-> Tahiti (1 week)
    fly to Papeete in Tahiti
    watersports, hikes, chill out
    day visit to the island of Morrea
    possible trip to Bora Bora for a few days
-> Cook Islands (1 week)
    fly to Rarotonga
    stay in Rarotonga most of the time
    rent bikes to explore the island and do some hiking
    some hiking, a round of golf, some lawn bowling
-> Fiji (1 week)
    fly to Nadi
    stay in Nadi, exploring Viti Levu
-> Australia (6 weeks)
    fly to Brisbane
    combination of rental car, bus, and flights
    Brisbane to Cairns, along the coastline making side trips to a sheep station, a cattle station, a walk in the bush, the Great Barrier Reef, etc.
    Alice Springs to Adelaide, for a visit to Ayers Rock, a winery or two, some outback, salt flats, etc.
    Adelaide to Melbourne, along the Great Ocean Road, with some wilderness camping
    Sydney, organize visas and other crap in Sydney
-> New Zealand (4 weeks)
    fly to Aukland
    backpacker's bus for most (if not all) of the way
    Auckland…
    Bay of Islands
    Rotorua (geothermal wonders, Maori feast)
    Wellington,
    Kaikoura (dolphins),
    Christchurch,
    Dunedin (rugby, beer, penguins),
    Queenstown
    Fiordland National Park (tramping) + Milford Sound
    Franz Josef + Fox glaciers
    Paparoa National Park
    Abel Tasman National Park (tramping)
    Waitomo (cave exploration)
    Auckland
-> Singapore (few days)
    fly to Singapore
    Singapore (4 days)
-> Malaysia (18 days)
    bus to Malacca
    Malacca (3 days)
    bus to Kuala Lumpur
    Kuala Lumpur, including visits to Taman Negara National Park and Cameron Highlands (9 days)
    bus to Penang
    Penang (6 days)
-> Thailand (4 weeks)
    bus and boat to Ko Samui
    Ko Samui (5 days)
    boat to Ko Phenang
    Ko Phenang for full-moon party (5 days)
    boat and bus to Bangkok
    Bangkok (3 days)
    bus to Chang Mai
    Chang Mai, including an elephant trek (8 days)
    bus to Bangkok
    Bangkok, with day-trips to nearby sights (7 days)
-> India (3 weeks)
    fly to Delhi
    Delhi (2 days)
    driver for 1 week
    Pushkar (2 days)
    Jaisalmer, including a camel safari in the desert (2 days)
    Jodhpur (2 days)
    Jaipur (3 days)
    train to Agra
    Agra and the Taj Majal (1 day)
    train to Varanasi
    Varanasi (3 days)
-> Nepal (4 weeks)
    bus to Sunauli [9hrs]
    Sunauli (2 days)
    coach to Pokhara [8hrs]
    Pokhara (4 days)
    hike Annapurna Panorama Trek (8 days)
    Pokhara (2 days)
    coach to Kathmandu [8hrs]
    Kathmandu, including a visit to Chitwan National Park (12 days)
-> Tibet (2 weeks)
    fly to Lhasa
    ... trek ...
-> Hong Kong (few days)
    fly to Hong Kong
    explore city (few days)
-> China (5 weeks)
    train to Guilin via Guangzhou
    Guilin (+Yangshuo) - the most beautiful place on earth? (4/5 days)
    train to Chongqing (not direct... hopefully possible)
    Chongqing/Dazu - buddhist cave art (2/3 days)
    Three Gorges boat trip to Wuhan (2/3 days)
    Wuhan (1 day)
    train to Xian
    Xian - teracotta warriors (2/3 days)
    train to Beijing
    Beijing - forbidden city, great wall, day trips (5 days)
    travel to Shanghai via the Grand Canal route (10 days)
    taking in some of... Qingdao, Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou (canals + gardens), Hangzhou (west lake), Shaoxing (more canals), Putuoshan (Buddhist island)
    Shanghai (few days)
-> South Korea and Japan (4 weeks)
    boat to South Korea
    ... world cup ...
-> China (1 week)
    boat to Shanghai
-> New York
    fly to USA

We are considering a couple of alterations to the itinerary:

• Skipping India. There is more than the usual unrest in India at the moment after the recent attack on the Indian parliament. This has resulted in the build up of arms and increased military activity in the area. It is more than likely that we would be okay, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
• Skipping Nepal. The Maoist rebels in Nepal have embarked on a bombing campaign in recent weeks. And there have been tourist casualties. Enough said!
• Adding Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. We have heard great things about these countries from other travelers. Visiting these countries would allow us the travel over land all the way from Singapore to Japan.
• Adding Mongolia, Russia, and a number of European countries. We are considering taking the Trans-Siberian railroad from China to Europe after the world cup.

I will update the itinerary when I have more concrete plans.

Here are our tentative plans for the world cup:

May 27 Osaka: arrive by ferry from China
May 28 Osaka
May 29 Osaka
May 30 Kyoto: arrive by train
May 31 Niigata: arrive by train
June 01 Niigata: Ireland vs. Cameroon
June 02 Niigata
June 03 Niigata: Croatia vs. Mexico
June 04 Ibaraki
June 05 Ibaraki: Ireland vs. Germany
June 06 Tokyo
June 07 Tokyo
June 08 Tokyo: Croatia vs. Italy
June 09 Tokyo
June 10 Yokohama
June 11 Yokohama: Ireland vs. Saudi Arabia
June 12 Fukuoka
June 05 Pusan: arrive by ferry from Fukuoka