The Night Before

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So, my lovely lovely friend Anna has set me up this blog which is most fortunate as I would have otherwise probably not got round to setting one up and that would have been a shame. On every holiday I’ve ever take, I’ve always written a journal for a few days in a fresh notebook only to promptly abandon it, which is a shame but I always just forget. So, on re-reading it’s like I’ve been on a series of mini-breaks all over the world. I’d like to have taken many of you with me but at least this way you can hear where I am and we can share something of whatever this trip will be like a verbal photograph. If I can work out how to use my camera properly, which shamefully isn’t even new to me, you may even get actual photographs!

Thanks for my first post Anna, this is my debut entrance into the blogging community and I sound utterly ridiculous but it's a very fair comment. Although toiletry shopping is frankly underappreciated and scarcely adequately documented 😊 Long suffering Anna and Joe did in fact, I believe, witness the most considered and particular selection of toiletries. Everything I hope is about 45-day-size and chosen for wonderful scents and in a few cases strange colours which I hope will make me smile while I'm away especially when my lack of forward planning ends in a bohemian mess. I bought shimmery suncream and no more tears strawberry conditioner. Isn't that why other people go on holiday?!

Anyway, so I have thrown this trip together very quickly and it is, as a result, rather slap dash. Managed to get hold of some malarone, a vaccination of sorts and dug out my fav rucksack. The reasoning behind this trip was that my friend Ben is travelling at the moment and I said, "Oh, if I pass my exams I'll come meet you and we'll have a beer and chill out” and then I actually went and passed, what am I like and so now I'm actually going. It's a little far to go for a beer so I'm going to have a look around, for about 45days 😊 I have wonderfully direct flights, a visa which covers almost all of what I need (and we'll find out if I can get by on it) and have finally managed to acquire some currency. I'm travelling around Thailand, Laos, probably Cambodia with a slim chance of Vietnam so I’ve got myself a selection of what I hope south east Asia will value, mostly sterling, US dollars in cash to use at the borders and of course some livestock for trading at will.

Other than that I have planned stunningly little which will be either marvellous or disastrous. I am leaving in less that 24hours and have not packed at all but I’ve spent time with quite a few of you and that’s so much more important. I’ve also moved out of my grim halls and into my new flat today with a lot of help. Goodbye Max Rayne, see you again never, it's been real.

I will try to make this as interesting to read as possible so that you have something of me to amuse yourselves with. I’m concerned it will be poorly written or worse, dull, but I’m going to have a go. If you don’t hear from me, it’s because I don’t have access to the internet. No news really is good news. I am really not sure how it will all pan out but travelling is what I love and attempting this scale is something I’ve never let myself off work long enough to do. I went to Thailand last year for a brief two weeks and was utterly delighted, it’s definitely one of those places that draws you in and urges you to return.

I’m flying to Bangkok tomorrow at about 9pm and so arrive Saturday evening with Andy where we hope to find Ben. Then we are heading straight to Laos, or so goes the immediate plan and we’ll see how that goes,

Peace and lots of love from Katie

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Comments

[Joe]

Have a lovely time :D be safe and make friends with many elephants :) xxx