Hello again!
Sorry we missed a couple weeks, but we have been trying to forget about the trip a bit. I was going to go into detail on how we decided on hotels, but, frankly picking hotels was a lot of work and written about it (and reading) is pretty boring. The main thing I would suggest is pick a reputable website (we used bookings.com). Also, it is important to consider the check in times as some of the smaller guest houses only allow check-in during a small window often early in the evening.
Planning constantly for a couple weeks gave us some Thailand burnout, but I assure you we are getting excited! We’ve officially started the countdown to the day we leave. 9 days 12 hours and 9 minutes we will depart Bagotville to North Bay; our first stop on our adventure. As I may have already said, we will drop off the family, give some Christmas cheer to our folks and then will depart for Toronto.
Early last week we had appointments with the immunization nurse to make sure we were all caught up on our shots. The nurse also gave us an extensive care package of medications that we may need and not be able to get while traveling. I have never heard of a health care provider doing this, but it is a great idea. Basically they gave us prescriptions for any type of gastro problem, plus some antibiotics and pain killers. I’m pretty sure all this stuff is available over there, but it is nice to have. Tim says it will be the first thing he throws out to make room for souvenirs.
Over the past couple weeks we accumulated a couple travel books, walking maps and other must have items. We have been laying them out on a spare bed to ensure I have everything. I always lay out everything, survey my needs and when everything is good, pack it nicely away in my bag. Tim complained for years about my method of packing until he went away on temporary duty and forgot to pack his uniform pants. No forgotten pants on this trip honey!
How does a person pack for 25 days in a foreign tropical country? Good question, I would suggest just one word: LIGHT! We acquired a couple large packs from REI.com. Tim learned a valuable lesson the last time he backpacked through Thailand; invest in a good pack. We bought large packs (85L), but we only plan to have them full for our return trip.
So, for now we have 4 outfits, a pair of sandals and a beach outfit. Also, we are bringing bug spray, sunscreen, and as Tim calls it, 15 pounds of basic toiletries. I attached a photo of my bag; notice that it is not nearly full. This means I am going to be able to do a lot of shopping while we are away. :)
