I'm lying in bed with a whole bevy of nurses monitoring my every movement - the reason? it is day two of our time in Malaysia and everyone seemed to think that that would be the time when my body crashes after all of the busyness of the past few months when I have been surrounded at work and at home with sick people "struggling through" and working all hours to prepare for our year of adventure.
Amazingly all is well. My body has passed its first test with flying colours; the imaginary nurses fade away and I have time to reflect on the pre-cursor to travel which is so little thought of yet such an integral part of the whole experience.
While I love a suprise as much as anyone there is also a certain element of a holiday which is lost through the elimination of any build up time. Surely the value of a break away is magnified by the anticipation and planning process. Many a long day at work is balanced by the knowledge that you will soon be able to relax on a beach or be lost in wonder at the beauty of the mountains. For this particular adventure all these feelings are magnified and drawn out far more than before as it represents the culmination of years of aspiration and months of planning. What started with reading Peter Mayall's book "A year in Provence" in 1990 is finally coming to pass. Okay, it is likely that the year will be distilled to three months in Provence by the time we incorporate all of the other places that catch the eye but I'm going to claim it anyway.
So why is it that, 25 years on, we have decided that now is the time? We recognised that we have a window in time which offers the opportunity for a long break like no other time before. Our daughter is now a responsible adult keen to make her own way in life, our parents are relatively fit and well and we are not grandparents yet. In addition we have managed to lick our finances into shape after many years of focus so it has become a moment to "seize the day". I am very grateful for the support of my firm in allowing me to take the time out as a sabbatical - although I have worked there for 13 years now I am no more deserving than any others there so this is a tremendous privilege. One more reason why Warren and Mahoney Architects are such good employers!
So, back to the preparation. A year of big targets and three months of macro targets left us with a list of to-do items covering three columns of an A4 page. Some simple items reading "redirect post" others more meaty such as "renovate Picton rental" or "wind up company". Amazingly though everything has come together beautifully and we have rented all of our properties for the whole time we are away (including our home). Each is in the best condition it has ever been in to give the best chance of a hassle-free year so we can finally relax.
In the run up to our adventure we have had many a conversation with others about our plan. The common themes seem to be:-
• On hearing that we are taking only carry-on size baggage - "That's incredible. For one year? That's the way to do it; it must be so liberating". In Christchurch particularly we have noticed that the huge earthquakes have really changed people's attitude to possessions. Having seen all of our "things" in a heap on the floor, broken and sticky we saw them for what they are - Things. Contents insurance payments were received for all broken items - wineglasses were replaced. In addition most of us have had to move out of and back into our houses at least once over the past four years. We have done seven complete moves since the first earthquake. Every time we have tried to rationalise and reduce our possessions based on the notion of if it's not beautiful or essential why have it? We are getting there but this year away has really emphasised what is essential for life and what is dead weight.
• On hearing that we have only booked one flight and three nights accommodation - "Okay, that's different, so that gives you the flexibility to go anywhere then?". We have read a lot from other travellers and the top two tips seem to be travel light and don't plan too much. Of course we will have to plan but in manageable chunks. This has already paid off as on our first day in Kuching, Borneo we were invited to join a group of Malay friends for a trip that they were planning to the Bario highlands. There needs to be room to accommodate these "chance" encounters and so we have planned the remainder of our time in Borneo around this trip. The flexibility to go anywhere is an interesting one. Of course that freedom is a key part of what we have been seeking but it brings its own conundrum. If you can go anywhere and do anything, WHERE do you go? Is this the moment to pick off your bucket list? Or go to the places that would be really difficult in a 2 week holiday (Everest? Antartica?). Or do you choose a continent and work through every country in it? What about just living in one spot and absorbing / contributing to life for a whole year - à la Peter Mayall? We have opted for a bit of all of the above and will update as time moves on.
• On hearing of the general idea - "that's fantastic, I wish I could do that". I am reminded of some advice I received when discussing purchasing my first rental property aged 19. My mentor and I had spent some time working through my figures and proposals. In the end he said "its clear you've got it up here" (tapping his head) "but you need to have it down here" (indicating the groin region). He was right. Having a dream is one thing, realising a dream is another which requires planning and action. Already on this trip we have met a number of others who to varying degrees have done the same as us. They come from all walks of life and have different budgets but all have the same characteristic - they have "just done it". Since the earthquakes both Tamara and I have become far more proactive "doers" than before. We procrastinate less and do more. For some time I carried the fact that we were living so many other people's dreams as a bit of a burden. Surely we had to have an amazing time or we were letting people down! I'm starting to let that one go :-)
• Lastly, on hearing that not only are we not taking our daughter with us but that we are also renting out the family home to finance the trip - A mixture of responses. With a year to go "it will be so good for her, I left home at 17/18/19 etc. and it was great" was common, particularly from the ladies in my life. Closer to the date there was more concern for the poor young lady being thrown out of the nest and forced to fly (mostly from me this time!). I am really proud of the way that Skye has handled such a difficult situation and she has grown so much more mature over the last year, arranging accommodation and employment with no leaning on the parents at all. I believe that we will look back on this as a really good move for all concerned and Skye has always been so supportive of our plans for which we are very grateful.
So, now we are here doing it, but the planning doesn't stop. In fact I am convinced that effective travel is all about harvesting of information from guidebooks, locals and fellow travellers. Learning and sharing these top tips is a fundamental plank of the travelling experience and I'm sure that it will lead to many an interesting time over the next year.
What stories do you have about journey preparation? Any nightmare dashes to/from the airport? Forgotten essentials? Clever check-lists that take away the stress? Please share in the comments below.
'Till next time.
