Background

(Repost of an entry to my other blog Wisearses and Worriers which I've updated a bit and include here for completeness)
Only three and a half days to go until my plans are finally set into motion. And now I'm beginning to feel the weight, the impact of what I'm about to do.
Technically my whole trip started almost two months ago in the small town of Woking in Surrey, United Kingdom, where I was working at the time. I quit my job, that was the first step. I left UK and I'm now back in my home country of Germany to make the necessary preparations.
I've been wanting to leave Britain for a while now, anyway. So, I decided to do something with the money I've earned other than settle down and have a family (something that, scarily, some folks my age have already done - good on them). I decided to stop working for a while and do what's gone into popular culture as a gap year. Or as I prefer to think of it: "gap time". Committing to a year one way or the other seems silly. The money might run out before or it might last a month longer.
But what to do with all that time? Here's how the dream evolved.
Obviously, like most people that do this kind of thing, I wanted to travel. I've been wanting to do that ever since, after finishing university, I wasn't sure what to do with my life. A common question, I hear. Then, my girlfriend said to me "why don't you do a gap year?". At the time I didn't know what exactly that was but she explained patiently and I listened. And almost immediately ideas started popping into my head of seeing far-away places, leading a free life of some adventure, not knowing where I might wind up next week. There was only one big disadvantage to the plan: it would cost money. A whole lot of money! A considerable amount of money. Well, you get the idea. And after being a student, kindly sponsored by my parents, the amount I could scrape together from savings was just about enough for the trip back home from campus and a pizza for dinner. Thus, the choice between a gap year and work was an easy one. Work.
But the idea was sowed and it grew on me. Sometimes it wasn't easy being patient - like in the song by AC/DC: "it ain't no fun waiting round to be a millionaire". A couple of times I announced my plans to my friends but somehow I couldn't let go, didn't have enough money and just stayed. Several times I got frustrated with my work and was tempted to throw things away and just go and see how far I got. Still, somehow under all that ranting and pipe-dreaming the idea managed to keep me focused and determined enough to hang on. In the end, of course, people stopped believing me saying I'd never actually do it. Sometimes I myself thought I wouldn't, that I'd got too attached to my life in UK despite my strong dislike for the place.
And so several (how many? Three?) years went by but some time around my last birthday this January something audibly went "click". I realised I had said it would be this year like I had said it would be last autumn and last spring. I had never really made the move to do anything about it. Now was the time. Either leave now or admit I was stuck in UK. So, the decision was made. Now was the time.
Which brought me back to the original question: what to do with all that time?
After being to China and Malaysia I wanted to see more of East Asia. China and Southeast Asia are natural choices for backpackers because of rich culture and low prices. Of course, I dream of finishing off Asia with a visit to Japan or Korea. So, get a Round-the-world plane ticket? Well, after my trip to China last year I had told myself the next time I went there it would be by train. Not because I hate flying that much but rather because I love going by train, travelling old-school-like. I used to do it a lot as a child, loved watching the scenery go by. And on my trip to China I discovered that you can meet some interesting people on the train, as well. The Trans Siberian railway then. I had even met two Swedes who had done it and loved the experience. That was it then. And I wanted to see a good friend in Beijing for the May holiday.
So, it was that I almost rushed off in a great hurry in March. Fortunately, I came to my senses in time to realise that what I had planned there - to leave UK and be off to China within little more than a month - was impossible. Rushing though countries like Russia and Mongolia, just seeing them fly by the train windows would be very foolish, too. So, I delayed and rethought things again. I also wanted to improve my Chinese when I returned to China to be able to communicate in the country I wanted to spend most time in. I had also had the fantasy of actually *living* in Beijing for a while and seeing the local perspective of the place. How better to fulfill these requirements (and in a useful way) than to study there, to learn Chinese. Universities and language schools offer short-term courses, say one semester. Bingo! That was it.
Thus hatched the final draft, the design that is now about to be set into motion. It would be stupid to rush through a country as big and culturally rich as Russia so I will spend three weeks there. Make the most of your visa I say. This is followed by some two weeks in Mongolia. That country has lots of natural sights which are difficult (and expensive) to get to when you're alone. After that I start my studies in Beijing, which will take until end of January next year. After that things become a bit more fuzzy. I want to spend a few months travelling in China, north to south and east to west. Then cross the border to Vietnam, going on to Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia spending about two to four weeks in each country. Finishing line is in Singapore where I'd then like to look for a job.
My favourite part is that I will do this trip without setting foot on a plane, travelling half-way around the world the old style, by train and by coach. I'm also doing a slightly different kind of gap year to many people who only *start* in China. The way is the goal.
This goal is to see and absorb as much as I can of people, countries, details and at the same time find a clearer idea of what I want, find myself in all of it. Sounds like a cliche? Probably is. Better not read too much into it yet. For now I'm just beginning to look forward to one hell of a ride.