Final Week at Work!

This is my final week at work and there's quite alot of stuff to finalise,sort out and train 2 new starters. I paid my insurance today with flight centre through Cover More and will need to buy comfortable working shoes amongst other things. I also need to pick up my new Visa Debit Card as it expires this August. It's a bugger that I can't use it until Thursday!! Arghh!

The countdown begins!!

3 weeks to go!!

I can't believe that I've only got 3 weeks left in Oz! One of my girlfriend (centre) arrived from London a week ago on a holiday - It's soo good to see her after over a year living and working in London and hearing her stories and experiences!!

The nerves and anxieties are 'starting' to kick in! lol

Bonjour Je m'appelle...

That's 'Hello, my name is'...in French. I'm practising a few phrases and it's pretty tricky I must say!! Basic phrases such as 'Do you speak English', 'Where is the bathroom?', 'How much is that?' etc will go a long way, especially the countries that I'll be visiting as part of my Contiki tour.
Hmm..now Dove è il bagno, per favore?...

Why are we obsessed with London?

Whilst browing through the Sydney Morning Herald Website (Australian news), I stumbled across an interesting blog/forum about Australians travelling to London and why we are obsessed with heading over there. There are over 300 entries where other travellers comment on the reason why they head to London, what they enjoyed about it, the weather, the good and the bad bits- basically their experiences and suggestions.
It's a pretty good read and it's highly recommended if you wanna get an idea on moving and living in London.

The website is:

http://blogs.smh.com.au/travel/archives/2007/10/why_are_we_obsessed_with_londo.html

So, why have I decided to make the move you ask??

Well, I have loving parents who were quite strict during my upbringing and tended to do things for me than I doing it on my own. Now, the timing is right for me to experience the 'bigger picture', yes, I'm scared and anxious...who wouldn't be. I'll be travelling on my own and the thought of a female by herself in a new country is playing up on their minds with worry and self doubt. As the day is soon approaching, they have been supportive and wishing me all the best - what more could I asked for! Experiencing London and Europe will be an exciting and challenging chapter in my life and I'm so ready and pumped for it!!

"When you take a chance in life, sometimes good things happen, sometimes bad things happen, but when you don't take a chance, nothing happens" - The Golden Girls.

So guys, if you're ready to take the plunge I say go for it, remember NO REGRETS!

Contiki!

Alrighty! so I finally paid off my Contiki trip! Yay!! I'll be travelling to 8 countries in 12 days surrounding by new travel buddies. I guess this is a stepping stone to exploring Europe. I have also booked my accommodation at The Royal National Palace before the tour and after the tour. This is where we all met up to begin our whirlwind trip and I'm so glad that I booked this place as we depart quite early!!

So my trip- 'European Discovery' starts on 20 May ending on 31 May and based on the contiki forum, the tour is all booked out!

For those interested in the tour, the website is http://www.contiki.com.au/ and the forum is informative where you can chat to your tourmates before the tour and ask any questions in general..

All in all, I just need to wait for the documents to arrive in the next 2 weeks!!

To tell you the truth, it hasn't sunked in yet that I am actually heading to the other side in a few more weeks - to be exact on 12 May..time is ticking...tick tock...tick...tock...

More updates to come...!!

Got meself a Backpack!

Today I went to check out the Kathmandu sale that they had going on. Apparently today was my lucky day as there wasn't too many people. As soon as I went to the backpack section, a friendly sales assistant asked me what I was looking for - I explained to her my plans and she quickly took a measuring tape and started measuring my back and around my hips to see which backpack would best fitted my frame. Keep in mind that when you do purchase a backpack to make sure that they do a proper fit and explain to you what the straps, functions, etc...basically they know what they are talking about!. She advised me that the Ínterloper V-3 backpack were on special from $550 to $250. Having read through forums from travellers, this backpack had pretty good reviews and reliablity with features such as:

Lockable lid, top & front openings providing safe & convenient access to your gear. Harness for customised comfort whatever your load - its pretty much similar to a suitacase where you can open from the sides! now that's what I'm looking for rather than trying to find my stuff right at the bottom!

Internal lid pocket for keys & wallet
Internal hydration sleeve, hose port & shoulder hose guides
Packaway harness coverBase & side compression straps
Side carry handleGluon Module System compatible
Side sleeve pockets to carry tent poles
Internal mesh laundry bagInternal document pouch
Detachable daypack

Gosh, that was a bargain! I tried the 70L backpack with a 4kg sleeping bag inside to test the weight and I thought I was going to fall backwards! and this was only 4kg, imagine having 20kg to walk around!. The sales assistant advised that since this will be my first time carrying a backpack my body is not used to it yet and give it a about a month. After walking around the shop testing the backpack, it didn't feel very comforable as my shoulders were starting to get a bit sore. She adjusted the straps which felt alot better - having discussed my plans further with her, I decided that the 60L backpack would be better for me and it was! When you know that a backpack fits you right and is comforable you know that the backpack is for you.

With one last walk around the shop, I knew that this bag would be good for me and purchased it along with a laptop protective bag which was also on sale for half price. Whoo hoo!

For the next couple of months, this backpack would be my new best friend..!

7 Weeks to Go!

Each week is flying by and I've got only 7 more weeks until I land in London!

The emotion and ancipation is exciting and nervewrecking at the same time - all in all I'm so pumped and ready to enjoy the experience and have a fantastic time!

Alrighty, so far I have organised:

Working Visa

Flights - flying with Singapore Airlines

UK Bank Account with 1st Contact

Contiki Tour - European Discovery

Accomodation

Insurance


Basically, that's about it so far...the daunting task is to purchase a backpack and some travel gear/equipment. Kathmandu are having a 60% of sale for the next 2 weeks - so you know where I'll be heading..!!


Watch this space...