The plan

I feel a little self-centered doing a blog about my trip, but it seemed like a nice way to keep in touch with people. I will try to update the blog when I have access to cheap internet. The map below is my attempt at showing the flights I'll be taking. I included the connecting stops to make the route easier to see.


Roughly, that's New York > (connect through Tokyo) > Bangkok > Angkor Wat > Bangkok > Hanoi > Bangkok > (connect through Dubai) > Johannesburg > Cape Town > Johannesburg > Livingstone > Johannesburg > Dar Es-Salaam > (connect through Dubai) > New York. Below is the annotated itinerary:

• June 20, 1 pm: Bill and I depart from New York.
• June 21, 3:30 pm: We arrive in Tokyo after a 13 1/2 hour flight, have a 3 hour layover during which we become reacquainted with the use of our limbs and maybe eat some sushi or noodles, then arrive in Bangkok at 11:05 pm and fall into bed.
• Late June: We traipse around Thailand for a bit and enjoy the people, food, and beaches.
  
• June 26 - I get to ride on an elephant for my birthday. Preferably a happy, well-treated elephant without rheumy eyes.
• Late June: We fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The big tourist draw in Siem Reap is a complex of 12th century temples built in the Khmer empire's capital city, including the largest temple, Angkor Wat.
  
• Early July: We go visit my college friend Alex, who is living in Hanoi.
• July 7: Bill goes back home. I wander around Vietnam and Thailand until July 20 and do fun things.
  
• July 20, 2:30 am: I leave Bangkok for Johannesburg. I connect through Dubai with a 4 1/2 hour layover, during which I can have my pick of internet access, entertainment for children, the special reclining nap chairs in the quiet lounge, or the "lavish" duty-free selections. So many choices! I arrive in Johannesburg at 10 pm local time (3 pm Thailand time) and try to get to sleep.
  
• July 21, early: My childhood friend Allen gets into Joburg. We fly to Cape Town and spend the next few days there. My college friend Orion claims he has a stepbrother in Cape Town who can give us vineyard recommendations, but there has been no proof of this alleged stepbrother or his recommendations so far.
• July 26, morning: Allen and I fly from Cape Town through Joburg to Livingstone, the Zambian town by Victoria Falls. We spend time at the falls and then take a bus down to Chobe National Park in Botswana. There may be elephants here as well. I am not averse to multiple elephant rides.
  
• August 2, 1 pm: We fly from Livingstone back to Joburg and have a couple days there to explore the city and try not to get mugged.
• August 4, morning: Allen flies back to Hong Kong, and I fly to Dar Es-Salaam in Tanzania. Dar is a 10 hour bus ride (or a more expensive plane flight) from Arusha, where my college friend Brittan is working this summer. I spend a couple weeks as a bad influence, trying to get her to go see Mt. Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar instead of working.
• August 24, 4:30 pm: Leave Dar for home. Go through Dubai again, this time with a nice 3 hour layover from 11 pm to 2 am. I will probably go for the reclining chairs in the nap lounge.
• August 25, 8:10 am: Arrive back in New York after a solid 14 hour flight.