The itinerary is now set, flights and US car hire bought, thanks to the help of Ben Charalambous at Round the World Experts (http://www.roundtheworldexperts.co.uk/). The plan is:

• 18 Aug 2011 - 4 Days in New York before picking up a hire car
• 17 Days to drive across the US, hopefully visiting some friends along the way, before leaving from Los Angeles
• 4 Weeks in Fiji
• 3 Weeks in Christchurch, New Zealand (just in time for the knock-out stages of the 2011 Rugby World Cup)
• 3 Weeks in Sydney, Australia - thinking of trying to arrange a sailing lesson here
• 4 Weeks in the Philippines
• 2 Days in Singapore (for some Xmas shopping)
• 4 Weeks in Thailand
• 3 Weeks in India, probably being 1 week in Delhi, 1 week on a Train Tour and 1 week travelling to Mumbia
• 7 Feb 2012 (24 Weeks and 5 days later) Home.

Phew. I'm thinking about plotting it all out on a big map - a bit like the map you can see on this web site - and sticking it to my wall. I still can't quite believe that it is really happening.

One of the things I am learning about the "Round the World" stuff is that it is very personal. In getting to this stage, many folk provided useful and interesting alternatives (e.g. Brazil) or comments on the places I've selected or the times I've chosen to stay in places. These are all interesting ideas and I've taken some on board, but at the end of the day, I've had to choose what feels right for me. Nobody else will be doing quite the trip that I am doing. (Though, knowing my luck, some family with screaming, hyperactive kids will trail me all the way around!)

I haven't booked the India Rail trips yet, but I'm much happier about this part since Chris Clarke told me about a great internet site "The man in seat 61..." (http://www.seat61.com/). It gives lots of useful information about arranging rail journeys in different parts of the world. I'm thinking about treating myself to a trip on the Palace on Wheels (http://www.palaceonwheels.com/). Of course, you could argue that this whole trip is one enormous treat, but it is a bit like having a nice desert or coffee at the end of a beautiful meal - a little something extra to look forward to as the trip draws to a close.

With a fixed itinerary, I can start on the next stages of the planning:

• Visas
• Vaccinations
• Travel Insurance
• Maybe some Sailing Lessons
• Contacting Friends I hope to meet along the way
• Some of the Accommodation
• More Gym time
• Oh, and I guess I'll need to renew my passport.

For the shorter stays (e.g. New York, Singapore), I plan to book my accommodation before I go. For the longer stays (e.g. Fiji, Philippines, Thailand), I'm thinking of booking a couple of nights immediately on arrival so that I can get my act together before I decide what to do and where to go. (I don't want to over plan.) Mum and Dad once took a flight to Italy without any accommodation booked, but I guess I'm not that brave.

I'll keep posting odd reports of anything that significant happens during the planning, but hopefully I'll have more interesting things to say once the trip starts...