It's now two days before we set off on the biggest adventure of our lives and I'm feeling a little bit unprepared. I made the mistake of watching a rerun of Ewan McGregor's "Long Way Round" last night. I know he's a big Hollywood A-Lister (even I feel like a bit of a phoney backpacker since i can afford more than a 50p bed a night) but seriously they are travelling for 13 weeks and are bringing 4 support vehicles, 10 staff and more food and equipment than the 4 pick up trucks can carry. I'm bringing a 35L backpack!

But to hell with it I've always been a believer that if you have your passport and access to cash anything else can be gotten en route. I keep telling myself anything that goes in the bag, goes on my back for the next 50 days which is working out as a nice detterent.

This light packing approach does mean i have to cut right back on all my techie gadgetry though, which for those of you that know me will know that it ain't easy. I have, on occasion been known to be surgically attached to my laptop, so maybe 8 weeks without it may do me no harm. Im sticking with just my iPod, camera and phone (which I will not be using....have you seen the roaming charges in Asia!!!!!!!)

Anyhoo I better get off and start brushing up on the cyrillic alphabet, apparently the Russians aren't big in to this whole speaking English malarkey. The next post will be from a Moscovite Internet Cafe (if i can work out how it is spelt).

Ciao,

Jules