The day before

The first post and am I sitting in the living room. Our possessions laid out across the kitchen table, the same question keeps coming to mind, do I really need that.
For what could be a 4 or 5 month journey, 3 pairs of boxers, 3 socks, 3 t-shirts, a shirt, a jumper, pair of shorts, a pair of trousers, what I leave the house in and a jacket doesn't seem like much. In fact it's probably the lightest I have ever packed for a holiday/journey, but my bag seems to be weighed down with my 'essential' tropical zone kit. Mosquito repellents and a mosquito net, sun tan lotion, iodine and neutralisation tablets, rain covers and dry bags, an extensive first aid kit, 4 months of malaria tablets, in my head it's all needed, but when you aren't even going to be thinking of using it for several weeks, it takes up a lot space. Along with some travel books, various toiletries and bits and bobs, and a daysac, the whole thing weighs in at 18kg. I definitely have too much stuff and will be throwing things away or posting them back within a few weeks.

A 8.30am leave for the airport tomorrow morning and a flight out of Heathrow that lands in Moscow at about 7pm. It's the start of an epic adventure and hopefully one that will be an exciting and wonderful experience.

The plan is to stay in Moscow for a couple of days with Igor's friends and then travel 3335km across Russia to Novosibirsk to Igor's dad's home.

Watch this space.