Three years of blogging, six weeks of voting, two weeks of waiting for the results to be announced and another six spent prepping will all come down to this. Tonight, my dear readers, I depart for Buenos Aires to begin my cultural exchange in the Big Blog Exchange!
The past month especially has really flown with pre-exchange challenges to complete, deadlines to meet and employees to feed. So am I ready? Well, to a large extent I am; only thing is I've never before travelled this far and this long. And just how far and long are we talking about here? Here's my flight path; judge for yourself.
My journey will see me travel from my hometown of Sandakan in East Malaysia (#1) to Kuala Lumpur (#2) and onward to Istanbul, Turkey (#3). From there, it's a 17-hour non-stop flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil (#4) before I take to the air again for the final leg of my journey to Buenos Aires (#5) half a world away. Literally.
There will, of course, be a couple of 5- to 7-hour layovers in Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul which I welcome; gives me the chance to stretch my legs, maybe take a shower of three, and get my caffeine fix before boarding those long-haul flights.
There will, of course, be a couple of 5- to 7-hour layovers in Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul which I welcome; gives me the chance to stretch my legs, maybe take a shower of three, and get my caffeine fix before boarding those long-haul flights.
So, what do all these translate into?
14,074 air miles (22,519 km) and 49½ hours door-to-door!
That's a whopping TWO DAYS (plus) of sitting, sleeping, eating and hanging around in airplanes and airport lounges. But I wouldn't have it any other way; after all, Argentina was always my exchange destination of choice, so I'm not about to start complaining (even though I must say going via Cape Town instead of Istanbul would seem a shorter and quicker alternative).
As you can imagine, the journey from my home to Buenos Aires itself is going to be a challenge. However, with the Andes, the Pampas and northern Patagonia as carrot, hell, I'd do it a gazillion times over!
So wish me luck on my trip, everyone, and pray I arrive looking NOT like a decrepit, dehydrated zombie. Lastly, remember to follow me every step of the way as I take you along with me on my Argentine adventure by regularly visiting the Big Blog Exchange website where I'll be posting my updates. It's going to be epic.
Argentina.... aqui vengo (here I come)!
As you can imagine, the journey from my home to Buenos Aires itself is going to be a challenge. However, with the Andes, the Pampas and northern Patagonia as carrot, hell, I'd do it a gazillion times over!
So wish me luck on my trip, everyone, and pray I arrive looking NOT like a decrepit, dehydrated zombie. Lastly, remember to follow me every step of the way as I take you along with me on my Argentine adventure by regularly visiting the Big Blog Exchange website where I'll be posting my updates. It's going to be epic.
Argentina.... aqui vengo (here I come)!
The day is finally here...! Enjoy every, single minute of this adventure!
ReplyDeleteHave a great time! Lots of luck from us. We'll be following you on your trip for sure!
ReplyDeleteHave a great trip! Will be following you for sure!
ReplyDeleteNow I wanna go back.
DeleteHope your travels are going well! I'm definitely looking forward to reading about your adventures!
ReplyDelete