No matter how organised you think you have been, the last 48 hours before any trip are chaotic. There are just so many jobs that can only be done at the last minute.

The House sitters arrive tomorrow. They are lovely and give us peace of mind as we go away.

But in the meantime – Welcome to excited chaos! Also, to the first ‘Test’ post in our new blog – Two Old Fogeys Unplugged! We love getting comments and messages, so feel free to respond to any of our posts.

We thought we had finished the packing! But because we did it quite a few days ago we are now saying ” I don’t remember seeing the phone charger – are you sure you packed it?” and, “How many pairs of socks did I put in?”

The end result is that we have completely unpacked the bags!

Going away for 3 months with just 1 suitcase each, weighing under 18kg is an interesting challenge, especially to the definition of the word ‘Essential’. Things are easier now because books etc can be carried on Kindle, but I still like to have paper tickets and confirmations. With 23 flights and potentially 50 + different accommodations (we like to keep moving!) that is a lot of paper!

Essential for Chris are his gadgets – head torch, multi torch/mirror/whistle/compass/pouch thingy!

Essential for me are quizzes and puzzles, Hand steriliser and wet wipes, and the wonderful Travel John and Travel Janet devices – google them for more information!

We also have the Rolls Royce of Mosquito nets – more on that in later blogs if we have to use it.

This trip is by far the biggest adventure either of us has ever done. We will be visiting some fascinating places, including Dubai, India, Sri lanka, Maldives, Tasmania, Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, Borneo, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan. A bit more challenging than Australia and New Zealand. Different languages, cultures, food, and Bugs! I still have to be careful not to get bitten on my Lymphoedema arm.

Yesterday was an exciting day. Our daughter Jen is the sighted Guide to Menna Fitzpatrick, a Visually impaired Alpine skier. Yesterday they were selected for the British team to compete in the Winter Paralympic Games in South Korea. hence our visit there! You can follow them on http://www.mennaandjen.co.uk

So – off to do the FINAL pack of the bags, then a nice weekend with family and friends. Settle in the house sitters, and off we go.

We hope you will enjoy reading our blogs. They function as our diary, but we don’t know how easy it will be to find Wifi, so who knows how often we can add to our story!

See you in our next, hopefully warmer, destination xx