Counting down the days...

Gosh, I can't believe how quickly time is flying by!

We just finished week 12, and next week is the last week of classes. There hasn't been too much going on in the last week - the assignments that were supposed to be due have all been extended (which is both good and bad!). I haven't been working on them nearly as much as I should have been, but there is still time left, and this weekend, so it will be alright.

All that is left is due:
Wednesday, 4th June: case study presentation
Wednesday, 4th June: case study written paper
Friday, 6th June: a 3-5 page journal article for Virology
Friday, 13th June: 3000 words on quality assurance in the lab

And then exams, of course.

So you might be asking what have I been doing, since I have not been paper-writing. Well, I have been planning my getaway!

In fact, I have been doing this for weeks - toying with different ideas, changing my mind every five minutes, asking around for other people that might be interested, pricing flights. The last two weeks I have been checking different trip variations: what if I fly out of Sydney instead of Brisbane, or Darwin, what if I fly back into the Gold Coast, what if I reverse my trip, what is the best (and cheapest!) combination overall?

And then I delayed my decision because I couldn't find anyone to go with me. And so I played on Facebook, looking to meet someone who had a similar itinerary. But I have had no luck at all. And airline tickets kept going up. So instead, I decided "screw it!" and I bought my tickets yesterday!

I figured I will most likely never get back here, and will never have another opportunity to make this trip, so I am going to take advantage of my time now, even if I have to travel alone, and even if it costs a fortune! So where am I going?

SOUTHEAST ASIA!

I finally figured out a basic plan. The day after my last exam, I am flying to Perth, where I will hang out for a couple days until I fly to Singapore. Then from Singapore, I will be taking the train to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and from there: Thailand. Thailand into Cambodia, (maybe through Laos), and then into Vietnam for a while, before I fly back from Saigon into Brisbane. The entire trip is about 4 and a half weeks, and I am so super excited!

Clicky for trip tentative calendar

and it looks like this: