They say that planning the "big trip" is half the fun; I can both strongly agree and disagree with this statement. Obviously it is beyond exciting thinking of all the possibilities that are out there; all the different places that are at your fingertips. Pair this with looking through endless pictures and reading other people's blogs, it is one of the most liberating feelings I think I have felt...

... Actually deciding where to go, on the other hand, creates an interesting level of stress that I definitely wasn't expecting as part of this process. This ties in with a multitude of different aspects that you need to consider when mapping out your route:

Budget:

Probably the biggest deciding factor is at least some sort of idea of a budget. It is best to think on the most pessimistic lines with this - falling short is far worse than realising you have expendable cash to play with once away. Once a realistic budget is in place, you can begin researching your route, and the length of time that your trip will be.

The Route:

The route, I think, largely depends on the budget, the length of time available and most importantly what you really want to get out of the trip. When I first started out, I wanted to do everything, and travel to as many places as I could. The problem with this, unless you have plenty of funds, is it will be expensive.

For me time was never really a factor as I am essentially "vacating" my life for now - alleviating any time restrictions, job and personal responsibilities. However for those who are somewhat limited, trying to fit in as many countries as possible means that really experiencing each place will be more difficult - a shame considering that for most people this will be a once in a lifetime journey.

The most important question in deciding my route was "what did I want to get out of it?"

For me it really is seeing and taking part in different ways of life, away from the norm of British society. The last thing I wanted was to be rushing through the trip, not stopping to really immerse myself in the different cultures and appreciate what I'm going to be very fortunate to see; saying this, I decided to focus on three main areas, all with different cultures but also places that were also affordable. So the three main sections of my trip will be: SE Asia, South Africa and India.

Weather:

Once an outlined route is set, a must is to research the best time of year to travel different places. One of the worst things would be to spend all the time and money on the journey, only to discover that the weather would not be the best in the various destinations.

Some may say 'it's only weather' - but it has an impact on the whole trip. We've all seen how England shuts down with even the tiniest bit of snow; imagine the affects of a Monsoon in India for example, where the train infrastructure is not as mature as those of the western world, particularly in rural areas. Flooding may result in lengthy delays which may affect the overall trip and more so there is the increased risk of diseases such as Cholera.

I think that I found the weather aspect one of the most stressful parts of the planning process; when you've put so much time and thought into something, you want it to be pretty perfect and try to rule out the majority of possible negatives before you leave. Planning your trip with weather in mind affects not only the route but also the departure date and the order of countries to be travelled.

Visas:

After battling with the weather issues, next comes the question of visas. As a UK citizen, it is of course much easier to travel the globe in comparison to citizens of other countries. Saying this, it is vital that there is no doubt in your mind re. the visa and immigration laws of a country - I do not want to fly half way around the world to be denied entry to my destination.

Overall for my journey the visa's haven't been too much of an issue. The main causes for concern have been the Israeli stamp in my passport (for entrance in Malaysia) and the Indian Visa. The first seems to not be an issue any longer; the second is still slightly niggling at me - as a born planner, I prefer to have things sorted, especially in this case. However due to the length of my travel time and the validity of the Indian visa from date of issue, I will need to keep my fingers crossed and hope that I am able to get this whilst in South Africa - otherwise I may be returning sooner than expected! I figure that with the number of travellers who travel to India, the Indian visa should not be too much of any issue, even if it is does need to be double entry.

I think that as this is first my big trip, I have come across obstacles that I was not expecting. Before even taking off I feel like I have learned a lot about the places I am about to visit; furthermore I am appreciating more and more the need to be readily equipped and prepared for unexpected turns of events, and that has only come from the planning stages...

I am excitedly and nervously anticipating the more than likely "unplanned changes" that I will encounter whilst I am away...