The Move Begins

It really feels like we are moving now. I wake up in the mooring full of nervous energy and have to spend the rest of the day running around doing things in order to get it all out. They design it that way I think.

Almost everything is packed, we are renting a truck tomorrow. Everything for the trip is in a huge pile at the end of the bed waiting to see if it will fit in our bags. There's still some small things to get before we leave. Like a lens cap for my camera and travel insurance, you know little things.

I always get travel amnesia when I get back from a trip so by the time I go to leave again I am surprised at how much effort and work it takes to get  trip off the ground. The sheer paperwork alone is overwhelming. Copies of passports, getting visas, permissions, copies of important documents and print outs of room reservations. I have multi colored folders just begging to be labeled.

At this point I consider planing a long term-independent trip like this one to be about as much work as planning a wedding. Sure some things are easier, nobody is trying to influence what clothes I bring, but the paperwork! Canceling subscriptions and making doctor's appointments ( we've each had three in the last three weeks), buying the annoying things that you need for travel but will never use again, like pack-covers, is just as time consuming.

I have to remember its a labor of love. Truth be told there's a always this wall that we hit where we just want to leave, "the tension is building, lets go!" and I have defiantly hit that wall.

Looking forward to Hanoi, mainly because I will be able to say things like " When I was in 'nam"  at inappropriate times. I should probably go buy that health insurance now.