The detailed plan
So this is the detailed version of my travel itinerary. It’s not all 100% set in stone as you might guess. The flights are solid but the rest has a bit more fluidity...
So... Here we go...
China
My flight out to China leaves Heathrow at 12:35PM on 5th July. Arrives at Hong Kong international at 7:10 on the 6th. From then I fly on the 8:00 flight to shanghai Pudong getting in at 10:30.
So, the simple summary of that is leaving here next Sunday morning and arriving in shanghai on Monday morning.
From there I'm staying with a friend for a few days while I deal with jetlag and culture shock. And then a few more days with him enjoying the city a bit more. :)
My plan is then on the Saturday night to get a sleeper to Beijing arriving on the Sunday morning. I'll be there for a few days leaving on a sleeper on the Wednesday night to Xian.
On the Saturday I'll probably be heading out of Xian on route to Chengdu. From there I'm going to be trying to head straight to Mount Emei which is one of China's four sacred Buddhist Mountains. This bit is one of the more flexible bits since it will depend how I feel at the time...
So I'll get to Mt Emei on the Sunday. From there I am considering doing the trek to the top on foot if I think I can. This is why this bit is a bit more woolly, because I might decide to cut the mountain trek aspect in favour of getting buses further up and doing less walking. However, staying at the monasteries along the way sounds like an awesome thing to do so I want to do that at least once...
Anyway, the plan is that by the evening of 21st I'll have made it to the top of the mountain. I then plan to get up to watch the sunrise (yeah, very early, I know, I am sure I'll manage it for this) and then a few hours later watch the solar eclipse. I can't think of a more awesome place to watch an eclipse from...
So after that back to Chengdu for a few days before I get a flight (probably, currently unbooked) to Jiuzhaigou airport which is near the national park. A couple of days there and then flying back to Chongqing where the Yahtzee River tours start for a trip down the river to see the three gorges and other cool stuff.
Then from Yichang where it ends I will hopefully be getting a train to Hong Kong (or near enough, Guangzhou). The river cruise is a bit of an iffy at the moment since none of the boats seem to do single rooms that I've found and the single passenger surcharge on the places I found was 90%. So I'm hoping to find fellow travellers while there or hoping that a more last minute ticket will get me a better deal. It’s all a bit unplanned at the moment really. ;-)
So in summary the current dates I have are:
6th July - 11th JulyShanghai
12th July - 15th JulyBeijing
16th July - 19th JulyXian
19th July - 22nd JulyMount Emei
22nd July - 25th JulyChengdu
25th July - 28th JulyJiuzhaigou
28th July - 31st JulyYangtze River Cruise
Hong Kong
This is where I meet up with my fellow travellers. Hannah and George get in by train at about lunch time or so on the 1st August. We are then there til George flies out back to the UK on the Thursday (6th August) at which point Hannah and I get on a train through china to Vietnam (many trains actually).
We get a day in Nanning on the 7th having arrived at 6:20 in the morning and leaving at just gone five in the afternoon.
1st August - 6th AugustHong Kong
7th AugustNanning
Vietnam
On 8th August at early o'clock (6AM if you want a bit more accuracy) we arrive in Hanoi. We've got a day there before next morning we head out for a little cruise around Halong Bay. This is from 9th August to 10th August.
Then a bit more time in Hanoi before we get a sleeper down to Hue. A couple of days in Hue before heading down to Danang which isn't far. Danang is a major city not far from Hoi An, famous for its tailors. This is where I get some awesome new clothes for my wardrobe. Bespoke tailored suits for virtually nothing ready in 24 hours apparently. Can't argue with that...
So on 16th we get a sleeper to Saigon/Ho Chi Min City. Which according to the organised travel itinerary from Hannah looks quite a long trip, leaving Danang at 13:13 and arriving in Saigon at 14:30. Let’s hope that's a comfortable train...
So in Saigon we get two and a half days. And then we get to start heading to Cambodia...
8th AugustHanoi
9th August - 10th AugustHalong Bay
11th AugustHanoi
12th AugustHue
13th August - 16th AugustDanang and Hoi An
17th August - 19th AugustSaigon/Ho chi Min City
Cambodia
So we then continue on with our trip getting into Phnom Penh at lunch time on the 20th August having crossed the border from Vietnam that morning. The capital city will hold our attention for a few days until 22nd when we do the trip to Angkor Wat. We stay then until the 24th, the Monday, when we head over the border to Bangkok.
20th August - 21st AugustPhnom Penh
22nd August - 24th AugustAngkor Wat
Thailand
Thailand is simple to describe the plan. We get in to Bangkok on the 25th August and have flights out on the evening of the 26th. Not much time for Thailand but it’s that or cut some of the other stuff so I'd rather it this way. :)
25th August - 26th AugustBangkok
Australia
Then the last part of the holiday is Australia. We fly into Sydney on 27th August and I've got friends and Hannah has family that we are going to be going to sea. We have the blue mountains as the only real definite place that we are going to go from Sydney. And then on 3rd September we transfer by plane up to Cairns. We then spend the next week in the sun. Hannah has been here before and has nice ideas about scuba diving, and boats and things. I have ideas about lying about doing nothing and having beer on the beach as I believe is traditional in Australia. :)
27th August - 3rd SeptemberSydney
3rd September - 10th SeptemberCairns
And home
And the flight home has three legs, Cairns to Sydney, Sydney to Abu Dhabi and then Abu dhabi to Heathrow. We leave Cairns at 17:15 local time on the 10th September and finally get into Heatehrow at 13:15 local time on the 11th September. There's over 24 hours of flight time in there with an hour and a half break in syndeny and a two hour gap in Abu Dhabi. So a bit of time to stretch my legs.
