New Year, New Day

First thing in the morning, when the sun is shining and the air is crisp and the hoards are yet to descend, there is no city quite like her. Due to the many reasons I’ve mentioned here before I am more than ready to leave but oh London…there is so much beauty, the buildings alone are breathtaking in their variety and grandeur. Then there are the collections housed in many of those magnificent buildings, the British Museum, The National Gallery, The Natural History Museum, the list goes on. All waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. And on top of that, really, the people aren’t bad 🙂 if you have never been London really is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and well worth the exploration.

And with less than six months until we leave London to begin our next adventure, we are enjoying saying goodbye to our favourite London places as well as exploring previously undiscovered ones.

We’ve also started looking at where we will head after our first few months decompressing in Thailand. It’s currently a toss up between Malaysia and Indonesia. I don’ think we are really heading to Asia at the best weather time, it’s just the best time for us and neither of us would be willing to stay here any longer unless we really had to (sorry London, as lovely as you are, we’ve had enough). Maybe Indonesia, Malaysia then back to Indonesia. I am consciously planning not to plan. Which may or may not be a bright idea. Probably not a bright idea, anyway I may change my plan and consciously plan, who knows.

One thing we are planning is what we are taking. For Christmas Ma gave us both www.ospreypacks.com Sojourn packs, which after much research we decided were perfect for our trip; robust, wheeled for ease with superb hidden backpack straps. We’re aiming to limit what we take to 15kg each which rather than being horrified by, we are both rather embracing the prospect of decluttering our lives to such an extent. Not quite sure how I’m going to manage it, but looking forward to the process nonetheless. All jewellery is being left behind, clothing will be cut to a minimum (in quantity rather than skimpiness) and for someone whose washbag is usually the heaviest item in my case I am planning on replacing everything possible with coconut oil. Anything heavy can be shoved in our day packs and carried on board when we fly anyway.

So that’s us, we’ve more vaccinations, visa applications and not planning planning to keep us busy, and the only New Year’s Resolution I’m making is to keep following my dreams. I wish for you a year of health, happiness, love, laughter and discovery, Happy 2015!

Squirrel, Kensington Gardens, January 2nd 2015