norway.
Some days ago we received out youth cards, along with something that might be translated into Wanderlust in a box. For those that might wonder, it smells like sunscreen. A brilliant thing to provide while we count down the days until departure.
Peru
Out first stop will be Peru, to walk the Inca Trail and see Machu Picchu. The trip includes transport from Lima to Cusco, thereafter walking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu itself. For those not familiar with this place, Machu Picchu is an old inca city far up in the mountains of Peru, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and named one of the new 7 wonders of the world.
Machu Picchu is also one of the places we named on out top 10 list of places er dessuten et av stedene vi har satt på vår topp 10 liste over mindre kjente steder vi gjerne skulle besøkt.
USA
After Peru the main destination is the Pacific Ocean. The only problem is that very few flights go to one of the world’s least visited countries, so we need to make some connecting flights. We had no intention of visiting the US as it’s a destination we can visit on a separate trip, but when we first have to go to Los Angels, who says no to a day or two? We will therefore have two days to see the Hollywood sign, Walk of Fame and everything else that you have to see in LA.
Japan
From the US we will undertake out longest flight ever, 15 hours 10 minutes in the air. To top it off, we cross the international date line, which means that we have to adjust our watch by two days when we land. The flight is actually from LA to Guangzhou in China, but due to visa restrictions and lack of time we have decided to keep this stop to a connection only, and Tokyo will be the first border control we cross. We will actually visit Japan twice, both on our way and on the return from Micronesia. Time will only allow for a day each time, but it will at least give us a first impression of the country, to be used to decide if (ehh, I mean when) we will go back for a longer visit.
Pacific ocean
The destination in the Pacific is the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. The capital of Micronesia, Palikir (located on Pohnpei), has the insanely large population of 4,645 people. The whole island is home to 34,000 people, accounting for around 30 % of the entire population of the country. As one could imagine, this is not the busiest place on earth, which is the reason why we have to fly through both Los Angeles, Guangzhou, Tokyo, Guam and Chuuk to get from Lima to Pohnpei. It’s also a good idea to make sure you make the flight, because there are only three departures a week from Guam. The visitor numbers here are apparently around the same as for North Korea…
When we arrive, Nan Madol is on the top of our to-do list. This is an old city made 500-100 years ago by huge stone blocks, and no-one really knows how it was done. Imagine stone blocks like those in the pyramides in Egypt, but having to transport them over water instead of sand. The place is supposed to be amazing to visit, but because it is so remote, less than 1000 visitors see it yearly. The attraction is also on our top 10 list of attractions we would like to visit.
In addition to the strange attraction, Pohnpei is a Pacific island paradise. Long white beaches, coral reefs and 23º C at the coldest of the year. However, it is one of the wettest places in the world, with 3-4 times as much rain as the Norwegian rainy city of Bergen.
Returning from Pohnpei we fly through Guam again, where we will have some hours to kill before our next flight. Again we will use the opportunity to see a bit of the island instead of staring into the airport walls.
South East Asia
After returning from Pohnpei through Tokyo we will arrive (after another connection in China) in Hanoi, Vietnam. From here the plan is to get a bus pass for a month an travel through the coast of Vietnam to Cambodia, where the culture is supposed to be amazing, and of course to see Angkor Wat. Further on we will take the bus to Thailand, where the next flight will take us from Bangkok to South Africa.
Qatar
From Bangkok the next major destination is South Africa, but it requires a flight connection in Qatar. As before we saw the opportunity to replace boring waiting in the airport with exiting exploring in the city of Doha. Not much time to see everything, but enough to get a first impression.
Southern Africa
Out first stop in Southern Africa will be Cape Town in South Africa. We will undertake a 24 day safari from here, going through Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, where we ultimately will end up in Johannesburg. Some if the highlights will be “the big 5” (the safari animals) and Victoria Falls. Since Victoria Falls is on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the Zambian side of the falls houses the Devils Pool, we have to cross the border to experience this absurd “pool”.
The Nederlands
Before the trip is really over we decided to have one last day in a place we have barely spent time in before, but definitively should have: Amsterdam. Schiphzl is an airport we have visited 14 times according to FlighMemory, but only seen from outside once (and that was only to take the train to The Hague). Therefore we will have a “acclimatising day” in Amsterdam before we return to Stavanger.
It’s time to start the countdown now, please let us know if you have been to any of these places and have any recommendation.
