So, still in the very early baby stages of this trip, but due to time constraints a lot of pre-planning and research is having to be done now...even though the trip isn't going to be until next September time.
As you can see here's my "planned" route, is a very rough idea at the moment, and in no means set in stone. However what is set in stone is my start point, being Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and finishing up in Singapore.
There's a stop pencilled in at Kanchanaburi province in Thailand, where a friend has a complex/villa/holiday home or something out there, where I plan to meet up and spend a week or so...hopefully!
So now that's the trip sorted, I've started thinking about what kind of kit I'm going to need whilst I'm out there...as the aim is to rough it as much as possible, to keep down costs so I can buy my new car when I come back. So...at the moment, I'm thinking I'm going to need a cheap phone, and just buy pre-loaded SIM cards whilst I'm out there, a sturdy pair of boots (thank you Jack Dusty for my Gortex combats!), a netbook of sorts to keep this blog up to date, and keep in touch with people at home where possible, a big ass backpack, probably a bergan which google is telling me is going to cost a small fortune if I want a decent one. I've also seen a hammock, which a malaria net and waterproof roof attachment, which I might invest in for emergency sleeping facilities :)
The difficulty now though, is the desire not to get in over my head miles away from home with a lack of planning and booking of hotels etc, but also with the desire to keep the trip as organic as possible, so if I want to stay in one place for a couple more days I can, I'm not going to lose money or mess up plans...I am leaning more towards the organic side of things, as I know I will have enough cash in the bank to bail myself out of any trouble I may or may not get into, and to buy a hotel room for the night if need be. I suppose if I get out there and it all goes Pete Tonge, I can always just buy a flight back?
