Nearly the end of one long road, and nearly the beginning of another

Well here we are, it is just over 3 days to go before we embark on our world trip. A trip that we have been planning for over 2 years and have been waiting for even longer.

Everything is done, everything is bought. All we have to do is our final packing, final good byes and we are off!!!

We still want people's ideas and suggestions of thing to do, see etc, so please do get in touch – the best way is to contact us using the button on the right side, or post comments on the blog…

The next post we make will be our final final packing post with pics… we hope that we can still take some stuff out to reduce volume and mass, but let's see!! It seems that you take out with one hand and put in with another!! As we have also to add in some emergency food provisions. I am sure that in the first 2 weeks we will soon find out just how much we can carry and what is really unwanted load.

Can winning the lottery be a let down??

If you think about something, dream about something for long enough can finally achieving it be a little bit anticlimactic? Like the lottery – if you play the lottery and dream about winning for a long time, then when it actually happens is the experience any less joyful, because it was expected??

Most people would be mad at this thought, but quite honestly over the last few weeks, I have been having that feeling of anti-climax. We have been planning this trip since January 2007, that’s over 2 years! And now that we are down to the last days before we leave I am feeling something close to fatigue and ever so slightly underwhelmed. This is a really strange emotion, and I guess I rationalise it in 2 ways, the first is over-planning, and the second is over-expectation.

I think that we have immersed ourselves in the planning for this trip and that to some extent it is mapped out in my head, therefore I don’t have such a sense of adventure and going into the unknown. I hope that this will change over time, as we get further and further away from our comfort zone. The lesson here is to curb your sense of planning and let things happen…

The second issue of over-expectation is a real worry. It is possible to expect too much from such a trip, from yourself and from your travelling partner. It is possible to expect too much and then for your expectations (which were unrealistic) to be dashed, therefore making it feel that the trip has under delivered. I personally have to counter this, and really learn to take every positive out of this trip.

One of my friends, who went round the world a few years ago, gave me the best advice I have received re this trip – he said:
“…always remember how lucky you are to be able to do this and try not to become complacent during any perceived lows – some of our ‘low’ points have since turned out to be some of our fondest memories! Oh, and always wear sunscreen”

This is a personal achievement for Urvi and Myself, we have worked hard and arrived at a place where we have been able to take this trip. We only have ourselves to blame if this is not the trip of a lifetime, and if nothing else, we should spend the next 17months really seeing just how lucky we are. We have won our lottery, and we have no right to feel let down…

PS 17days to go….