P.S. I got bored of doing links for various bits and pieces of where I'm going. I might fill them in later. Tili then I'm sure google will do you. :)
So... Here we go...
China
My flight out to China leaves Heathrow at 12:35PM on 5th July. Arrives at Hong Kong international at 7:10 on the 6th. From then I fly on the 8:00 flight to shanghai Pudong getting in at 10:30.
So, the simple summary of that is leaving here next Sunday morning and arriving in shanghai on Monday morning.
From there I'm staying with a friend for a few days while I deal with jetlag and culture shock. And then a few more days with him enjoying the city a bit more. :)
My plan is then on the Saturday night to get a sleeper to Beijing arriving on the Sunday morning. I'll be there for a few days leaving on a sleeper on the Wednesday night to Xian.
On the Saturday I'll probably be heading out of Xian on route to Chengdu. From there I'm going to be trying to head straight to Mount Emei which is one of China's four sacred Buddhist Mountains. This bit is one of the more flexible bits since it will depend how I feel at the time...
So I'll get to Mt Emei on the Sunday. From there I am considering doing the trek to the top on foot if I think I can. This is why this bit is a bit more woolly, because I might decide to cut the mountain trek aspect in favour of getting buses further up and doing less walking. However, staying at the monasteries along the way sounds like an awesome thing to do so I want to do that at least once...
Anyway, the plan is that by the evening of 21st I'll have made it to the top of the mountain. I then plan to get up to watch the sunrise (yeah, very early, I know, I am sure I'll manage it for this) and then a few hours later watch the solar eclipse. I can't think of a more awesome place to watch an eclipse from...
So after that back to Chengdu for a few days before I get a flight (probably, currently unbooked) to Jiuzhaigou airport which is near the national park. A couple of days there and then flying back to Chongqing where the Yahtzee River tours start for a trip down the river to see the three gorges and other cool stuff.
Then from Yichang where it ends I will hopefully be getting a train to Hong Kong (or near enough, Guangzhou). The river cruise is a bit of an iffy at the moment since none of the boats seem to do single rooms that I've found and the single passenger surcharge on the places I found was 90%. So I'm hoping to find fellow travellers while there or hoping that a more last minute ticket will get me a better deal. It’s all a bit unplanned at the moment really. ;-)
So in summary the current dates I have are:
6th July - 11th JulyShanghai
12th July - 15th JulyBeijing
16th July - 19th JulyXian
19th July - 22nd JulyMount Emei
22nd July - 25th JulyChengdu
25th July - 28th JulyJiuzhaigou
28th July - 31st JulyYangtze River Cruise
Hong Kong
This is where I meet up with my fellow travellers. Hannah and George get in by train at about lunch time or so on the 1st August. We are then there til George flies out back to the UK on the Thursday (6th August) at which point Hannah and I get on a train through china to Vietnam (many trains actually).
We get a day in Nanning on the 7th having arrived at 6:20 in the morning and leaving at just gone five in the afternoon.
1st August - 6th AugustHong Kong
7th AugustNanning
Vietnam
On 8th August at early o'clock (6AM if you want a bit more accuracy) we arrive in Hanoi. We've got a day there before next morning we head out for a little cruise around Halong Bay. This is from 9th August to 10th August.
Then a bit more time in Hanoi before we get a sleeper down to Hue. A couple of days in Hue before heading down to Danang which isn't far. Danang is a major city not far from Hoi An, famous for its tailors. This is where I get some awesome new clothes for my wardrobe. Bespoke tailored suits for virtually nothing ready in 24 hours apparently. Can't argue with that...
So on 16th we get a sleeper to Saigon/Ho Chi Min City. Which according to the organised travel itinerary from Hannah looks quite a long trip, leaving Danang at 13:13 and arriving in Saigon at 14:30. Let’s hope that's a comfortable train...
So in Saigon we get two and a half days. And then we get to start heading to Cambodia...
8th AugustHanoi
9th August - 10th AugustHalong Bay
11th AugustHanoi
12th AugustHue
13th August - 16th AugustDanang and Hoi An
17th August - 19th AugustSaigon/Ho chi Min City
Cambodia
So we then continue on with our trip getting into Phnom Penh at lunch time on the 20th August having crossed the border from Vietnam that morning. The capital city will hold our attention for a few days until 22nd when we do the trip to Angkor Wat. We stay then until the 24th, the Monday, when we head over the border to Bangkok.
20th August - 21st AugustPhnom Penh
22nd August - 24th AugustAngkor Wat
Thailand
Thailand is simple to describe the plan. We get in to Bangkok on the 25th August and have flights out on the evening of the 26th. Not much time for Thailand but it’s that or cut some of the other stuff so I'd rather it this way. :)
25th August - 26th AugustBangkok
Australia
Then the last part of the holiday is Australia. We fly into Sydney on 27th August and I've got friends and Hannah has family that we are going to be going to sea. We have the blue mountains as the only real definite place that we are going to go from Sydney. And then on 3rd September we transfer by plane up to Cairns. We then spend the next week in the sun. Hannah has been here before and has nice ideas about scuba diving, and boats and things. I have ideas about lying about doing nothing and having beer on the beach as I believe is traditional in Australia. :)
27th August - 3rd SeptemberSydney
3rd September - 10th SeptemberCairns
And home
And the flight home has three legs, Cairns to Sydney, Sydney to Abu Dhabi and then Abu dhabi to Heathrow. We leave Cairns at 17:15 local time on the 10th September and finally get into Heatehrow at 13:15 local time on the 11th September. There's over 24 hours of flight time in there with an hour and a half break in syndeny and a two hour gap in Abu Dhabi. So a bit of time to stretch my legs.
P.S. I got bored of doing links for various bits and pieces of where I'm going. I might fill them in later. Tili then I'm sure google will do you. :)