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When I began my trip, I had what could be loosely called an itinerary. I had a list of places I wanted to visit along with the time of year I might get there. Even before I left, this "itinerary" was changing daily. I did not want to be commited to a set route months or even years before I got to a place. I wanted to be able to decide as I went where I would go and how long I would stay there. I did not even have a set limit to how long I would travel. The way I phrased it to myself and others, I would travel as long as I was enjoying myself. This was why an "Around the World" airlines ticket was just unacceptable. There were too many limitations on it, not to mention the one year limit most imposed on a person. Milestones along my way were trekking in Nepal and climbing Kilimanjaro in Tanzania - both very dependent on the time of year.
As I traveled, I spoke with people. More valuable than any guidebook, they gave me first hand accounts of places in the world I would never have known about if I had only relied on a book. Conversations over tea in Bali sent me to Petra in Jordan (on a later trip), a drinking binge in Malaysia sent me to a beach in Thailand, a talk with a girl on a bus in India sent me to Iran. This would give my parents a nervous breakdown: never knowing where I was or when I would return. In the end, my route only bore a vague resemblance to my original plans. Where did I end up going? The Itinerary
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©Copyright Seán Connolly |