Packing for a year away......Part 2

Just in case anyone had forgotten what moving house is like, let me tell you it's rubbish! I've lived in only 2 places in the last 8 years, so I'm not used to it and it's very tedius. We are living in a sea of box's and ahead of me is the grim prospect of carrying these box's down four flights mainly by myself. I'm sure Sam will carry the odd box, but she'll be on cleaning duty and everyone else seems to be at work, well it is a Tuesday. If anyone reading this fancys helping out, then 12 Rugby Court for 9am start please. We are driving up to Sheffield to see my sister on the Tuesday afternoon, then up to the Geordies where we are storing our stuff for a year. Thank God for Matthews attic and really big thanks to Tom and the gang for putting flooring in the attic just so we can put our stuff there.

We had our works leaving do on Thursday down the Sidewinder and very pleasant it was to. I'd like to say a massive thankyou to everyone from CCU for our pressie! Our present was a walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge (Really, I'm not joking, actually right over the stupid thing) not only are we going to be forced to look like fools in these blue jumpsuits, but also it's going to do nothing for my fear of heights! Couldn't you have booked us a slow drive over the Sydney Harbour bridge instead? Actually I think it's going to be wicked, although am slightly disappointed that apparently you can't take cameras on the bridge, in case you drop them on the cars below....stupid cars! Also thanks for the Yen, very nice and very well thought out presents! I was going to totally forget about CCU for a year, but now I'll think of you lot once, maybe even twice :)

Kimi......whoohoo!!!

I'm excited and no it's not cause it's christmas day, although I am a bit excited about presents and going round to Em and Andys for mmmmm roast duck. No the reason for my excitement is that I've booked up a hotel in Tokyo tonight! I'd been doing some heavy duty research into where to stay and what area to stay in, assisted by Alex San, Ant San and Sam Sama. I'd seen several places, but every time I emailed the hotel / hostel, they were fully booked mid - January which seemed a bit odd. Finally, phoned a place we'd seen on the net that looked traditional Japanese, in fact from the web pics on their site, it looked the nicest place out of any of them within our price range ( cheap ). From the 17th January for 3 nights we'll be at the Kimi Ryokan, ryokan being the name for a Japanese traditional Inn I believe. They speak English at the Kimi, which makes things a tad easier for Mr monkey and it's pretty near one of the big stations in Tokyo. If anyone's interested in Japan generally, then have a look at japan-guide.com it's got a shed load of information about things to do, see and eat. I've already found my ultra nerd museum to go to in Tokyo, here's how it reads on the site "The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation: This well done, highly interactive and bilingual science museum includes exhibits about environmental issues, robots (starring Asimo among others), information technology, biology and space exploration". That's right.....Robots, mmmmmm. Sorry Sammy, but monkey love the robots, ooh ooh. Talking of Sam, she's only gone and done her first post ain't she, wierdly it's below the Beckham post, can't quite figure out why, but please scroll down and have a read!!!!

We're not flying...

On the 10th, the 15th or the 20th of June 2006!
That's right, cause my mate Becks has been on the blower to me, telling me the dates for our group matches in the world cup. We will be in Malaysia / Singapore / Australia around these dates, so I don't want to be in mid-air watching Sam asleep and being extra angry at not watching England! On the 10th we will be playing Paraguay in our opening game, the 15th is Trinidad and Tobago and then those funsters Sweden on the 20th. So we need to win the first 2 games, cause Sweden is a definite draw. For further information on all things world cup, see the beeb.

