Travel Itinerary '08

From Macska Travel Co.

Contents 1 Trip Itinerary 2 Texas 2.1 Austin 2.2 Fort Worth 2.3 Indiana via the South 3 Europe 3.1 Fixed Dates 3.2 Weekend Trips 3.3 DNA 14 in Prague 3.4 CERN Living Logistics 4 Jordan 4.1 Amman 4.2 Petra 5 Thailand 5.1 Bangkok 5.2 Gorgeous beach with amazing food 6 Cambodia 6.1 Siem Reap 6.2 Phnom Penh 7 Vietnam 7.1 Saigon 7.2 Hanoi 8 Japan 8.1 Resources 8.2 August 16th: Day 1 8.3 August 17th: Day 2 8.4 August 18th: Day 3 8.5 August 19th: Day 4 8.6 August 20th: Day 5 8.7 August 21st: Day 6 8.8 August 22nd: Day 7 8.9 August 23rd: Day 8 9 Australia 9.1 Adelaide 9.2 Grampians National Park 9.3 Great Ocean Road 9.4 Melbourne 9.5 Sydney

[edit] Trip Itinerary

Micska and Macska take on the world! (again)

[edit] Texas

See our finalized route with google maps. Hopefully we can get lucky with gas prices along the way ... in fact, we will have fun and take stats on gas prices in the smattering of states that we visit.

[edit] Austin

• Where we will eat Sushi and play video games. Update: Just completed! Pictures of the Sushi Mayhem here.

Revised Routing
1. Leave West Lafayette on May 1, the early morning following Matt's last day of finals.
2. Head west to Champaign, Illinois.
3. Drive through Southern Illinois and cut straight across to St. Louis, where we will rest and admire the massive St. Louis Arch.
4. Continue driving and bisect Missouri, stopping perhaps in Springfield or Joplin.
5. Enter Oklahoma. Pass by Tulsa and Oklahoma City on the way.
6. Arrive in Texas, driving through Fort Worth and eventually finding ourselves in Austin, presumably exhausted and very ready for a Sushi party.

Approximate Driving Times and Miles

From	To	Time	Miles
West Lafayette, IN	St. Louis, MO	4 hr 34 min	272 miles
St. Louis, MO	Tulsa, OK	5 hr 50 min	395 miles
Tulsa, OK	Fort Worth, TX	4 hr 35 min	303 miles
Fort Worth, TX	Austin, TX	3 hrs	189 miles

[edit] Fort Worth

• See the Bean, be the Bean.

Approximate Driving Times and Miles

From	To	Time	Miles
Austin, TX	Dallas, TX	3 hr 10 min	195 miles

[edit] Indiana via the South

• Where we will find our way back to West Lafayette with a more scenic drive through the South.

Routing
1. Dallas to New Orleans, Louisiana.
2. New Orleans to Louiville, Kentucky.
3. Louisville to West Lafayette

Approximate Driving Times and Miles

From	To	Time	Miles
Dallas, TX	New Orleans, LA	8 hr 25 min	554 miles
New Orleans, LA	Louisville, KY	9 hr 24 min	624 miles
Louisville, KY	West Lafayette, IN	3 hrs	183 miles

Must see in Kentucky: Mammoth Cave! It's right on our way so we might as well plan to stay the night. Camping and tours are detailed here.

Q: Would it be worth it to add 3 hours and an extra 200 some miles to see Atlanta, Georgia? This route shows the possible extension.

A: No! Atlanta is one big conference city. Boo that.

Update: We've just completed our tour of the South. Check out pictures here!

[edit] Europe

[edit] Fixed Dates

• 2008/06/02 - 2008/06/04 -- Kat presents at DNA 14 in Prague.

