Where Am I?

Our Route: Where Am I?

As it stands right now, the route is below. Nota bene: These plans are subject to change at any moment. Days ago, our route ran through Russia and 11 time zones into Beijing. So please, no tar and feathering if this information is inaccurate in 6 months.

September 2 - October 20: The first stops of our trip! After a grueling two days of travel that begins in Minneapolis and goes through Iceland, a night in the London Gatwick airport and ends in Istanbul. We'll spend several weeks in Turkey, breathing in the warm sands that filled the nostrils of Hector and Achilles on the fields of Ilium.

Next comes the fun stuff. We'll spend roughly 2-3 weeks in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The ancient and biblical road to Damascus juxtaposed with the modern edge of Beirut and the Jordan city carved in stone. Our trip to the Middle East will be one seeking an experience, a viewpoint that will no doubt rattle the base of our own and put the maligned region in a perspective that we can say we earned.

Finally, we'll spend 2 weeks in Israel and Egypt looking at big triangular things and Jesus stuff. Things that will no doubt exceed my colorful commentary...

October 20 - December 25: Arriving in India. India seems to be the most intriguing and mysterious of our destinations. With a guaranteed unparalleled culture shock standing aside the inceptive stages of globalization, it faces the cultural introspection that every developing nation must address - whether a sacrifice of traditional customs impedes progress into the modern world and at what point that line must be drawn. From the buzzing and crowded industrial cities of the north, to the slower and more scenic cities of the south, India will test the mettle of our traveling savvy.

For an undetermined amount of time, we'll trek into the high hills of Nepal and possibly into Tibet. Everest is likely not an option here, but one can dream...

December 26 - February 26: The boys hop a plane from Calcutta to Bangkok just in time for the New Year, making Thailand a fabled backpacker destination. The gorgeous and touristy beaches of the south and the sequestered, forested hillsides of the north will provide the most scenic traveling up to this point. Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam will follow in line after Thailand, visiting the picturesque and magnificent Buddhist temples like Angkor Wat, and encountering the obstacles of our first jungles.

February 26 - May 26: And this is where the trip regrettably comes to a close only to leave behind the inaudible whispers of four haughty and naive Americans who passed through. But not before three months in China! Chris Beddor speaks a good bit of Mandarin that should serve us well throughout our stay. On top of that, his three month backpacking trip through China will serve useful as well! China stands, much like India, in the midst of an economic spurt unmatched by any country in the world. As China leans on this precipice, it will provide one of the most interesting times in Chinese history. As the rapid flux of change forces either compromise or an obstinate resistant thereof.

End of May: Flight home from Beijing. The end of our trip will have come and passed and hopefully we'll all be the wiser for it. And still alive.