Minnesota, USA

where the hell is Kate?! well, right now she is still in Minnesota, riding her bike to work, caring for sick people, picking fights with first year residents, dreaming about beaches, and planning to spend the next year traveling overseas. I started this blog to keep family and friends up to date on my travels, which unfortunately won't start until January 2008. In the meantime, I'll probably be hashing out my triumphs and trials of planning this trip. I'll try to break up that monotony by posting cool pictures of life here in Minnesota....yeah, I laughed at that sentence too. On to more interesting things!

THE GIRL
22 years old and never been out of the US before, how sad. I was tired of dreaming about how awesome it would be if i could just quit my job and travel for awhile, and decided to stop whining and do it! I'm excited to break out of the comfortable little bubble I've always lived in, and see how the rest of the world lives. Of course, you don't have to leave the US to do this, but I've had an itch to travel and lose myself and be completely disoriented in foreign lands since I was a teenager. Which is a good thing, since I'll probably end up being completely disoriented 90% of the time I'm traveling.

THE PLAN
1.Fly from LA to Melbourne, Australia to visit my old college roomie Jacinta and perhaps drag her along with me?
2.Sydney, Australia
3. travel up Australia's Gold Coast, possibly to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef
4. Auckland, New Zealand and Tongariro National Park - volcanoes!
5. NZ's South Island has Te Wahipounamu National Park and amazing hiking trails. They go from subtropical rainforest climates to glaciers. Plus, Queenstown has bungee jumping.
6. Fly to Bangkok, Thailand and try not to be completely overwhelmed! Attempt to use the Thai railway system and go from the beaches in the south to the northern hill country.
7. Cross the border from Thailand to Laos in the north.
8. Take a boat down the through the heart of darkness (aka, the Mekong Delta) in Laos and visit Vientianne, the capital, and Luang Prabang.
9. Cross into Vietnam (I've saved my most anticipated part of the trip for last!) and travel along the coast, from Ho Chi Minh City to Ha Noi in the North. Kayak through Ha Long Bay and eat lots of street food while I'm at it.
10. Make my way back towards the Western Hemisphere, either via Morocco, Sardinia, or Greece.

And that's the plan so far. I know it seems like a lot, but I like to think that my stubborness, ingenuity, and generally laid back attitude will help. I'll keep you posted on what happens next!