Tuesday, 28 October 2014

Week -1

Sweet mother Mary and the little baby Jesus. I was reeeeally worrying about the Chinese visa and left it until last. It seems the force is strong in this one because it did indeed turn into a massive nightmare. I ended up about ten minutes away from my whole trip being a busted flush. I will update my visa page to do the detail when I have the final outcome but it's been nothing more than blind luck, countered by blind incompetence (on my part) that has led to this photo finish for visas. 

So I'm pretty much ready. Collected cash from the money guy in Tesco (every little helps and boy do they need the help at the mo). I know, not the best place to get it but my postal arrangements are complicated at the moment and I would have fallen foul of money laundering legislation. Not actual money laundering you understand, just the legislation to protect against money laundering.

Need to leave my car somewhere for 3 months. I'm obviously not going to shout about where on a public forum but there's surprisingly few places of relative safety left in the south of England to dump a car, with an even reasonable chance of it still being there in 13 weeks time. I think I've found a place (parents of a friend) but I do feel a little bit guilty for not having a better plan for that earlier. 

Went out for dinner last Friday night (I highly recommend The Mint Leaf in Haymarket for anyone interested). Not only did I manage to spill most of a peach Bellini all over myself but a full bottle of not inexpensive red left the table and a good tenners worth of Malbec created an instant Jackson Pollock around the ankles of nearby diners. The point is, if I can't be trusted to pour liquid from vessel into mouth from a distance of less than three feet without publically shaming myself, I fear for my chances of making it across Central Asia living off my guile, dexterity and wits alone. I'm thinking of asking my mother what she's doing for the next couple of months. Her special little solider clearly needs looking after. 

I'm starting to worry about the details now. This is probably a good thing. The big stuff must be taken care of if I'm now stressing over whether I need a head torch instead of a micro handheld one. I'm going to assume the answer to that won't make or break my trip. Should I take a sleeping bag liner in addition to a sleeping bag? Given that I don't really know what a sleeping bag liner is for (new invention since I last slept in a sleeping bag) probably not. What the hell, I'll take it. I can always dump it. Do I reeeeally need that D-ring? If I don't take it, I'll probably regret it.  
When I stop to think about it, there's not a lot of any real consequence that I'm leaving behind. Apart from my entry pass for work (I am honestly struggling to justify taking that) and my childhood stuffed bear, Panda (and I'm only not taking him on 'not macho' grounds), I'm carrying everything of any significance with me. Foolhardy you may say? Not really, I just don't own a lot. 

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