Sammy Samosa's Story

Hi. Now it's my turn. Time to inject some interest into our site which currently reads like the latest Dixon's catalogue. I'll give him his due though, it's not all boys toys. Amongst the current pages you will see lots of rancid photos of me. Whilst I'm sure you will find this all terribly interesting, I'm going to tell you all about me. I am 29 and quite a few months old. I spent much of my life in a small Northern town called Barnard Castle. It was a hard decision, leaving behind my gorgeous family, but one I had to make. Living a life devoid of the luxuries of central heating, running water and nightlife for 18 years, I moved to Brighton. The coaldust had permeated my lungs leaving me gasping for some excitement so I decided to become a nurse. After many years in the game (not on it), I realised I needed more than irate relatives, leg ulcers and the waft of malaena to get me going (nurses out there, hear my prayer), so in 2000 I went to South America. I spent time in Brazil with the gorgeous people who know how to wax; I went to Bolivia with the slightly less attractive people who have never heard of wax; a very short time in Argentina eating cow and looking at beautiful waterfalls, far too long (4 days) in Paraguay feeling anxious, and a very wheezy time in Peru trekking the Inca trail. Then I returned and my life became REALLY exciting...In 2000, I met Andy, the love of my life. (Thanks to the matchmaking efforts of our best buddies Em & Andrew - It was one way to get rid of me.) After five years of living and working together we have worked our ever-expanding bottoms off and saved our pennies. We have earned the title of "The Richard & Judy of CCU" and made our colleagues' lives miserable with our endless planning and going on about our World Tour 2006. We are off on the trip of a lifetime, something I have dreamed of for years. Rather than take the Abi Titmuss route, we will be leaving the NHS in a very different direction. After working up to 80 hours a week for the past year, we are ready for it...but is the rest of the world ready for us? We hope to gain a lot from our experiences, and in return, hope to give a lot to the people we meet along the way (and I don't just mean the MRSA).

Packing for a year away

What do you take with you for a whole year?

Obviously I'm gonna need some pants, at least 2 pairs to be safe, I'm thinking maybe some socks, although sandals may be worn most of the time, so I think I'll ditch the socks, sod it, I'll take one pair. Definitely need some tee-shirts, although am gonna buy some in Japan, so maybe one for the flight. Got me Gore-tex for the all weather types experience and got me walking boots / trainers. Definitely gonna take a toothbrush, Sam can bring the rest of the toiletries! Erm, probably a book or two, must remember passport and cash cards!!
That's my bag packed, hmmm, there seems to be alot of room in it, better fill the space with adapters for the technology I need to take!!!!

So... the main items to take for a year away are:



One Playstation Portable with games and 1gb memory card full of comedy programmes to keep you amused on those long flights and to keep the Sammie quiet with Lumines. Also comes with Wifi Internet for free browsing in countries with broadband.




One Creative Zen Xtra 40gb Mp3 player. Absolutely essential. Take every peice of music in your collection with you. I could do with out most things for a year, but not music. What you really want are some half decent speakers to take with you, so you can enjoy the full fruits of your music...



How about Creative Travelsound speakers? They're tiny, but suprisingly loud with a nice amount of bass. Amazing, who'd of thought it.




Now, i'd be lying if I said I wasn't gonna take any photos whilst we're away and to get some really marvellous shots, I've invested in a Canon 300D Digital SLR. This camera is awsome. It takes some amazing crisp and vibrant pictures. You can use it fully manually or as automatic as you like. It's a 6.3 Megapixal camera which isn't sounding as massive as it used to, but the quality of the pictures + the range of lenses gives it the edge over much, much higher megapixal cameras. Now I love my Canon, but it is slightly on the bulky side, not the camera I want to take for a night down the pub....



However, this one is! This is in the post to me as I write. It's a Sony P200 7.2 Megapixal and it's got some stonking reviews. This camera is gonna sit nicely in my pocket... if I remember to pack any trousers... and is gonna take me some purty pictures.

Wow, I think that's it, my bag is full, it literally is full of adapters though, can see that being annoying, lots of extra batteries and memory cards. Finally, although it's not in my bag, Sam has got a new camera coming in the post as well, surprisingly she turned down the gorgeous looks of the violet Canon Ixux i and instead went for the not at all bad looking Panasonic Lumix DMC - FX9.

This is a 6 Megapixal camera, with a massive 2.5 inch screen on the back. It's also got an Image Stabiliser for Sam's shakey hands after she's being playing to much Lumines and can also take a damn fine picture!


If any thieves are on the road between Tokyo and London, via alot of SE Asia, Oz and Nz, I am fully insured, so help yourselves ;)