After not just months but years of planning or for the most of it dreaming about taking a long break from life in the UK today is the day that these ideas would start becoming reality. The idea of travelling was initially planted in my head close to a decade ago when my oldest brother spent a month one summer in Thailand. What appealed most at the time was the stories of alcohol fuelled parties on beaches, trekking in jungles and chilling on paradise islands. All of these still appeal just as much when I first heard them. Now now I also hope to gain just as much pleasure from the cultural and natural beauties the countries have to offer. Not doubt I will also see some of the uglier sides of the far eastern world which I also look forward to in a way (no doubt when I have things stolen or sit on a boiling coach for 24 hours I will see a different side to things but no doubt these will create the best stories of my travels).
After the obligatory philosophical chatter I can actually explain a little about the trip. I've decided to go with the proper travellers approach (or just the lazier way) to the next 4 and a bit months. The plan pretty much is there's no plan, well to an extent. You could probably fit the current plans on a beer mat and still have some space left for a doodle or two. The initial plans are; outbound and return flight dates (to and from Singapore), hostel in Singapore, coach and lodgings in Kuala Lumpur, flight to and hostel in Bangkok. After that there's a rough order of countries to visit starting obviously with Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand followed by possibly Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, back to Thailand, Indonesia and possibly at some point to the other part of Malaysia that hadn't been seen, then ending up back in Singapore to fly home. Over the next four and a bit months we shall see what actually happens and what I actually do and gain from my little holiday.
Before I go further I should introduce my travel partner who I will hopefully manage to stay on good terms with despite the close quarters we will be in for the near future. The lady I will be travelling with is my girlfriend of two and a half years, Charlotte. She is a less experienced than me on the travelling front and my well planned one week holidays a year can't quite compare to constant uprooting we have ahead. Even though I may have more experience being in foreign places Charlotte has done a hell of a lot more reading than me so no doubt will be teaching me everything along the way.
So Saturday 16th arrives, flight takes off at 5pm, for me this means I have to get up at 9am to get ready to go. Having spent two weeks not working prior to this date it was an early start for me but by no means I though it essential to get up nice and early. I got up and realised my bag was packed, all my documents had been organised, my lift the the airport arranged, I’d even laid my clothes out to wear for the day. Everything was all nicely in place for a minimum stress day which is what I got. The journey to the airport was smooth, check in was quick, terminal 3 was mobbed and the Smiths didn't even sell Muscle & Fitness or MuscleMag, boarding and take off were as expected. I had decided the best way to avoid jet lag in Singapore was to stay awake as much as possible. With the thought being that I could completely shake up my body clock then reset to Singapore time so no sleeping on this flight. The in flight dinner was curry and red wine and beer was freely available, what more could I need?
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