Plans: how they’re developing

For the past month or so, I’ve been working weekends (and the occasional weekday-morning) at a nice café in East Perth – Toast, by some water – which, while a fun and sometimes challenging experience, hasn’t given me enough money to save for Asia-travels. Hours plummeted on the approach to Christmas, as the café is not in the shopping area, and I’ve literally saved about $200. (I’ve been paying rent to Penny’s household, buying most of my own lunches, using public transport, plus random expenditure…) Every dollar helps, of course, but I need more.

Starting January 3rd, I’ve got a 3-week job harvesting sandalwood seeds in the countryside about 100km from Perth, which’ll give me a bit more money.

After that, I need to work for another 6 weeks or so, at the café if I must but ideally something with more hours, either in Perth or more farm-type work elsewhere in the country. I want to zoom travel all around Australia: north to Broome and the Kimberley, into Darwin and south to Alice Springs and south to Adelaide, east to Melbourne, up to Sydney where I’ll stay with my uncle for about a week, with a trip up to Queensland to see the Barrier Reef. As much Australia as I can fit into a few weeks!

See, I have a deadline for leaving Australia. My round-the-world ticket gave me a flight from Sydney to Bangkok (and a Bangkok to London flight), and I’ve adjusted the dates: I fly from Sydney to Bangkok on April 9th. I want to celebrate Songkran in Chiang Mai with two or three friends who are intending to converge there, around April 13th to 15th.

My Bangkok to London flight is on September 23rd, so I’ll have just under six months to see as much of East Asia as I can afford. (I have money besides what I earn here, but obviously the more I earn here, the less of my other money I need to use.)

I’m getting very, very excited about the experiences and sights and adventures 2010 is bringing.