I'm ready, I'm set, I'm going to go!
It's finally here. In seven hours' time we're going to rock up to the airport, continue our routine of existing in and out of terminals, flights and severe stretches of time zones / cuisines / barges of advice (thanks y'all but seriously, we're throwing out the guide books and betting on where the wind blows).
The detour back home then Perth for wedding duties then back then Penang then back got my entire biological alarm clock on meal times, sleeping times, and just about everything in between all spiced up and topsy turvy - I really just want to get on the plane and get started on the epic journey that hubby and I had been looking forward to in marking year 2010 as one of the most memorable years of our lifetime.
So, what got squeezed in between these few days (sometimes it did feel like WEEKS to no end) of mad rush of getting things / paperwork / photocopying / liaising with governmental bodies, lunches and more eating at families', forgetting and remembering to-dos by priority (it's survival time) and farewell hugs and wishes? Vaccine jabs, traffic and parking nightmares, saying goodbyes to our mutts, spring-cleaning, remembering to stay sane, fixing the archaic filing system, dealing with local politicians that should really be retired (last century), learning about family sizes and their peculiarities, and the list goes absolutely on...
You find out that Blue Label is indeed restorative on the faith, that you can stop at three (and it isn't whiskey I'm talking about), how much I miss my German Shepherd named ahem, Whiskey (God bless) and that you got to hit rock bottom before you come up for good. How things can be nipped at the bud, that all may mean well and you can chuck it away if it ain't, and that breathing is really good for you. Plus at times, your instincts are really better than what the doctor prescribed (particularly when it comes to ridding pus from your finger).
And cutting your hair does indeed rid you of old baggages. Okay, can I say it? I love my asymmetrical bob. Did I just say it?
Finally, backpack's zipped up, hung my Nazar Bonjuk (Turkish good luck "evil eye" charm, given by my sis-in-law's parents - thanks heaps, I love it!) and ticket to Guilin clutched. We've no plan except to make our plan along the way once we enter China. Probably find our way to Tibet, then somehow in between somewhere fun and there, definitely Xinjiang and later get into the entry point into Central Asia, hopefully weed our way into Iran and then Turkey, Egypt, Africa, and to rock out hubby's birthday in South America.
I want to say watch this space but am afraid that China's censorship and sensitivity to the "highly compromised" Blogspot website means only one thing - that I will be only able to post any travel updates when I can worm my way out of the Great Firewall of China. So folks, rest assured that you're on my thoughts always, love and hugs, and in the style of Terminator, "I'll be baaaakkkkkkk"...
Me, Viv - signing off, until next.
