I got my Travelling Shoes on.

When I first tell people I am travelling through Asia and Europe for four months, I usually get a response like, “Four months, wow, I’m jealous”. And you should be. While you’re counting down the hours at work or trying to dislodge yourself from that overweight and odorous man on the train, Anouska and I will be in another country, without a thought of a care. Sure, we still have responsibilities, but those are minimal to the stress of work and paying the bills. Not to say that travelling doesn’t present its own difficulties like, what city should we go to next? Or, what culinary feast should we gorge ourselves on this time? Or even, we have to see another historical building of Antiquity? Life is hard.

It’s 7:30am on the day of our flight and I am performing my daily, morning routine of being on the computer with a large cup of tea besides me. Except, this is the last time I will do this till late in January 2009. I am not sure how I feel about this. Oh hell, I know exactly how I feel about it. Good. Really good. I spend way too much of my life indulging in triviality and now I am going to immerse myself in the rich tapestry of the world. My cat, Ziggy Stardust is sitting by the door meowing. I think she is trying to tell me something. Perhaps, I will miss you Daddy? I doubt it. It’s fair to say that she is probably indicating that she wants to go outside and roll in another animal’s excrement.

So, we have converted our worldly possessions to a couple of backpacks. A few sets of clothes, a small selection of books and a few toiletries and necessities are all have with us for the next few months. We are literally carrying our homes on our back like a tortoise, except we can’t hide in it if one of the locals get mad at us for sitting on their special bench or when we desecrate a national icon by thinking that the Tate museum is large, expensive, yet interesting toilet. But seriously, not having to worry about a house or personal property is liberating. I think all those religious folk were on to something when they discarded all their worldly possessions. But then again, wearing a silly outfit and going around chanting, “God is good”, doesn’t sound that fun to me either. However, I cannot say we are that organised in packing. Anouska wanted to make lists, like she does, to ensure that we checked off everything we were taking. I, on the other hand, threw everything into my bag in ten minutes and hoped for the best.

To say we are excited to go is an understatement. You can probably tell by the set of photographs attached with this blog. Anouska is so excited, she's out of focus. We have worked full time in less than interesting jobs over the past year to finance this expedition. What was our reason to do it? I wish I could weave a fascinating story about self discovery overseas or the need to see other cultures, but I would have to admit we are doing it out of sheer jealousy. When I hear of some other people travelling overseas, this is a familiar monologue that would run through my mind. “You went overseas? You! But you’re an uncultured simpleton who no doubt spent the entire trip getting drunk and visiting overseas McDonald’s branches. I will show you how it is done. Ok?” And that’s basically how we got where we are today.

Check in with us for weekly updates. Take care, friends and family. I will see you next year.