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!
widestass.com

Knowing that it will be approaching the high season in New Zealand and Australia when I arrive as the summer season begins, I quickly found that accommodations would be pricey. And, as mentioned in a previous post, I would have to add wifi access to the cost.

I found a decently-reviewed apartment-style hotel called the Bankside Apartments that is centrally located and has good amenities. Oh, and only $15NZD (currently about $11USD) a week for wifi.
jumpboobs.com

The first leg of my journey is the Cook Islands.  I wanted one exotic destination and this breaks up what would be a really long flight to Auckland.  It’s still almost a 10-hour flight, but better than the 13 or so to Auckland.

Ok, admittedly the thought that “Survivor” shot a season there made it slightly more enticing, not that I will be dropping myself on one of the remote islands there.

Because phone and internet service there is more expensive and possibly spotty, I’ll use these three days as vacation, maybe checking in once a day or so.

After doing some research for a modest priced place to stay, I booked the Aro’a Beachside Inn, which has a great location, good amenities, and nice reviews.  Paradise awaits.

As I search for places to stay, one thing that surprises me is how much hotels will charge for Internet access. The nickel-and-diming of travel seems to get worse every passing day. When companies like Ryan Air consider pay to pee or no-seat travel, it goes from “you’re kidding, right?” to “you’ve got to be kidding me.”

I don’t get charging for wi-fi in hotels. You’re not using up something by using it. You mean to tell me it doesn’t cost more to put some fancy soap in the bathroom than to allow access to a signal?  It’s there whether you access it or not. How different is it from cable or satellite TV? You’re not charged extra for that (and I hope I’m not giving anyone any ideas!) and yet something like satellite is a signal. I’ve also found that the cheaper hotels actually either charge less or not at all than the more expensive ones.

Since I need access to work on the road, I’m finding hotels are charging up to $20/day or something like $4/hr. That’s crazy! And it limits my options as to where to stay. It’s one of the main reasons I’m looking at more apartment stays than hotels. Well, that and easy access to laundry.

Okay, so I should have planned this one a little better.  I looked at the map and figured Sydney to Melbourne doesn’t seem too far.  Guess again.  I’m too used to those high speed European trains where you blink and you’re there.  It’s either fly roundtrip since my next flight is Sydney to Bangkok or take an 11 hour train there and back.  Either way, I probably lose a couple of days.  Should have made the flight from Melbourne to Bangkok.  Hindsight.  So I’ll stick to Sydney and explore the surrounding area and hope to get back there again to see more.  When I can afford a business class flight (14.5 hours in coach?  Yikes!)!

Just got two of three recommended immunization shots–typhoid and tetanus.  Unfortunately, they were out of the Hepatitis A shot, so I have to go back in a couple of days (how an office that specializes in travel immunizations runs out, I don’t know).  I thought for sure they would have recommended one for malaria, but they said I really wasn’t going anywhere that would put me at risk.  Staying healthy is pricey.  I assumed health insurance would cover this, but immunization for travel is not.  I guess one of the few positive things about the health care bill is that preventative care is covered.   I mean, would insurance companies rather cover the cost of an immunization or the care for the disease if you get it by not taking precautions in the first place?  Makes sense to me. 

While there is something to be said for traveling with someone to experience everything with a person you know, one of the reasons I like solo travel is that I don’t have to answer to anyone. If I want to see something, I go see it. If I don’t, I don’t. It’s absolute freedom. Having said that, I have been getting a lot of advice. A lot. For just about every location. While the advice is great, it gets to be a bit of overload. The great thing about travel is that whatever you do, be it a museum or just reading in a park, it’s a new experience and that’s the most important thing.