Crossing the World

11 April 2010 – It is Sunday today.

It means we start our journey tomorrow.Counting down days is over. Tomorrow we are off. It is really startling that time is ticking away so fast. Haven’t we made our decision to go recently?Today it is high time to buy train tickets to Przemysl, packing our backbacks. But it also a great pleasure to have diner with our parents. We have been in a rush since the early morning thinking endlessly we have forgotten about something. Anna was relaxed until she put her stuff into the backpack. It turned out that she did not take into account that her small rucksack needs to fit into the main one. It means that the amount of all things to be taken must be reduced drastically. Well, we still cheer up ourselves that we can buy anything we need somewhere up there in the world. We will see. In the evening we were winding down drinking wine and eating a nice meal prepared by our friends. We finally succeeded in packing and fell asleep.

10 April 2010 - ...

We just learned about the tragedy that happened In Smolensk. While doing all final preparations we keep listening news about the terrible event. We are so sorry that while we are leaving on Monday our country will be in deep mourning.

9 April 2010 – Have a party!

We could not make a decision: to make a party before we go or not? It is not a final goodbye as we’ll be back soon. So what is the occasion? Eventually we thought it would be nice to meet all our close friends and relatives. The result was shocking. You were all there. We all had a great time. Thank you all for being with us, for your gifts, posters on the walls of the club and your support. You are fantastic.

5 April 2010 – Packing – why is it so hard?

First attempt of packing our backpacks done. It means that the list of items to taken has been verified in reality. We were certain that all equipment collected is a must. We were wrong. Some of the items disappeared. We simply did not think how heavy an utensils kit or a towel can be. Worth re-thinking…especially when you imagine our forthcoming tiredness in full sun or torrential rain. Before we even started collecting all our equipment we were reading some tips written both by our precursors and professionals such Beata Pawlikowska and Jacek Palkiewicz. In the end we decided to take only two pairs of trousers, two long-sleeve blouses, sandals and trekking shoes, thermo active underwear and bandanas. We also take a tent, sleeping bags, self-pumping mats, torches, primus and mess tin. A place for cosmetics, medicines or survival kit is needed as well. We bought a pack safe – a net which allows you to pin a back pack to a bench for example and have a nap not disturbed by a thought that someone can steal it. The only disadvantage of the pack safe is its weight: one kilogram – it is really a lot comparing to all other items. Photo equipment also has a significant contribution to the entire luggage weight.

30 Jan 2010 - Nano-holidays

Great, we spent one day and a half at the seaside. We were savoring a delicious Polish cod, admiring a beach covered with snow, spent hours hardening ourselves by walking on the seashore in wet shoes and reflecting on how it would be once we set off. It was nothing really new in terms of thinking about being on the way. Nice that the scenery changed for a while ;) And Kris made a few photos. For the first time we are able to show them to you. They are still from the journey.

23 Jan 2010 - News is spreading

It's been one month since the start of our web page. We feel great while we check the visitors counter. We receive lots of e-mails and text messages from all who just got the news about our journey. Kris became Asian Tiger and I am the Globetrotter :) Talks never end, all sorts of quesions raise, such as: "how are you going to pack?", "are you going to see the China's Great Wall?, or "how ofter are you going to take a shower?". Chill out :) we promise we will be writting everything down here in blog sections.

18 Jan 2010 - Our first entry

Preparations to our journey have begun for good. Actually all our free time is dedicated to planning, reading guides and ticking off all sorts of items that are on our never-ending list of actions that we need to complete before we go. Now it’s time to share them a bit with you.

Severe winter encouraged us to collect warm clothes and sleeping bags which will definitely pay off during the first part of our journey. We compare prices, weight and size of equipment which we’ll have to carry on our backs. It appears that choosing stuff like sleeping bags, tent, clothes, shoes, mess tin set is not as pleasant topic as we thought. We are long way behind. We are racking our brains about splitting our budget on all the things we need. Unfortunately prices of professional equipment are constantly bewildering.

Kris reads a lot of guides, books, reports. I call embassies and collect entries regulations to all sorts of countries. We’ll be buying Trans-Siberian railway tickets soon. And need to think about tickets to Przemysl. We will not be let down by the recent rail fares rise in Poland.

Our yellow vaccination books become thicker and thicker.  Guys from the vaccination centre look at us with admiration how voluntarily we allow them to sting our arms. The last dose of rabies vaccine is left. Once done, we are going to tick the next item on our “to do” list. Time is ticking away unbelievably fast.

And of course we work in the meantime. Beautiful time…