Will I see the Great Wall this year? I certainly hope so.

Of course, there’s always a fly in the ointment. All three trips between April and June, but I prefer to focus on the positive. That is, but I’m going to 3 great destinations, two of which have never seen before. Last year I had typical business trips were all I saw was the hotel. This year I will try to change that, by taking some of the guesswork out of trip planning and by doing lots of research to find out what’s close to where I’m going to be.

This year I vow to get packing down to a fine art, using online packing list tools and trying to be a lightweight Letty. One thing that will help me is my new, lightweight netbook which way is much less than the laptop I lugged last year. Last year I also discovered melatonin which helps me get straight into my target time zone, minimizing jetlag.

So, what will I do in all those fabulous cities? I’ve got friends in Chicago, so I hope I’ll be able to get another whistle-stop tour. That’s all I will have time for going straight from there to Beijing. While I’m there, I’d love to see a bit of the Great Wall, one of the palaces and perhaps a temple, though I’m not so sure about the sidecar motorcycle tours. In Las Vegas, I used Duffel to get some initial recommendations and have also done some research to see what’s around Las Vegas airport.

You’ll be hearing more about my trips as the year progresses. Feel free to stop by and share your recommendations and tips if you have visited any of these cities.

(Photo: Andre Deak)