10th July - Passports still haven’t returned but we’ve had an email to say that we’ve got the Russian visas and the Chinese ones are in progress. With the visas on their way our thoughts turn to the tickets for the Trans-Siberian railway. The tickets are only released 45 days before travel and they’re not the sort of thing you can just get online (apparently there’s a lot of bureaucracy involved). We want to get a 2 berth cabin for both legs of the journey (we’re stopping in Irkutsk for a couple of days) and there’s only a limited number of these on each train. Fingers crossed...

It was Phil’s leaving do in Derby on Friday. It was a good evening that went smoothly according to plan for the first 90 minutes. I think everyone enjoyed it - particularly ‘Chris’. I hope the person that finds the leaving card is called Phil and is just about to go travelling.

30th June - Phil finished work yesterday although he’ll still be doing odd bits and pieces during July. No sign of the visas yet.

Here’s a map of the planned route:

31st July - And they’re off. Made it out of the house and on to the road. Max the cat not particularly happy with the new arrangements but I’m sure, given time, he’ll become firm friends with the dog.

29th July - Only two days to go. Passports - check; visas - check; Trans-Siberian tickets - check; bags packed - sort of; fridge & freezer empty - virtually (anyone want some peas?). Read the details for volunteering on the panda sanctuary (don’t ask) for the first time on Thursday and found that we need a letter from our doctor to say we are ‘fit and healthy to work with animals’. Someone suggested ‘creating’ a letter if we didn’t get the real one in time but obviously we would never do that.

Max the cat remains blissfully unaware of his imminent move to a new life with his foster family (and their dog). It’ll be fine.

Karen stopped work last week and so we’ll be together pretty much 24/7 for the next 10 months. We’ve never been together full time for more than two and a half weeks before. Again I’m sure it’ll be fine.

16th July - Had a ‘going away’ party on Saturday. Around 65 people came, significantly more than the ‘50ish’ the innumerate organisers thought they had invited. Here’s a photo of the ID parade from the ‘Name that Baby’ competition:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t know why some people are wearing coats - it’s the height of summer!

Click ‘+’ under the next photo for more pictures.

Before you all write in, I know that Melbourne and Sydney are the wrong way round

A rough itinerary:

August - Russia / Japan

September - Japan / China

October - China / Vietnam / Cambodia

November - Cambodia / Thailand

December - India

January - India

February - India / Malaysia

March - Australia

April - New Zealand

May - Cook Islands / USA

 

24th June - Not long now…

Only five weeks to go. Assuming the visas turn up that is.