My vaccination hang-over has finally passed so I can write coherently.

I can't believe it has already been five full days since I last wrote something here. In that time the feel of the preparations has gone from an enjoyable relaxed yet excited state to an urgent need to get it all together. I am leaving in 6 days.

Or am I? Where are my plane tickets?? Enough said.

This morning I extracted myself from bed earlier than usual and drove all the way down to Pasadena to get some immunizations. 478$ and four prics in the shoulders later I am almost done. Apart from the usual suspects I decided to protect myself against Japanese Encephalitis. It's not common and the vaccine is very expensive but with 50% mortality and cerebral damage to the survivors I decided not to take the risk. I'll have to complete the vaccination in Christchurch when I get there. I need two more shots.

On my way back I stopped at a sporting goods store and went on a bit of a shopping spree. (I will lash myself tomorrow morning.) I picked up a bunch of little things (camp towel, mesh bags, camping pots etc...) and I also bought a huge (it says "Colossal" on the label) duffel bag. The hope is that I can pack all my gear in the bag (including ski boots) so that all I have to deal with is the big bag, my skis and a small daypack/carry-on. I am also hoping to save money on extra-luggage charges imposed by airliners. So when I got home I tried to put everything in the 12,000 cubic inch canvas cavern. Unfortunately that's just barely enough volume for everything, and that's after I decided to cram most of my ski apparel in the ski box and left out some non-essential gear.

The bigger problem is that the darn thing weighs a ton (metric, of course). There is no way I am going to walk around a bus station with this whale hanging from my shoulder. I have a problem here. I don't like the solution because it means spending more than double the money on a bag compared to what I bought today but I don't see a way around it: I need wheels! No matter how I split my gear up into multiple bags it'll always weigh the same. I decided I was going to ski and rock climb on one trip so now I am stuck with either carrying the gear or letting it glide behind me. So I'll return the duffel and get a wheeled version. In addition my daypack/carry-on may grow in size so that I can be sure to fit everything.

Gobs o' gear...

This is what I'm packing for the trip. Or trying to pack at least.

Tomorrow and Friday I am going to do the larger part of clearing my apartment of my belongings. That, and finding out more about Thailand visas, digital photo memory cards, finding a travel clinic in Christchurch, and the list goes on and on...