Stage one complete!

Bit blurry, but those are the offending steps!

So I made it! The exams are over, my keys handed in, and I managed to get through London with a 50kg suitcase, a jam-packed 60L backpack and a rather zip-strained laptop bag, pretty much unscathed. It was fairly momentous though sitting on the train from London and seeing hundreds of boats in line for the Queen's Jubilee as we whizzed past the Thames. I was not impressed though that upon arriving at my destination train station, the lift on my platform was (typically) under maintenance and I had to carry my aforementioned burden piece by piece one step at a time down to the bottom. Needless to say I was absolutely shattered, and having not slept two nights in a row previously thanks to the obligatory end of exams celebrations, I was a little worse for wear.

Having recovered, I am now at home furiously planning the up and coming stages of my summer adventures. For future reference dear audience, if you decide to go travelling with someone, do try to make the decision before they leave the country and go across to the other side of the world with limited if not virtually non-existant methods of communication. As, I would imagine, it makes the world of difference throughout the whole process. I should explain, given my later stories will probably involve him a great deal, that I am meeting my 'travel buddy', Jamie, out in Cambodia before we adventure onwards. Before him, I had never even heard of Angkor Wat and had to sneakily google it when it came up in an online conversation! A mutual friend of a friend we'd had many a good conversation before he told me he was "checking out of this place", looking back I'd never have thought I'd end up joining him. A quick-witted guy with a cheeky smile, our dynamics are likely to be a source of constant entertainment (...that or we'll end up killing each other!). To learn a bit more about what Jamie is doing out in Cambodia his blog is a really interesting read.

There is still so much that needs to be done, but at least we're in June so not long left!

• Stage One:Wales -> England ✓
• Stage Two:England -> Dubai (and back!)
• Flights
• Visa
• Insurance
• Kit
• Money
• Itinerary
• Stage Three: Asia!