Counting down my departure

This is me at the Ankor Wat in Cambodia in March 2005.

On May 11th I'm setting off on my journey around the world starting in Hong Kong and then to Thessaloniki, Northern Greece. From there I'm heading north to Sofia (Bulgaria) via the Balkan Express Train and then east to the Black Sea (Bulgaria) and later up to Bucharest (Romania). From there on to the Carpathian Mountains of Translyvania (Romania) and north east to Budapest (Hungary). After that, I'm off to Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Oslo, western Fjordland Norway and then up all the way to the Lofoten Islands north of the Arctic Circle . Then south to Stockholm and flying into St. Petersburg (Russia). An overnight train will take me into Moscow and another long overnight train gets me to Tallinn (Estonia) just south of Helsinki (Finland). After a few days in Helsinki I'm crossing the Atlantic to Montreal, New York and my previous hometown of Toronto (Canada). After a good pitstop in Toronto I'm heading south to Santiago (Chile), then up to Lima and Cusco (Peru) for the Inca Trail and the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu high in the mountains. Then back to Santiago, the west coast and wine growing region of Chile, and on to Buenos Aires (Argentinia) and a few days camping in the Patagonian Mountains in the far south before taking the bus all the way down to Ushuaia -- the most southern town of South America. With some luck I'll get on a ship to the South Pole. Then...up to Montevideo (Uruguay), then Iquacu Falls and Paraguay and later to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Possibly a side trip to the Amazon River before heading to Southern Mexico for many days in Oaxaca and Chiapas near the Guatemala border. Before returning home in Hong Kong I'll do some body surfing in Hawaii. After a few days rest in Hong Kong I'm going to explore the islands of Thailand and Southern China before crossing the Indian Ocean to South Africa to meet up with my family and spending time along the coast and photographing wildlife in the north. Around February back home to Hong Kong before embarking on my Asian trip which will include Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Burma, Northern Thailand, Laos, Northern Vietnam, China and south to the Indonesian Islands. Ok....when done with that I'll start working again. God be with me!