Where The Hell Is Niall?
On September 30, 2011, I left my hometown in Ireland to embark on a 4-year trip around the world without flying. I have a loose plan of the route I hope to take and the countries I hope to visit. I spend just a few hours in some places, a few months in others. The map below shows my progress.
Next up: Thanks to the legendary people at Costa Cruises, I finally reached Thailand in November. I plan to stay in Southeast Asia for about a year, checking out several countries around the region.
| Destination | Arrival | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slieverue, Ireland | - |
| 2 | Dublin, Ireland | September 30, 2011 |
| 3 | Liverpool, England | October 1, 2011 |
| 4 | Durham, England | October 2, 2011 |
| 5 | London, England | October 6, 2011 |
| 6 | Brighton, England | October 11, 2011 |
| 7 | London, England | October 13, 2011 |
| 8 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | October 14, 2011 |
| 9 | Frankfurt, Germany | November 4, 2011 |
| 10 | Munich, Germany | November 8, 2011 |
| 11 | Zurich, Switzerland | November 15, 2011 |
| 12 | Vienna, Austria | November 23, 2011 |
| 13 | Budapest, Hungary | November 23, 2011 |
| 14 | Cluj, Romania | January 27, 2012 |
| 15 | Bucharest, Romania | January 31, 2012 |
| 16 | Istanbul, Turkey | February 22, 2012 |
| 17 | Ankara, Turkey | February 26, 2012 |
| 18 | Van, Turkey | March 1, 2012 |
| 19 | Tehran, Iran | March 3, 2012 |
| 20 | Isfahan, Iran | March 8, 2012 |
| 21 | Bandar Abbas, Iran | March 11, 2012 |
| 22 | Sharjah, United Arab Emirates | March 13, 2012 |
| 23 | Mumbai, India | March 30, 2012 |
| 24 | New Delhi, India | April 10, 2012 |
| 25 | Gorakhpur, India | April 21, 2012 |
| 26 | Bhairahawa, Nepal | April 21, 2012 |
| 27 | Kathmandu, Nepal | April 22, 2012 |
| 28 | Pokhara, Nepal | August 25, 2012 |
| 29 | Poon Hill, Nepal | August 30, 2012 |
| 30 | Pokhara, Nepal | August 30, 2012 |
| 31 | Kathmandu, Nepal | September 1, 2012 |
| 32 | Bhairahawa, Nepal | September 17, 2012 |
| 33 | Gorakhpur, India | September 17, 2012 |
| 34 | Chennai, India | September 20, 2012 |
| 35 | Kochi, India | October 3, 2012 |
| 36 | New Delhi, India | October 28, 2012 |
| 37 | Goa, India | November 7, 2012 |
| 38 | Kochi, India | November 9, 2012 |
| 39 | Colombo, Sri Lanka | November 13, 2012 |
| 40 | Phuket, Thailand | November 16, 2012 |
| 41 | Chiang Mai, Thailand | November 20, 2012 |
| 42 | Vientiane, Laos | December 13, 2012 |
| 43 | Chiang Mai, Thailand | December 15, 2012 |
| 44 | Bangkok, Thailand | December 28, 2012 |
| 45 | Otres Beach, Cambodia | March 12, 2013 |
| 46 | Crusoe Island, Cambodia | March 14, 2013 |
| 47 | Bangkok, Thailand | March 16, 2013 |
| 48 | Kanchanaburi, Thailand | April 9, 2013 |
| 49 | Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand | April 10, 2013 |
| 50 | Mae Sot, Thailand | April 11, 2013 |
| 51 | Chiang Mai, Thailand | April 12, 2013 |
Hopping a sleeper train from Zurich to Vienna – November, 2011
India is a great place! been there for a week last year and will be there for Holi festival next March
Give me a shout if finally you visit Indonesia! Safe travels!
Thanks for the comment, Sysilia. A friend told me about the Holi festival recently and I researched it online. Looks absolutely amazing, and I hope I make it to India in time for that.
I also hope to visit Indonesia at some point, so hopefully we’ll get to meet there
Nepal is supposed to be beautiful in October, and I’ll be living there by then!
If not, maybe we’ll meet on the beaches of Goa this May
Nice! I should be in Nepal by May, will probably stay for 2 months and then head back to India on a full 3-month visa. Hopefully our paths will cross at some point
Good luck! I wish I could do something similar.
Amazing. Can’t wait to read your new adventures. Good luck in India. The end of the trip isn’t important. The trip itself is magic.
Thanks, Mirek!
Seems you are in KTM currently. That’s where I live. So what are you planning to do there for 2 months? I am happy you’re here because now I’ll get to read adventures of my place in your blog.
This place should be cheap for you.
I hope to see you somewhere in KTM somehow.Hehe.
Enjoy! and have a great time in KTM
Just found your site Niall, I’m looking forward to following your journey. Would love to see more photos of your travels.
Hey Amy. Digging the blue hair
Thanks for the comment!
Love to see you in Australia sometime. There’ll be a bed, mattress or couch or something for as long as you need in the Brisbane area (not sure where I’ll be when or if you get here).
Legend. Thanks, Ali. Australia is on my route, so assuming I don’t get sidetracked and you’re in town when I’m passing through, I’ll see you there.
Just to let you know the Google map isn’t showing up anymore.
Hey, thanks for the heads up on that. Finally fixed it!
its festival season here in India ,
dushera followed by Diwali .
the biggest festival in India .
and there is theater sort of stage play about the life of lord Rama every night .
its kind of hilarious.
Good luck ..
May I suggest when you get to Thailand you make contact with the various expat newspapers, radio and tv stations.
They’re always looking for interesting stories and as every expat is a traveller they can strike a a chord with you.
Have a great time.
Paul
Great idea, thanks Paull. I’ll definitely do that.
Man! I’m Indian American and my parents are from Kochi and I get there next week! I’ve been addicted to your blog for about an hour now. Would’ve loved to meet with you and show you around the city. Its a great place (I lived there for 6 years) with lots of history (most of which is in ruins, and not on the tourist trail- which btw is usually colonial-centric). If you ever come back to Kochi around December any year, hit me up.
I’ll be in Surat, Gujarat, India this June, 2013. In January, 2014, I may be in Bangkok doing an TEFL internship. Maybe we can meet up for some chai or chā at either place.
Would love to meet up, Sara, but methinks I’ll be gone out of Asia by 2014, headed south to Australia. And I won’t be going back to India any time soon.
Stumbled on your site by accident and its quite cool. Your adventures is now part of many people around the world, including me
thanks for sharing.
Come to Australia …. you’ll love it!!