Around the world in 58 days

So many people have asked me about this that I'm just going to post it here for posterity. Well, I suppose if you tell them that you've been around the world, they'll want to know where you mean, exactly. After all, you can't go everywhere. Can you?

This, therefore, was the official itinerary of Bruce's Grand Tour 2009.

===========
4 August: depart Helsinki, Finland (Finnair)
5 August: arrive Kyoto (rail) via Osaka, Japan

11 August: depart Kyoto (rail), arrive Hong Kong via Osaka (Cathay Pacific)

13 August: round trip to Guangzhou, China (boat, road, rail)

15 August: depart Hong Kong, arrive Singapore (Cathay Pacific)

17 August: round trip to Melaka, Malaysia (road)

18 August: depart Singapore, arrive Perth, Australia (Qantas)

22 August: depart Perth, arrive Darwin, Australia (Qantas)

26 August: depart Darwin, arrive Alice Springs, Australia (Qantas)

29 August: depart Alice Springs, arrive Sydney, Australia (Qantas)

2 September: depart Sydney, arrive Auckland, New Zealand (Qantas)

9 September: depart Auckland, arrive Easter Island via Santiago, Chile (LAN)

13 September: depart Easter Island, arrive Santiago, Chile (LAN)

17 September: depart Santiago, arrive Buenos Aires, Argentina (LAN)

21 September: depart Buenos Aires, arrive Montevideo, Uruguay (American)

25 September: depart Montevideo (Iberia)
26 September: arrive Madrid, Spain

29 September: depart Madrid, arrive Helsinki, Finland (Finnair)
===========

Excluding Finland but including Hong Kong SAR separately, on the entirely spurious basis that it has its own immigration controls, that makes 11 countries in 58 days, with a total scheduled flying time of just over 78 hours.

Those are the bare facts. The photos are on Flickr. More travellers' tales may follow. At last. Now that I can include Thailand, and Ohio, and....