The Preparations Are Underway...

With the big journey on the verge of commencing, I spent my last weekend tying together some loose ends.

I've had a long standing goal of finally compiling my entire music library on my Ipod, and with the anticipated down time impending upon planes, trains, boats and other forms of transporation, I knew this was one thing I had to finish before I departed, which I was able to do successfully. I am well impressed with the advancement of technology in recent years. My entire library of a couple hundred plus CDs filled up about half of my Ipod. Gone are the days of massive CD binders; now it all fits in the palm of my hand.

One other particularly dreadful item to accomplish was filing my taxes. With a return date later than the federal filing deadline, it was one more thing that I had to finish before leaving. I've been fortunate enough to have several successive years of returns, but for some reason this year I had to write out a check to Uncle Sam. Ah yes, just the thing I wanted to do before leaving for the trip.

Packing

The final order of business before departing was a relatively significant one: packing my bag. I must say that packing a bag can be a bit of an artform, particularly for somebody like me who has worked on perfecting the art of travelling light. It's been very manageable when travelling for a week or two at a time; however, a trip of 9 weeks can be a different story. What I realized is that as long as I am willing to do laundry rather frequently, there is really no need to pack much more than if it were a much shorter trip. So, I packed a bag small enough to carry on (plus a day bag) with some room left to spare. It eliminates the potential for lost bags and allows me to skip standing around the baggage claim waiting for my bags to show. It's something I belive to be essential when planning on moving quickly and frequently around a couple of different countries.

The Bags are Ready to Go!

Alright, I am packed and ready to go. One question I have got from a few different people is "are you excited?" The answer is yes, but I am also left pondering so many things...will it be everything I have made it out to be? Will the experience leave me wondering how I could have survived wihout knowing the things that I will come to learn along the way? Only the time and the journey ahead will provide an answer. Off I go...

written by

CaliJoe on February 20, 2006 from Los Angeles, United States

from the travel blog: Time to Visit Some Kiwis in Their Natural Habitat

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I will be very interested to know how your managed with packing so light. Was there anything that you didn't pack that you really needed? If all went well, I will ask for your packing list and adapt it to my own needs. I really like the carry-on aspect, as many times when traveling, one or more of my traveling companions have lost a bag!

written by Joan Reyes on March 18, 2007

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