So, on the heels of Air Tran changing my flight back to LA, I got an email from Aegean Airways that my flight from Athens to Tel Aviv, which was scheduled for a civilized 1:30PM has now been moved to an uncivilized 5:30AM. I hate airlines.

Whenever possible, I try to take flights with international airlines over domestic airlines. All my flights are with international airlines until the two final legs. Madrid to Philly is on United; Philly to LA is on Air Tran Airways. So leave it to one of the domestics to cancel a flight and move me to a later one. Yes, now I won’t arrive to LAX until after midnight (and technically, my 85th day). My only option was to change to the 5AM flight. Now, not that I’m a big New Year’s Eve reveler. But getting up for a 5AM flight on New Year’s Day? Not gonna happen. Hey, maybe they’ll let me check my bag for free for the inconvenience. Ha! I crack myself up. Thanks, Air Tran.

So I’ve got my home phone which I will forward to my cell phone. I’ve got my international cell phone but still need to buy an international sim card, which may or may not have a U.S. number. I signed up for Google calling. And I’ve got Skype. And email. And AIM. And Google chat. For work. And for my Gmail account. And Facebook IM. If you need me, I think you can find me!

In case you missed the poll to the right, don’t forget to vote on the destination you most want to visit. And someone even showed some Philly love!

With one month to go before I leave, I’m still finalizing the cities that I plan to travel to within each country. But here is the country itinerary:

Cook Islands – 10/10-10/14
New Zealand – 10/15-10/21 (losing a day when I cross the Int’l Date Line)
Australia – 10/21 – 10/30
Thailand – 10/30 – 11/6
Hong Kong – 11/6 – 11/13
Israel – 11/14 – 11/26
Greece – 11/26 – 12/4
Spain – 12/4 – 12/15
USA (Philadelphia) – 12/15 – 1/1

And then back to LA.

Got the Hep A shot. Man, that stung!

So I found this site that has gotten great reviews called Airbnb. You can rent a room or an entire house/apt directly from the owners with a small service charge to the site. It can be much cheaper than staying at a hotel if you are going to be in one place for several nights or more. Some may wonder about the risk of booking a place with someone you’ve never met, but I’ve rented apartments twice in the past and there are enough reputable sites that I don’t see really much risk in it, if at all. Just do your homework. One thing to know is most places require a refundable security fee, which you pay up front. That may mean bringing extra cash that you get back at the end of the stay.

This type of accommodation is not for everyone. Some people like hotels for the comfort one has of being able to ask staff members questions about a first-time destination, to use a concierge service, or to meet like-minded travelers. I prefer the freedom of coming and going as I please, living more like a local, and having that “at-home” feeling. Many hotel rooms, especially in Europe, are very small–a bed, tiny closet and bathroom and not much more.

What I especially liked about Airbnb is payment is done through them and they don’t release payment to the owners for 24 hours after check-in. So if there is a problem, you let them know. Also, because it is a US transaction there should be no foreign transaction fee on the credit card.

For Sydney, I would have considered possibly renting a room as there seem to be a lot of nice places listed, many of which are en-suite, but with having to work odd hours, I wouldn’t want to be in a situation where the owners might be disturbed by a late night or early morning conversation with work. So, I thought it best to find an entire apartment, which I did for under $100/night, including service charge. It’s in a prime location, not far from the Sydney Harbour.

Addtional cost for wifi: Free!
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