The two week countdown

We have only two weeks to go until we fly to Kuala Lumpar to start our trip around SE Asia and Nepal.

 I thought it might be fun to document how we are feeling for other travellers to (hopefully) identify with and also so that we can look back and laugh at how silly we were.

Adele snooping through our stuff.

1.Why the hell do we have so much stuff?

We have so much stuff and it is making us crazy. We have had two garage sales where we have sold a few bits and bobs.  We have sold stuff on eBay, gumtree and also to friends.

 Yet it seems like we have not even made a dent in the piles of stuff that we own. Everything I pick up taunts me with the knowledge that I paid money for it, money that could have gone towards travelling the world and creating memories. I also feel a sense of relief that at 23I have truly learnt the lesson that material goods do not make you happy. I have vowed from now on I will only keep and buy things that I really love. With this in mind, I am only really keeping two small boxes of things.

 

 This is us on a good day at work

2. The last two weeks of work are TORTURE.

 After months and months of counting down towards the date of departure, the last two weeks feel like a lifetime and when you have to work those last two weeks, it’s just the worst. I unfortunately have lost the last shred of motivation that has propelled me to work. I have gotten increasingly good at pretending to be busy when my mind is floating above the clouds on its way to Thailand. With two weeks to go, it’s almost impossible to care about another whiney customer or messed up order. The highlight of my day is making a little cross on my calendar after each day.

 3. It’s the little things

 No matter how many lists I write, I keep forgetting little things that need to get done. For example we need to buy adapters, photocopy passports/visas, open another bank account, buy Chris trekking shoes (size 15!) and get more passport photos taken. I’m sure it’s inevitable that we forget to do one or two little things but hopefully they don’t have consequences.

 4.When you and your partner have different ways of preparing

 There have been a couple of fights mature discussions that have cropped up over the past couple of weeks. I (Jo) am a serial planner. I have read about 100 blog posts on SE Asia, poured over the lonely planet guidebook, read trip advisor reviews and written lists on places to eat, sleep and see. I have found and booked the hostels, researched dive sites, read packing lists and watched YouTube videos. Chris on the other hand barely makes it through a blog post I sit him down to read. Forget about the guidebook, it ain’t happening! He would be quite happy to waltz into Thailand with no plan. Now I’m not saying this is wrong but it is very different and it has been hard to see each other’s point of view. I need to be more spontaneous and relaxed and it might help if Chris peeked into the guidebook once in awhile, just so that, ya know, we don’t get arrested for having the wrong visa or find ourselves walking leisurely into bandit country.

We are a crazy cat couple.

 5. It’s the last of everything

 The next two weeks approaching are going to be full of “lasts”. The last dominoes pizza- in- bed- movie marathon, the last bike ride along the river, the last breakfast at our favourite cafe and the last movie at our local cinemas. And then there are the more sad “lasts”. The last time we get to spend with our cats Adele and Soufflé and the last time we hug our mums for until the next time we see them.

Did you feel like this before your big move? If not, how did you feel? We would love to hear from you so please leave a comment or email us at dirtypawsblog@gmail.com.