The Itinerary started very ambitious but I had to reduce it down. You can do a lot in a year but not everything! China was one of the countries I wanted to visit the most so I started there landing in Beijing from London. Talk about being thrown at the deep end! I travelled inland (visiting Shaolin, Xian, Chengdu, Yunan) for about two months and a half and rejoined Shanghai cruising it fourth class on the Yangtze River and taking a succession of buses after that.
From Shanghai I flew to Bangkok. I headed straight to Chiang Mai, up north. Then trained it all the way back down to Bangkok, met a friend of mine and then we headed for the island of Ko Tao. His holiday over I carried on overland to the Malaysian border via Krabi. In Malaysia, again on public transport I crossed the mainland from north to south, visiting the Island of Penang (Georgetown), KL, the Cameron Highlands and Tioman Island.
I crossed the border on foot and a furtive visit to Singapore before flying from there to Bali. From Kuta I split the country right through the middle to go up north to dive a wreckage site (The Liberty). After four days I came back down and flew out to Townsville in Australia. There I had a moment's rest and comfort at my sis' for a few weeks. I then headed to Sydney and Melbourne before flying to Christchurch in New Zealand. Not finding work there I headed to Queenstown where I got a very relevant job in an internet café. I stayed short of three months and then repacked my backpack again and made for Nelson via Fox Glacier. Had an easy flight from Nelson to Auckland and left the country for a succession of flights via Hawaii taking me all the way to Mexico.
I crossed the Time line and lived Valentines day twice! I enjoyed ten days in Mexico DF with friends and returned to full adventure mode as I travelled from Mexico to Costa Rica overland. Going through Oaxaca, Mazunte, San Cristobal de las Casas, Palenque, Valladolid & Tulum in Mexico. A bus ride through Belize later, I arrived in Flores, Guatemala. I then headed for the ruins of Tikal before taking a boat trip from Rio Dulce to livingstone and then finishing off in the popular region of Lago Atitlan.
The next stop was mainly dedicated to diving on the island of Utila in the north coast of Honduras. Failing to see any whale sharks, I clocked yet more bus miles and soon reached Leon in Nicaragua. I made an unavoidable stop in Granada and then was treated with a memorable stay in Isla Ometepe. I then entered the last phase of this incredible journey in the Carribean island of Grenada with the parents of a close friend of mine and experienced the perfect wind down. Returning to London was gonna come as a shock anyway so might as well make the most of it till the very last day! Two weeks after landing in Grenada I was landing back where I started: in London...
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