Step two, waking up in the middle of the night panicking

I went to bed at 1.30 last night but woke up again at 5.30. Hum, not happy with this I ran through the list of things that might have woken me up- was I hungry? No, I didn't think so. Did I need to go to the bathroom? Maybe, better go just in case. Was I thirsty? Quite likely since I had a couple of beers before bed, solution, drink water. Having dealt with the obvious, I snuggled back down into bed and tried to get back to sleep.

Nothing doing. I lay awake for hours. The sun came up and I admitted defeat and picked up a book. Then I found that I couldn't concentrate on the book. Time to give into the thoughts in my head. Oh my god, I bought a Round the World ticket yesterday!!! How exciting and yet daunting at the same time.

It is not like I haven't travelled before but I feel that it has been a while. Plus, I am going on my own this time. Last time I left Korea was to go to Cambodia with my mate, Sam, the time before that was to go to Hong Kong, with my mate, Sam- you might be spotting a theme here! Then again, I am overlooking the weekend that I spent in Japan last year, where I was, indeed, alone.

I am just hoping that things go smoothly in my last two months here in Korea. There is no reason why it shouldn't but still. My last contract finished in March 2004 and at the end of the year my boss not only kept my degree certificate (and denied it) but also withheld my last month's salary- something which was vital to my future plans. I am hoping that the director of the school I am currently working at has slightly more integrity than that- it would be disaster if I didn't get all that I was owed in April.

But then that is typically me, worrying about something which may not happen. So I pushed the worries away and instead starting planning where I wanted to go in each country. I was with two Australian guys last night and they were showing me photos of where they are from. I have been near that area but the fact that I am finally going back to Oz, five years after leaving the country in a flood of tears, put a massive smile on my face. I reciprocated and found a very strange site from my home town that had a video of the seafront on it.

I am actually excited about going back to England too. I haven't been home for two years and miss my friends and family more than I can really explain. Over the last six years of being out of England, I have made so many friends and it breaks my heart that I will never live in the same country as all of them. But I intend to do a lot of catching up on this trip. Meet all the babies and spouses that have appeared in the last six years and meet some new people on the way.

After playing around with the thoughts in my head for a while I got out my atlas, inflatable globe and calendar so I could see exactly where I am going and when. I am very excited! And I am going to use the next two months to get ready for the trip- I will be sharing the worries and excitement with you all the way.