chilling in bed from katie

 


















Relaxing in bed!
Right now I'm in our hotel room. We had two queen beds, one bathroom and an balcony. This morning we woke up at 6:30am. When it was 7:00am we explored our hotel. Got to go now as heading off for our big international flight to Bangkok.

pool by connor

here we are in Bangkok yeah right were just at our Auckland hotel pool.

The big adventure begins

 

We're ready for take-off!  Are at New Plymouth airport, as always more luggage then expected!  Thanks to our wonderful Nienke for getting us here in one piece.

The bags are getting packed

Katie & Connor's bags are packed, they weigh 7.5kg and 8.5kg.  The kids have decided it's pretty heavy to carry them backpacker style so will probably opt to use the wheelie style where possible (eg airports).

We have been recommended to use packing bags, so as you can see in Katie's backpack, her clothes are separated into different bags & labelled - we'll see if this works for us!

So as to recognise their bags on the airport conveyor belts, the kids have both put individualised key rings on the outside of their bags.
  

A taste of South East Asia

South East Asia - we are almost on our way!  Here's a little map showing our first 3 weeks in SouthEast Asia, this will give us a taste of Northern Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.

Connor & Katie will update you of our travels along the way.  Can the Oakura school children find these locations on a World Map?

Pre Travel plans are underway

Times flying by & only 17 more sleeps until we start our big world adventure!  It's been a fairly huge undertaking on the planning front - but we've got a good itinerary with plenty of variety, new challenges, flexibility and fun along the way.  The whole family has played their part in the itinerary and there has been a lot of google research by all.

It's also made us organised on the home front, getting all our household bills & communications loaded up for online payment, finding house-sitters and getting the place in good shape.  We've all had a few extra jabs to keep us healthy in the South East Asia countries, especially to try and reduce stomach issues in the kids!

So now we've just got to pack our bags, the kids know to pack as light as possible as they need to carry all their belongings on their backs for the next 14 weeks!

Katie's thoughts one month out

I feel very excited but nervous in a way.

I'm excited about seeing all the different cultures and can't wait to ride an elephant & to see the Eiffel Tower.

I'm nervous that I might get kidnapped or our plane might crash as I've never been on such a long plane ride.

I'm hoping to try some snail & frogs in Paris and looking forward to gelato, pasta & pizza in Italy!

I'm sad that I will be leaving my friends for 3 months, but can't wait till we leave.

Connors thoughts one month out

I am excited about the Eiffel tower and the Louvre and the yummy pizza