Getting ready for Part deux, travel odyssey

So, the packing continues. I am preparing for my year of travel which starts in November. I also have to prepare my boxes for shipment to Malaysia and onward to Australia when I land there in about Nov of 2009. In the meantime, I am delivering tons of stuff to Goodwill as I will be leaving on a one way trip, and also ironing out my packing list for my backpack. I will apply lessons learnt from my last travel odyssey (2003-05). I am getting excited by the day, but I still have many obstructions ahead with regards to logistics. Packing light is always a challenge. And the temptation in wanting to bring everything is always there. Enter the backpacker technology: quick drying everything. ugh, I found 3 shirts from my last trip which is of quick drying material, but edges are turning brown. But what the hack, I will toss it along the way sometime next year probably. My year of travel is actually 2 now. Yes, 2 years. But in between I have to squeeze my entry into Oz to initiate my residency. I will probably take that time to travel up the eastern coast of Oz. In search of some hardcore diving. I also want to get to Uluru to see that big rock. In the meantime, I am trying to learn some Portuguese since I will be in Brazil for almost 5 weeks, solo. Getting around without language is tough (lessons learnt: China - OMG. I never experienced such frustration. It was impossible to get around w/out speaking. At the beginning, Panama - I fell sick and needed a doctor. Not knowing Spanish did not sit well with me. I scrambled to learn Espanol. It's all about survival.) Well, I already got my Indian visa, so I am good to go. I hope the Chinese officials begin granting visas in Kathmandu next year, because I plan to cross over to Tibet from Nepal.) I am about done with my travel logistics. Year One is almost done. Year two will have to wait. Year 2 is crossing the Trans Siberia from Beijing to St. Petersburg. To London, Rabat down the East Coast of Africa and ending in Cape Town. At least that's what my mind is telling me. Year One is Diving in Indonesia. Then completing the rest of South America (Part One was in 2004: Peru, Equador, Bolivia, Venezuela) Part 2 will consist of Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, perhaps Paraguay and Brazil. Carnaval - here I come! Will float up the Amazon for 5 days to Manaus from Belem. I could go onwards to Leticia but don't have enough time. Anyway flights from Manaus to Bogota are easier than Leticia to Bogota. Then after South America, it's onwards to Morocco, Middle East (Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Egypt). Then its onto Dubai, UAE where I hope to catch up with a friend and a cousin working in Qatar. Then its oward to India where I will base myself for 2-3 months (Maldives, Nepal, maybe Pakistan (from Amritsar, will see, Visa depending), maybe Tibet). Will have to work on getting the Chinese visa in either Mumbai or Delhi. Then it’s onto SE Asia - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand. Then Malaysia to vegetate a little, maybe visit Perhentian Islands to check out the diving. Then it's onto Aus. Hm. Not quite sure how this will pan out, but definitely east coast of Aus. NZ maybe. Year 2 will roll around and this is a big unknown, depends how the travel piggy bank holds up. May have to push it out to Year 3. But this is travel odyssey, Part deux. No longer a dream. It is reality.