The New Year hangover has finally worn off, the goodbyes to friends and family concluded all that’s left is to pack my stuff and get to the airport all I needed to take was the following..
The essentials
4 x Underwear and socks, now I know what you are thinking you don’t want to be anywhere near me on a plane but let me assure you people in every country wear this stuff so it can be replaced very cheaply and easily so doesn’t require me lugging it around or washing.
4 x Thin t-shirts
Pair of long trousers
Pair of shorts
Pair of swim shorts
Waterproof jacket
Long sleeve top
My baseball cap
Sunglasses
A towel (more about this another time)
My walking shoes
That is pretty much it for clothing, all I need is some flip flops or similar… or so I thought… the Gods they are cruel, they tease and taunt us and when we are at our most vulnerable they well and truly donkey punch us in the gut!
I was the lucky recipient of many gifts at Christmas, including several books, as a man who enjoys a good read I’d settled down to have a good session when it occurred to me I needed to hold the book much further away than I used too. Could it be that my perfect vision I had been proud of all my life had deserted me? Yes it bloody well had! The gods of old age had robbed me of my sight and now I was forced to pack an extra item… reading glasses! What a cruel world, no longer was I able to bully those around me with cries of “four eyes” and “speccy” (I hadn’t done this since school but hoped one day to start again) I was now one Peter Griffin looking nerd!
Now for the essential essentials
Wardrobe complete it was now onto the essentials, phone, tablet, folding keyboard, portable charger, charging leads x 5, power adaptor, usb to micro usb adaptor, 3g dongle, portable WIFI with VPN support, spare SD cards, bluetooth transmitter/receiver, earplugs, eyemask, paracord with compass, whistle and fire-starter bracelet, 2lL portable water container, first aid kit with water purification tablets, 2 x waterproof bags etc… seriously I Bear Grylls has nothing on me, apart from a much sillier name obviously.
Throw in my passport, credit and debit cards, mosie spray and sunblock an I was pretty much ready to go… I’m gonna need a bigger bag!
After several attempts I decided the 20L back pack was just about achievable but left so little room for anything else I couldn’t event take a rain coat and the forecast for Hong Kong says I will definitely need one of those!
In the end I opted for a 27L backpack a Christmas gift from my youngest son, he’d obviously realised I was going to struggle with the miniscule one I had bought myself and repacked from scratch.
So all packed it was airport time…
Shrugs out