OMG!!!!

Wow! I can't believe we leave in less than a week! I feel like we have it together but yet still so much to do. People have been asking me how you plan for a trip like this. Honestly I still don't have the perfect answer. I know most people that do extended trips like this do things kinda on the fly....booking hotels when you get there or a couple days ahead. Honestly I'm trying to do that....but I think that stresses me out even more!!!! As much as I'd like to say I'm totally spontaneous and carefree, I plan everything. I think it's a curse!

That said, I've pretty much booked hotels for most of Asia. We're moving around a lot in Asia so I didn't want to have to deal with finding accommodations at the last second. I've also heard that places get booked in Europe because everyone vacations there during the summer so I've booked a few of the bigger cities as well. All in all I'm trying to have some structure with the trip but not too much structure....if that makes any sense....

After the trip I'll definitely share what worked and what didn't but for most of my planning thus far this is what I used:

• Lonely Planet - These are my favorite travel guides. I just feel like they give a wider range of options than Fodor's or Frommer's. I've also used the Eyewitness Travel Guides in the past.
• TripAdvisor - Seriously this is my new best friend!
• Expedia - They've got some really great deals
• STA Travel - Ashley in the Westwood office is the bomb!
• Hostel World

There are a ton of sites that you can use and I'll probably come across others along the way. Seriously I don't know how people did this pre-internet days....