Woke up at 3:30 to prepare for our 4:15 taxi ride to the airport. We loaded our backpacks into the trunk and climbed into the backseat. Once we were underway, the driver asked us where we were going, so we told him we were on our way to Vietnam and Thailand. Then he asked how long we'd be away, so we told him we'd be gone 6 months. Then he asked if our luggage was already at the airport! Pretty funny. We got off the ground right on time at 6:15 and landed in New...

These little Osprey backpacks are amazing. I (Brenda) was able to pack in 2 long pants, 1 capri, 1 pair of shorts, 1 skort, 3 shirts, 2 tank tops, 4 t-shirts, a light sweater, 3 sets of running gear, 2 pairs of runners, 1 pair of sandals, a bathing suit, a microfibre towel, toiletries, socks and underwear, an umbrella, my MacBook Air and 66 new books... on my Kindle!

Well, the waiting's almost over! In less than 12 hours we'll be on our way to the airport to embark on our Asian adventure. It's amazing, it's almost like Mother Nature decided to acclimatize us to our soon to be reality with a humidex in Ottawa today of 29 degrees. Ok, it'll be a little warmer where we're going, but it was a nice appetizer. Last year I read a book called, "The Life Nomadic" where the author sold all his worldly possessions to travel around th...