Roo Around The World

The big trip is getting ever closer, and my to-do list just keeps getting longer.

It is now exactly one month until I fly away to Bangkok and I really couldn’t be more excited. However, it seems like my list of things I have to do before I go just keeps growing…every time I tick something off, I just have to add something else on, and it’s been like this for the last month or so! But this is the stuff I love; the planning, the list-making, the preparation…it all just makes it seem real. Because sometimes this feels like it’s not – I’ve been dreaming about and planning for this trip for as long as I can remember, It’s hard believe that it is actually happening, and that soon enough I will be boarding that plane to begin what I hope is going to be the biggest adventure of my life.

So while I wait, here’s all the little jobs I’ve set myself for the coming weeks:

1. Get my Vietnam Visa. This one is in process – I’ve sent off my passport, visa form and fees…now it’s just a waiting game
2. Book my OZ Experience/Greyhound bus pass. This is a tricky one, as apparently Greyhound have just bought out OZ Experience, although they say everything is going to stay the same…I think I’ll give it a few weeks and let the dust settle before booking anything up.
3. Sort out my USA working visa and contract for Camp Sloane next summer. This is also in process. Sort of. It’s proving a little tricky due to the bureaucracy and politics of getting a US visa (I won’t bore you with it), but hopefully it will all be fine in the end!
4. Subscribe to Apple’s iCloud service (when it is fully released…soon I hope). It’ll be a great way of storing all my photos and movies without taking up all the space on the iPad.
5. Get travel insurance. This is just the classic case of me procrastinating and trying to find the cheapest and best insurer.
6. Take my MacBook Pro to the Apple Store to get fixed. There’s a whole heap of things wrong with it that I’d like to get fixed before I leave (even though I’m not actually taking it with me 😦 Yep, i’ll be away from my beloved laptop for a whole 6-7 months!)
7. Get my final vaccination jabs. I’ve got the last doses of Hep B, Rabies  & Cholera to get and then also my Hep A, Typhoid and DPT boosters too, as well as the malaria pills. And yes, it’s expensive!
8. Get Thai Baht. It’s already ordered from the Post Office, so I just have to go and pick it up. Probably should get some US Dollars too.
9. Get LOADS of passport photos. Always useful to have when crossing borders.
10. Get my Blackberry unlocked so that I can use my international SIM card in it while I’m away.
11. Buy a small handbag. Y’know, for nights out or days when I don’t want to be lugging my rucksack around.
12. Email self with important documents (i.e. copy of passport etc). It’s always good to have a backup.
13. Book Vietnam (Hanoi) to Laos (Luang Prabang) flight. This will save us time and effort, rather than getting buses and having to go through the notorious hassle of crossing the border.

And that’s about it. Well apart from packing, but I think it’s still a bit early to do that!