[edit] Weekend Trips

• The Faroe Islands (too far, too expensive, never went.)
• Northern Norway? Bodo? The arctic circle? (still too far, too expensive.)
• Milan, of course. (G & D visited us instead, never went.)
• Grenoble, without a doubt. (Figured we'd already seen it.)
• Aix-la-Bains, and Annecy (Drove there, it was beautiful.)
• Rome (Incredible.)
• Chaos Communication Camp (Too far, couldn't make it.)
• Paris? Yeah, Kat is pretty keen on going back to Paris. (Got left out, too little time.)
• Croatia? Dubrovnik? (Waaay too far.)
• Zermatt and St. Moritz. The Matterhorn. (Waaay too far from Geneva, over five hours!)
• Avignon? Kat has always dreamt of dancing sur le pont d'Avignon.
• Club Mad in Lausanne. This can likely be a Thursday night trip as well, since we're not that far in Geneva. (Still going!)

[edit] DNA 14 in Prague

Kat's paper was accepted for presentation at the 14th International Meeting of DNA Computing, so we will be making an unexpected trip to the Czech Republic. :) Kat's expenses will be covered from an academic fund, so we will split Matt's expenses, making it a very reasonable add-on trip.

Kat's Planned Expenses (covered)

1. Student Registration for DNA 14: $400
2. Travel
   1. European East Rail Pass (5 days in 1 month, Adult 2nd class): $228
   2. Add on to Eurail Pass (for travel in Switzerland): $150
3. Hostel: ~$80

For Matt, we will split the extra cost of adding an additional 5 days and an extra country onto our Eurail train pass. This should be about $180. There will be an additional cost of traveling from Budapest to Prague, but we're not too worried about it.

[edit] CERN Living Logistics

We got this worked out completely different than we first intended -- Kat and I are sharing a room in an undisclosed location. :-)

General Resources
• Living at CERN ATLAS wiki.
• Unofficial guide from CMS personnel.

Food Planning: How can we eat on the cheap? We will make good use of Matt's kitchen access but will have to do some investigation into our best options for local grocery stores. Having visited Geneva last summer, we can already appreciate the expense of anything and everything, so we'll have to be wary of our wallets at all times. One clear pitfall to avoid is eating at CERN dining services - tasty but trop cher. UPDATE: We have no spine and immediately caved in to eating at the CERN restaurant every day, sometimes twice a day. It was a good idea -- it's actually the cheapest restaurant food around, always has healthy options, is close by, and is very high quality.

[edit] Jordan

[edit] Amman

[edit] Petra

[edit] Thailand

[edit] Bangkok

[edit] Gorgeous beach with amazing food

[edit] Cambodia

[edit] Siem Reap

Where we will see the marvelous Angkor Wat temple.

[edit] Phnom Penh

[edit] Vietnam

[edit] Saigon

Freaking Saigon! Here we will explore to our heart's content. Eventually we will board a train that travels up the coast to Hanoi.

Since time will be constrained, we really need to figure out the details of our overland travel.

[edit] Hanoi

A boat ride on Halong bay is a must, followed by an exploration of the island caves.

[edit] Japan

We have a week in Japan and we should not waste a moment of it because there's much to see and it's all awesome. The plan is to arrive in Narita at 5PM, rocket from Tokyo as far south as possible to Hiroshima, and work our way up from there, taking in the sights.

[edit] Resources

Hyperdia lets you find train schedules while allowing you to specify only Shinkansen lines, even to not use Nozomi trains! (JR passes are not valid on Nozomi services.)

[edit] August 16th: Day 1

• Arrive Tokyo Narita, validate passes, and Shinkansen to Hiroshima.
• Directions: ??
• Lodging for the Night: Hiroshima City Hotel (Arrive ~11:50PM)

[edit] August 17th: Day 2

• Hiroshima: Walk around, museums
• Depart Hiroshima, arrive Osaka.
• Lodging for the Night: Hotel Toyoh, Osaka

