In the six months or so that we are away we hope to get around ten countries. True to form we are taking on the most difficult and physical parts of Asia for the first half. The last three months will be spent in relatively 'easy' South-East Asia.

We start off in China, cross overland to Tibet, Nepal and then Northern India. Then we fly out to Thailand, travel down to Malaysia and Singapore. We then retrace our steps back up to Thailand, move northwards towards Laos, then back down to Cambodia and follow the coastline of Vietnam up to Hanoi.

Destinations in order:

• China (2 weeks)
• Tibet (2 weeks)
• Nepal (4 weeks)
• India (3.5 weeks)
• Thailand #1 (3 weeks)
• Malaysia (1.5 weeks)
• Singapore (3 days)
• Thailand # 2 (3 weeks)
• Laos (1 week)
• Cambodia (1 week)
• Vietnam (4 weeks)

After India we have no fixed itinerary, so they are all approximate dates. When we come home when will depend more on when the money runs out. But we have estimated that with our funds they should last about 6 months. See our budget in the planning section for more detailed information.

Methods of transport

We fly from Melbourne to Beijing via Japan. We then travel overland to Central China by Train and fly to Lhasa, Tibet. Then we continue by Jeep, Bus and Train through Tibet, Nepal and India until our flight from Dehli to Bangkok. From then we overland all the way, but we have money kept aside just in case we want to make up some time with a flight. We will then fly out of Hanoi, Vietnam to go home.

Solo or organised trip

The first part of our trip to China is with Intrepid. We were very keen to go to Tibet, and to do this you need to be in a group, plus we thought it would be a good, easy induction to Asia. We've also booked a three-week tour of Rajastan with Gecko. We heardthat India can be very 'difficult' especially to get around, and we wanted to see a lot of places, so we thought this tour would be a good introduction and if we liked it then we could return in the future for a much more in depth look. So apart from these two trips we are going solo.

Why Asia?

Well originally we had planned a three month trip just around South East Asia, this grew as we decided that we wanted to take the opportunity to see as much as possible in the area since we did not know when we would be able to take a career break again. We chose Asia as we are currently resident in Australia and earning Australian Dollars, with not quite the earning power of the British Pound and Asia is pretty affordable, plus geographically it was much closer. Finally, it as somewhere that both of us had not been. Andrew had spent 10 weeks in Nepal in 1999, but that was the extent of his Asia experience, whereas Zoe is an 'Asian newbie'. We are both 'well travelled' but Asia was the big gap in our joint 'backpacking experience'. Hence our quest to join the Asian Backpackerati!

What do we hope to get out of this trip?

We are both reaching/have reached a time/age in our lives of self-reflection, yes that big three oh. Work, although important to us is not the be and end all of our lives. We're getting a bit tired of the Western culture and way of life trying to dominate all areas of the globe, we want to open our minds to new experiences, cultures, colours, smells. We may not necessarily agree with the way some countries/cultures/creeds are governed but I hope we can go some way to understanding why they do what they do. A trip to enlighten the senses and educate the mind. We are aware that we can expect many 'bad times', and we believe that travel is not just about relaxation, luxury and a good tan. At the same time we hope to make some good friends, have a barrel of laughs and plenty of memories to savour for years to come. We hope this trip will form the basis for more backpackerati trips around the globe.