I have started to look at my summer travel plans.  This year things are fairly complicated with a mix of conferences and family commitments.  It’s possible that I will be in Pittsburgh, Toronto, San Jose, Belfast, Lisbon and London.  I am going to be away from home for longer than I would like.  I am aware, however, that I’m finding it harder to travel than before.  (I do hope that by the summer my medication will be sorted out)

I am pleased that YAPC::NA is going to be in Pittsburgh as it will allow me to visit some good friends.  There hasn’t been a lot of information about the conference yet but I expect that they will soon have a call for papers.

I have been looking at round the world flights as this could work out cheaper.  I’ve never booked one before because I usually end up having to hop back and forward between continents.  This is also true this year but given how expensive it is to get out of Japan it still might be my best option.  Getting to Canada from Northern Ireland is also going to be more expensive than before as there are no longer direct flights to Toronto.

There are benefits to a round the world ticket.  I can always call into Australia on the way back to Tokyo without any extra cost.  And I could also visit a few more places in America.  The only drawback is that I will be travelling on my own – and visiting new places by myself isn’t as enjoyable as doing it with company.