[edit] August 18th: Day 3

• Osaka, Kyoto
• Lodging for the Night: Hotel Toyoh, Osaka

[edit] August 19th: Day 4

• Osaka, Kyoto in the morning
• Depart Osaka early, arrive Fujiyama at 9-10AM.
• Drop packs off somewhere like train station or shop
• List of hut phone numbers
• Links for more information
• Climb budget for one person (source):
  • 5,000Y for stamps, etc... (200Y per rest hut stamp)
  • 1,200Y for climbing stick
  • 6,000Y for a place to stay at the hut with a little meal
  • 1,500Y for bus fare from 5th station
  • TOTAL: roughly 13,700Y
• Check Fuji weather!
• Begin climbing from shrine around noon.
  • Head cover and sunblock
  • Lightweight rain gear (maybe purchase at base?)
  • Clean, dry change of clothes in waterproof bag (necessary?)
  • Food: 2L water each, boiled eggs, onigiri (rice balls), fruits, trail mix (low salt), grilled chicken...
  • Flashlights with working batteries
  • Hand towel
  • Toilet paper
  • Band aids, a little pain med
  • Climbing stick at the bottom
  • Trail map!!
• Head up on Yoshidaguchi trail to 5th station
• Go right at Ochudo trail, and head up to 6th station (6 hours)
• Reach 7th or 8th level around 5-6PM and go to rest for the night at hut ??? (additional 3 hours)
  • Try to stay at Fujisan Hotel (8th stage)
  • If not possible, stay at Taishikan or Hakuunso (bottom and middle of 8th stage)
• Wake at 2AM and summit by sunrise (4:15-4:45)
• Get shrine and Gaijin stamp at summit
• Descend by the bulldozer trail at the end of a row of huts, opposite the shrine
• A few minutes after passing 8th stage, reach Edo-Ya hut, and descend toward Kawaguchiko station
• From Kawaguchiko station, take the shuttle bus down to Fujiyoshida
• Around 12 noon, board Shinkansen to Tokyo

[edit] August 20th: Day 5

• Wake up at 1:00AM from 7th or 8th station, summit Fuji at 4:30AM
• Descend Fuji
• Depart Fujiyoshida, arrive Tokyo.
• Spend some time looking at the greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area. (!)
• Lodging: Khaosan Tokyo Asakusa Annex
  • Khaosan Tokyo Annex requires check-in by 9PM!

[edit] August 21st: Day 6

• Tokyo
• Lodging: Khaosan Tokyo Asakusa Annex

[edit] August 22nd: Day 7

• Meiji Shrine, Akihabara
• Lodging: Khaosan Tokyo Asakusa Annex

[edit] August 23rd: Day 8

• Depart Tokyo (4PM for Matt, 8PM for Kat)

[edit] Australia

[edit] Adelaide

From Oz Exp. : Through the picturesque Adelaide Hills, we cross the mighty Murray River and pass through some little SA country towns on our way to the Grampians NP. Get your legs working this afternoon with hikes at Hollow Mountain and the amazing MacKenzie Falls. We’ll be rewarded with breathtaking sunset views from The Balconies and Reeds Lookout. We spend the night in the heart of the Grampians, Halls Gap.

[edit] Grampians National Park

[edit] Great Ocean Road

Question: Should Kat go to Tasmania? Signs are beginning to point to yes ...

From Oz Exp. : We begin our adventure early, travelling southeast of Melbourne through the pastoral landscape of South Gippsland to hike and explore the Wilsons Promontory National Park. Walk on squeaky beaches, watch the ocean of Bass Strait pound on to the Australian mainland’s most southerly point, hike along spectacular granite rock formations with fantastic views and learn about the coastal flora & native wildlife (perhaps sighting emus and wombats!) In the afternoon we travel to the coastal township of Lakes Entrance; Gateway to the Gippsland Lakes and Australia’s longest beach - Ninety Mile Beach. (D)

[edit] Melbourne

From Oz Exp: Our journey along the scenic Barry Way is spectacular as we watch the Snowy River wind below us and cross the border into NSW. In the afternoon, let the bus do all the work as we climb high into the Australian Alps. Enjoy a rewarding hike along an alpine track (2½ hour round-trip) absorbing stunning views of the glacial ‘Blue Lake’ and the peak of Mt Kosciuszko (the highest point in Australia). During winter, (Jun–Oct) we visit the ski village of Perisher/Smiggins for fun in the snow. Stay overnight at the Lake Jindabyne Hotel where you’ll get to enjoy the mountain life; perhaps a sauna, swim or a drink at the bar while taking in the magnificent view of the lake. (BD)

[edit] Sydney