Well……countdown is definitely on! One week today and we'll be getting on that plane!!!

It's been a crazy little journey in itself up to this point with lots of decisions to make. First of all was the route, do we or don't we do South America, do we have time etc etc. Instead of stretching ourselves too thin we decided to make the most of one part of the world. It's one thing to 'tick' locations off your imaginary list but we wanted a bit of time to enjoy what the different countries have to offer. With that said we still only average at 3 weeks in the countries we've picked but we're gonna make the most of what time we have there. It's not every day you get to do a trip like this!

As per the plan on the front page of the site we decided to follow this route & took someone's advice to just focus on 2 or 3 things you want to see/do in that country and let the world's flow fill in the gaps.

So over the 6 months we will be visiting Myanmar(Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, China, Japan & either Indonesia or Malaysia to end.

We have then gone through thinking about the usual jabs/visas/kit preparation. I don't think we were fully prepared for the cost implication of having 11 jabs & 120 pills for Malaria each and we're only just getting our jaws back up off the floor.

The next big decision was whether to go normal backpack size or to try and challenge ourselves by going 'carry on'. My decision was made quickly as after numerous problems with my back, light was the key. Having a small bag restricts me taking stuff I don't need, not waiting at baggage carousels, reduces lost baggage risks. After a chat we both decided to go that route -at the end of the day we can always buy anything we need out there. We managed to do a trial pack this week and although the size is perfect (managed carry on with Ryan air to Dublin!) but unfortunately we had been so efficient at the packing Tetris that our bags are now too heavy now for carry on as some places are as low as 5kg but we're not too disheartened as it still means we're packing light and not bogged down by taking too much stuff!! This does mean we can be sensible now though and carry a proper first aid kit & mossie spray etc!!

So the lists have been in full use as to what we need to do before we go, as we have a great friend who is coming in to house & cat sit luckily that list isn't too bad!

This last week is full of goodbyes which suck as I'm really bad at goodbyes. If I appear blunt to anyone I apologise now, I'm all about the quick hug and go with no lingering!! We travelled down to Portsmouth to have a meal with the guys down there, had a great night out locally with friends up here. Blatantly only just recovered from that one today but it was great to have so many friends in one place!!!!

Kate