Be Careful. Countries Are Likely to Shift During Planning.

[Image Source: John Pinkerton, via Wikimedia Commons]

In order to travel, especially for such an extensive trip, it’s essential to know three things: where the journey begins, where the journey most likely ends, and the general path between the two points on the map.  Rick and I have been tossing around names of countries we’d like to visit.  Our goal is to stay roughly about a month in each country, more if we love it, less if we feel it’s time to move on.  This adds up to about 11 countries, chosen for various reasons, plus a month for travel in-between. 

Tentatively, this is the list of countries we’re most interested in (and the reasons they were initially chosen):
1. Taiwan: My parents were born & raised here. And I love Taiwanese dramas.  I highly doubt I’ll see Taiwanese movie stars, just like I rarely see movie stars when I drive through Hollywood, but, hey, a girl can dream.  It’s a potential start point.
2. China/Tibet: My cultural heritage, plus Rick wants to see the Great Wall in Beijing.  I told him about duck heart shish kebob and he’s rather excited about that also.  Tibet is technically part of China, though I know that’s rather controversial at the moment.
3. Nepal: My fingers itch to photograph the monasteries built into the mountains.  Rick’s in awe of Mount Everest. 
4. Mongolia: Rick is a huge admirer of Genghis Khan and I’m a huge admirer of their horses.
5. Russia: I’ve always been intrigued by this country’s history and culture.
6. Czech Republic: Actually, I’m not totally sure why I picked this country initially but when I mentioned it to Rick, he said, "Prague", nodded his head, and it was added to the list.
7. Austria: Umm, Sound of Music plus Mozart. Vienna pretty much defines my childhood.
8. Croatia: Rick says Dubrovnik.  End of discussion.
9. Germany: Rick has family here and many of his coworkers are German.  It also seems like a good potential end-point.
10. Israel: We’re both Christian and this would be almost like a pilgrimage for us.  Plus, everyone we’ve talked to who’ve visited this country has said it was one of the most life-changing experiences of their lives.
11. Turkey: Rick has always wanted to visit Istanbul.  I’ve always wanted to visit the Cappadocia region (cave hotels!).  It works out.

My biggest worry regarding this list of countries is trying to find a continuous route through them all without ending up in Russia in the dead of winter.  As Alexander the Great, Napoleon, and Hitler discovered much to their chagrin, it’s impossible to conquer Russia in the winter, a fact that Rick finds endlessly fascinating.  It might be a tad easier for us, since we’re travelling without the accompaniment of thousands of soldiers and their corresponding supplies, but I’m sure it’ll still be on the tough side.  I’ve printed out a bunch of maps and I’m sure we’ll figure out a general route, taking into account weather and various activities we’d like to do. 

Rick and I are in agreement that the biggest key to a successful route is to keep it flexible.  It’ll make it more difficult to plan ahead in terms of hotels and whatnot, but we believe, in the long run, it’ll make for a more stress-reduced trip. 

Of course, we’re still absurdly early in the planning stages, so things are definitely likely to shift in the process.