Finally.... I have a blog of my own... For somebody who loved to maintain a dairy and has so many things to express and record, I am quite a late entrant on the scene. But as the saying goes "Better late than never", so here I am finally writing my first blog post.
This blog is primarily for myself; a journal to record my thoughts and musings. Something I can refer to in the future to understand my state of mind at a particular point in my life.
So much for the introduction!! Now let me get straight to the point. The only thought that is consuming me these days is how to make my dream of travelling the world A REALITY. I definitely want to do it in this lifetime!! I want to travel to and explore all the countries in this world before I turn senile or become a vegetable who has to be carried to the bathroom. Ambitious huh!!! But then isn't that the way I like it. A plan which is not so graindoise or amibitious wouldn't turn me on .... now would it.
So here's my life's ambition, my raison d'etre (that I figured out in the last few months).
"TRAVEL TO ALL THE COUNTRIES IN THIS WORLD in this lifetime."
I would like to explore each country with the passion of an explorer even though there may not be anything new to discover and maybe thousands of people have trodden on the same path. But each journey is unique and memorable and special for the one undertaking it.
My mind is buzzing with ideas on how to make this a reality or how i should plan my travels or chronicle it systematically for my children and their children to see. So I just had to record all these ideas somewhere before they faded away from my consciousness.
As I write this blog, I am storing away important / relevant information in a word document called "Lifetime Travel Plan", a document I intend to keep referring to in the future.
First things first. The key to making my lifetime project a success is "Planning, Planning and more Planning" as I discovered in my recent jaunt to Malaysia. Planning and advance preparation are key to successful, productive and hasslefree travelling. And the devil is in the details. So I will start by systematically breaking down the project and planning each aspect with great care.
To begin with, there are 197 countries in the world; including Taiwan and Tibet. Hopefully, the bullying tactics of China will be thwarted in the future and both the countries will be able to claim their rightful place in the list of "Independent Sovereign Countries". I earnestly hope that I will see this positive development in my lifetime.
Summary:
Target: 197 Countries
Deadline: 2040
Current Year: 2010
Duration: 30 years (Age 62 years)
Average No of Countries to be visited in a year: 7
Now covering 7 countries in a year and doing justice to them will require lots of
1) time and
2) money
3) preparation
So with adequate time, money and preparation, i can attempt to adequately travel to 7 new countries every year.The most efficient way of doing this would be to segregate the countries according to continents and cover one continent at a time.
Six notable continents to cover excluding Antartica, which means I have approximately 5 years to cover an entire continent. Good, five years seems like a reasonable time.
The best way to cover a continent would be
1) Earn crores of rupees and then just take off without worrying about money.
2) Take up employment in the respective continent for 5 years and travel the surrounding countries.
First one is definitely a very tempting proposition. Will have to think deeper about it. When there is no worry about earning a livelihood, time will also get automatically freed up. Only the familiar responsibilities need to be taken care of. Second option is more practical and doable but will require very efficient time management and route planning.
Route Planning
Should take up a cluster of countries in a given geographical area and then explore the same at one go. This will ensure optimal usage of travel time and travel money.
