Chapter 1

     The day had finally arrived. Our destinations had been chosen and our tickets had been booked with plenty of time to spare. With all the planning in place, all that remained was to board flight BA456 to Boston, our first port of call. It was a mild September morning.

     Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vinnie and my travelling companion’s name is Anita. Together we had decided that we would like to realise a lifelong dream of travelling around the world. So here we were at the departure gate in London’s Heathrow Airport about to board our first flight of eight in all, a round trip that was going to take us on a 40,000 mile journey around the world. Awesome! Note how I was already practising my American English to good effect.

     As I boarded the flight, I can still recollect my feelings. My adrenalin was high, and as the plane’s engines purred to life I experienced a slight shiver up my spine as it finally dawned on me that weeks of planning had led to this moment. I was leaving Europe for my first ever visit to America. 

     As the plane was leaving London behind, I wondered when I might touch down on European soil again as I had booked us open tickets valid for up to 365 days travel - so when exactly we would return, nobody knew.

     Still, this was a time to look forward, so dismissing any thoughts about my return I sat quietly and imagined what adventures and discoveries might lay before me. Ultimately, only the Gods above knew, but I was relishing the prospect with a sense of awe and excitement, and a sense of learning and fun.

Random Excerpts

South of Mexico City lies one of mankind’s greatest architectural treasures, Teotihuacán. Translated to mean Creation of the Place of Gods, it is the ancient city of temples and pyramids started in 100 BC and completed some 150 to 200 years later. As you walk into the city’s main avenue, you cannot help but feel the scale of power the place must have had at its peak.

For the next couple of minutes you stand out there on the boat’s deck transfixed at the view, with the proximity of the Niagara Falls crashing down right in front of you. Add to this, water rushing all around and spraying into your eyes and face from all directions; so much of it in fact, that you almost feel one with the Falls for a mesmerizing moment or two…

Imagine: there you are with the wind in your face, riding along on your bike without a care in the world. As you ride along Thailand’s island of Ko Samui, you take in the wonderful scenery of temples, beaches, forest and coastline when from out of nowhere you spot…a giant Golden Buddha...

Winding itself through mountains like a slithery snake, the way the Wall naturally relates to the landscape around it is a marvel in itself…so immense is China’s Great Wall, that it is the only man-made construction that can be seen in its entirety from the Moon.

Reasons to read this book

·          You enjoy travelling, or would love to travel more than you do.

·          You welcome new adventures and experiences and would like to learn more about different cultures.

·          You would like to travel around the world one day, or get to visit Asia, Australia or The Americas.

·          You want to know ‘how’ it can be done and would like to discover useful traveller’s tips.

·          You want to know the ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’, and ‘why’ secrets of travelling.

·          You do not really have the time to travel, but would still like to discover what it is all about.

·          You want to know how to save both time and money during your travels, and still have a great time.