Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well, not quite yet. But I've been researching trips and today I got the go-ahead from my employer to take a few weeks off in the spring. HELL YES. I'm finally gonna do it! Travel, that is.

Now, all I have to do is decide where in the world I want to go. So far I've narrowed it down to:

Thailand/Cambodia/Malaysia - Southeast Asia totally appeals to me, and I'd like to see some of the less-frequented places in the region (like Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam)

India - Just a sweet country. Take a look at my apartment and you'll tell that I embrace a lot of Indian things, whether they be food or pillows.

Tanzania/Kenya - I would love to see the Great Rift Valley and even climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. At this point, though, I'm tempted to go to Africa after I cut my teeth on my very first major trip abroad, but we'll see.

Peru/Inca Trail/Galapagos Islands - I've seen some trips that combine a trip on the Inca Trail with the Galapagos, and that sounds really awesome. The only downside of this trip is that I'd like to get off the American continent. Lame, I know. Maybe I'll do this trip next year.

Australia/New Zealand - Amazing, but the 16-hour plane trip scares me. Again, this is probably a trip for when I'm a more seasoned traveler.

As for Europe and all the usual tourist destinations - yeah, I want to see Europe, but honestly at this point, I'd rather sweat my ass off hiking in the tropics, sleep in a longhouse, and have other totally off-the-beaten-path sorts of experiences, rather than touring cities and seeing all the usual tourist attractions. And I kinda feel like the ecological wonders of places like the Galapagos are disappearing fast, while the beautiful cities of Europe will be around for awhile longer (right?)

Anyway, I could not be more excited about taking a trip. I can't even imagine how much it will expand my horizons and open my eyes to locations, people, cultures, etc. I didn't even know existed.

At this point, I am very excited about a Malaysia trip described on Gecko Travel, UK-based travel agency that specializes in eco-friendly tour groups of Southeast Asia (with small groups of 1 to 9 people). I like their mission and philosophy, and they've been nice about responding to my clueless questions so far. Anyway, we'll see. Is Malaysia a totally random place to go? That's exactly the point.

[image from geckotravel.com]