My round the world route

Well I have finally got a reasonably complete route to take me around the world and back home again this year. I have had to make some compromises, but I have also found a few extra add-ons that I had not originally anticipated.

I had hoped I would get a thick wad of airline tickets bound together into one stack that would be torn out one leg of the trip at a time. But apparently most airlines only issue e-tickets these days. As an online professional, I should appreciate the efficiency and convenience of the digital world, but it doesn't seem as romantic to have an email in my backpack.

So here is the rundown of my grand tour. All comments and suggestion are welcome.

Jan 28 - Feb 10: Japan - Visiting friends from my days teaching there
Feb 10 - 14: Hong Kong - A total indulgence from the past. I know it will all be different, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to stop by
Feb 15 - Mar 12: Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia - I will be on a 26-day tour throughout the area staring in Vientaine and ending in Siem Reap
Mar 13 - 28: Thailand - Hopefully my brother Dean will come and join me for some down time on the beach. I want to get my SCUBA certificate
Mar 29 - Apr 12: Kenya - I would like to explore some areas of Kenya I didn't get to last year
Apr 13 - May 14: South Africa - I will be participating in a couple of volunteer programs outside of Capetown. I will be diving with Great White Sharks and working with a conservation team monitoring whales and dolphins. I also have some relatives nearby so hopefully I will be able to catch up with them too.
May 15 - Jun 3: Moving North through Africa - I am hoping to make a stop in Botswana, Tanzania and/or Rwanda. I am not really sure yet.
Jun 4 - 21: Egypt / Jordan - I will be on a 17-day GAP adventure tour through the region.
Jun 21 - July 5: England / France - I will meet up with my Mum and her side of the family in England and then travel south to France where we will have a few days on our own in Paris and then off to visit her sister in the south of France near Nice.
July 5 - Aug: Ireland, Scotland, England & Holland - There are no hard plans just yet, but I am hoping to spend time with family and friends along the way.
Sept: Spain & Morocco - My close friends Stuart, Manish and Celia will join me for a tour through Spain. Celia and I will also embark to Morocco. We are also hoping to entice our friend Katheryn to join us.
Oct & Nov: Greece & Turkey - I would like to tour the Greek Islands by sail boat and then make my way to Turkey for a fairly extensive final tour. I will likely also hit a few more places, but right now I am not sure where, could be Italy, Croatia, Germany, Austria, France. Before I leave Europe in early December I think I will swing through Holland and England again just for one last visit with the various family members.
Dec 4: Back to Toronto

I have repeated this list of dates and destinations many times in the past few weeks, and it never fails to impress my listeners. But every time I reel it off I get chills and there is a small twinge in the pit of my stomach. I find I ask myself, "Am I really going to do all of this?", "Is it really possible to take this all in, in one single trip?" and "What are you going to pack for all of these different locations?". These questions can't be answered yet, but hopefully you will check back throughout the year to see what I encounter along the way. Hopefully when I finally return home in December, I will have the answers to these questions and a whole lot more.