Itinerary

 
 

Date

Content

October 1999 - March 2000: Travel from Istanbul to Beijing
20th October 1999
Fly from London to Istanbul. Visit Turkey for about a month
23rd November 1999 Enter Syria from Turkey, heading to Jordan.
26th November 1999 Meet Alexa Bona in Amman (Jordan)
6th December 1999 Return to Syria and visit Syria and Lebanon
23rd - 26th December 1999 Spend Christmas in Jordan desert
28th December 1999 - 1st January 2000 Spend New Year with Kim Bollo and Nicky Levy in Sinai, Egypt.
c. 9th January 2000 Possible transit over Saudi Arabia by bus to get to Bahrain. [Otherwise fly :-( ] See Places Been Sights Seen and Journal (12th February entry) for what really happened….
c. 15th January 2000 Boat from Bahrain or maybe Oman to Iran. See Places Been Sights Seen and Journal (12th February entry) for what really happened….
20th January 2000 Arrive in Tehran, and meet Chantal Conneller.
15th February 2000 Travel from Mashhad (Iran) to Ashgabat (Turkemenistan) via Saraghs
19th February 2000 Take train from Charjou to Bukhara (Uzbekistan)
4th March 2000 Bus to Osh (Kyrgyzstan)
9th March 2000 Arrive Almaty (Kazakstan); While in Kazakstan, go skiing (snowboarding?) in Shymbulaq, also visit Semey
20th March 2000 Enter China for the first time, by train from Almaty
27th March 2000 Meet Nicky Levy in Beijing!!!
April - June 2000: 12 weeks Mandarin study
6th April - 28th June 2000 12-week beginner's Mandarin Course at the Beijing Language and Culture University
July - September 2000: Summer break
28th June - 15th July 2000 Travel through Sichuan and along Yangtze River
16th July - 1st August 2000 Fly to Australia from Hong Kong
1st August - 10th September 2000 Return to England
September 2000 - January 2001: 20 weeks intensive Mandarin study
10th September 2000 Return to Beijing for a 5 month semester of intensive Mandarin
1st - 9th October 2000 Visit Mongolia
1st - 5th November 2000 Visit Shandong Province on school trip
14th - 17th December 2000 Go to Australia for Yvette and Andrew's Wedding!
14th January 2001 Sit the ‘Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi’ or ‘Chinese Proficiency Exam’
17th January 2001 Chinese course finishes
20th January 2001 Michelle, Alexa and Pascal arrive in Beijing
23rd - 25th January 2001 Spend the Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year) in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province
25th January - 3rd February 2001 Visit Xi’an, Kaifeng and Shanghai with M, A and P
February 2001: Travelling west
4th - 28th February 2001 From Shanghai back through Qinghai, Gansu and Xinjiang, taking a bit more time than I was able to in March 2000
28th February 2001 Chinese visa expires. By then should have taken train to Almaty (Kazakstan) or bus over Torugart Pass
March 2001: Kyrgyz sojourn
1st - 28th March 2001 In Kyrgyzstan staying with friends the Ibraevs
28th March - 4th April 2001 Travel to Sydney from Bishkek transiting in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). In KL visit Liew Mei Yen (Kay) from Beijing studies and Ben and Ollie from Cambridge
April - June 2001: Work in Australia
4th April 2001 Arrive in Sydney
14th - 20th April 2001 Nanette Levy visiting Helen in Australia
17th - 23rd April 2001 Trip to Central Australia
June 2001
23rd - 28th June 2001 Eriko, Japanese friend from Beijing, visits Helen in Sydney
July and August 2001: With Kyrgyz friends
9th - 11th July 2001 Travel to Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) via Istanbul (Turkey)
16th July 2001 Alexa and Pascal arrive in Kyrgyzstan
August 2001
1st - 3rd August 2001 Travel to London (UK) with Jalil and Asel Ibraev via Istanbul
31st August 2001 Jalil and Asel return to Kyrgyzstan after a busy month in England and Scotland
September - December 2001: Back to work
8th - 18th September 2001 In Iran collecting recipes for book, seeing friends
18th - 22nd September 2001 From Tehran to Sydney (Australia) via Istanbul and Bangkok (Thailand)
25th September - 15th December 2001 In Sydney on 'Teaching English' course to gain CELTA qualification
3rd - 12th October 2001 Return to UK for Martin's funeral
Christmas holiday
19th - 23rd December 2001 Leave Sydney for Chicago (USA)
24th - 30th December 2001 In England for Christmas and birthday with family
January - March 2002: Book work and Mongolia preparation
31st December 2001 - 6th January 2002 In Sinai (Egypt) with Nanette, Alexa and Pascal for New Year
7th - 12th January 2002 In Jordan collecting recipes, seeing friends
12th - 20th January 2002 In Syria collecting recipes, seeing friends
20th January - 3rd February 2002 Back in England going to libraries and seeing friends and family
4th February - 25th March 2002 In Sydney (Australia) working on book, finding a publisher and preparing for Mongolia
23rd February - 2nd March 2002 Attending training course in Canberra for Mongolia job
25th March - 2nd April 2002 One week transit in Beijing (China)
April - September 2002: Australian Youth Ambassadors in Development volunteer in Mongolia
2nd April 2002 Arrive Ulaan Baatar (Mongolia) for 6 month position working for Mongolian Business Women's Association
3rd - 18th May 2002 Research trip to Gobi-Altai, Zavkhan and Arkhangai aimag branch offices
12th - 17th June 2002 MBWA annual general meeting in Khuvsgul aimag
5th - 17th August 2002 Dad, Richard and Asel visit me in Mongolia
22nd - 28th August 2002 Return to England for wedding of Naomi Chunilal and Jules Moberly
8th - 18th September 2002 Anna Moore visits Mongolia
20th September 2002 Depart Ulaanbaatar for Sydney
25th September 2002 Depart Sydney for England
September 2002 - September 2003: Life transitions
28th September 2002 Participate in wedding of Cloe Walshe and Mark Moody
4th - 6th October 2002 Participate in wedding of Alex Cowie and Mark Tyldesley
17th - 19th October 2002 Participate in wedding of Sarah Flynn and Philip Stark
20th November 2002 Fly to Damascus
5th - 7th December 2002 Celebrate Eid al-Fitr
10th December 2002 Return to London
31st December 2002 - 6th January 2003 Back to Syria for a quick visit!
8th January 2003 Francis John Stoodley Tyler arrives in style
11th February 2003 To Syria again, this time with Mum, Dad and Elizabeth
?22nd March 2003? Return to England
29th March 2003 Participate in wedding of Sarah Tidswell and Jonty Shipley in Cambridge
9th - 23rd April 2003 Travel to Thailand and Penang
19th April 2003 Participate in the wedding of Ben Thorpe and Ollie Tay
26th April 2003 Participate in the wedding of Dave Ritter and Sally Villani, in London
5th - 18th June 2003 Participate in the wedding of Kim Bollo and Tom Forte, in Connecticut
?July - October 2003? Study Arabic in Damascus
 
The tiles on the Itinerary page come from a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. | Click to view the original picture |