Okay...so it's been two months

It's been almost exactly two months since my initial post about my reasoning for making the what some people my call impulsive gesture of buying a one-way plane ticket to amazing times. Although I have spoken to many of you about my updated status concerning my trip, I figure there are some of you who would appreciate a written update (if you haven't already forgotten about this blog!).

These past few month of have been full and yet, looking back, somewhat empty. They have been packed with trying to make progress on trip preparation as well as trying to see as many people as possible before I made the transition home. They seem empty though, as I slowly leave behind some of the closest and inspiring people in my life. Even though I know they're not permanent goodbyes, they have still been hard. People keep asking me how I am going to cope with the loneliness the comes with a solo journey and I'm never sure exactly how to answer. I don't necessarily think loneliness is a bad thing, but I definitely plan on taking advantage of the social atmosphere of the backpacker community as well as the friends/family that people have so generously been providing for me.

I'm now completely moved out of Davis and I will actually be living at home for the longest period of time since I left for college! The first thing that I did when I came home was to clean out all the crap that has been piling up in my room for years. For those of you that don't know, I have never actually "resided" in my parents current house as they moved into it while I was already away at college. The result was 5 trashbags of old clothing as well as a few more of trinkets and toys that had been stuffed away in my closet for five years. My room is now bursting with bookshelves that comprise most of what I brought down from Davis with me.

Christmas was amazing! I love my family! Even if all the festivities required three back to back days of drivint to Orange County. I'm so fortunate to have parents that are as excited as I am about my trip! Along with a new backpack and two-man tent, I also recieved my trikets for my survival and I surprise "Early Birthday Present" of a new Nikon D40 SLR which I am trying my darndest to figure out how to use before I head out!

If I have talked to you about foreign contacts or meeting your abroad and I haven't yet emailed you to get further information, PLEASE email me, I don't want to miss anybody! My email is atkloehn@gmail.com.

Probably the most exciting update is about my itinerary. Due to the high volume of inquiring individuals, I decided to make a month-to-month plan that would give people an idea of what area of the globe they could expect to find me in. So here it is, the official broad itinerary:
January-April - Eastern/Central Europe
May-June- Russia, Japan
July-August - SE Asia, India
September - Egypt, Israel, Jordan
October - Who knows!

WARNING (I am going to go into detail here so if you are happy just knowing the general intinerary, scroll down to the line of "*".)

As you know, I will be flying into Berlin and spending a few days acclimating and seeing this amazing city. From Berlin I plan to head south in a path that will take me through the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland and Potentially a little bit of Northern Italy. From there, I will move along the Mediterranean coast through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, etc to Greece. Upon my departure from Greece I will head up through Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and continue all the way up to Baltic Sea where I will head either through Sweden and Finland or the Baltic States to St. Petersburg.
From St. Petersburg, I plan to take the train to Moscow where I will embark on my journey east on the Trans-Siberian Railway to its termination in Vladivostok. Along the way I plan to stop in Novosibirsk and Irkutsk, the capitals of Western and Eastern Siberia as well as some other smaller destinations.
Vladivostok offers a limited number of exit strategies. Right now, I'm planning on taking a two day ferry to Toyama, Japan. Once in Japan, I would love to spend a month or so exploring the different regions and trying to encourage my limited Japanese skills to come out of storage!
The next part of the journey will take to Thailand ( Yay! I get to stay with a friend who is teaching English there!) as well as Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, hopefully Myanmar, Bangladesh and India.
From India, my plan is to fly to Cairo, Egypt where I will meet my best friend Dan and we will travel for about three weeks! Somewhere in here I plan on making it to Jordan and Israel where I may get to see another friend who is living abroad!
Pending whether or not I still have money, I would love to continue to travel around Europe and see Spain, Portugal and spend more time in France, England and Germany through Christmas 2009.

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I can't tell you blessed I am to be surrounded by so many supportive people! I appreciate all the prayers and messages! I hope that they continue as I make my way!

Alex