On we go to say Goodbye!

Here we go!

First stop Northallerton and so the long goodbyes commence, I'm really excited and ready for our adventure to begin. A week at Daniel's mums will be lovely, we always get well fed and pampered, a fantastic combination if ever there was one!

I'm almost done packing my backpack, which will be closer followed by munching on a egg and tomato ketchup baguette and off to see Gran for a leisurely drive to the train station!

The next three weeks our going to be packed with long walks and fabulous feasts! I CAN'T WAIT!

:)

All Done....

I have finished at the Post Office!

I don't know how i feel...I handled the day pretty well ( that means not to many tears) I feel totally overwhelmed though and everything still feels very surreal.

It's really hard to explain because to anyone reading this, it was just a job, it was sooo much more than that! I am totally stoked about my adventure but at the same time very sad to say goodbye to some very special people in my life.

Brian and Bev are the new starters at the Post Office and they are wonderful people, I feel honoured to have had he opportunity to get to know them and I know they'll look after Jan and do everything they can to support her!

I can't believe the generosity and kindness of some of my customers... I want to say a huge thank you, I don't know if they will read this but if they do (Wayne, Janet and so many others) "You have made my time at the Post Office a pleasure and I have looked forward to going to work each day because of you all"

Last but not least, by any means is Jan, my boss, my Friend and my shrink :) Jan has helped me through so much she's taught me to be patient, to always have faith in those around you and if you ever feel down just remember your lucky to be in the position that many people aren't so fortunate to be in, make the most out of life and to live your dreams. I will always hold her as one of my nearest and dearest!

So I am hoping after a very emotional of day of both ups and downs tomorrow will be a celebration to the first day of our gap year!

First stop "The Taps, Lytham" with Daniel and Dave... Boy am I looking forward to that!

Love to you all.
Steph x

Just One Week Left at Work!

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED it's unreal! I keep getting giddy! Gutted about the price of the Chinese Visas though, by post it's going to cost us over £200 for the both of us...India was half the price!

It's our penultamate weekend in St.Annes before we go and we're staying in...need to save every penny now it's getting nearer, quiet night with a bottle of wine and a couple of films..perfect!

I'm going to miss everyone lots, there's so many GREAT people around here :)

x x

The last week of work!

Good Morning!

It's just ONE week today until we finish work! Eeeeek! I can't believe this last few weeks have gone so fast, I haven't done much to organise myself... if I'm being honest, apart from the next leg of the trip is all booked and paid for. We are going around the UK to say bye to family and friends and doing it on a budget! Our plan is to first visit Daniels Mum and sister in Northallerton, we are then getting the train directly to my mums in Gloucestershire from there we will be catching a bus to London Victoria and then going on the tube to get to my Uncle Phils and Aunty Fayes in Surrey. Then on from there we get a lift to Brighton and then the last leg is also by car and Ellie and Chris are bringing us back up to St.Annes to see us off!  

I can't believe everything has come around so fast and before we know it we'll be jetting off on our travels!

The last week of work is going to be a strange one, I work two jobs full time and I love them both! I have fantastic customers (well 99%) and I look forward to seeing those who I work with, I will be very sad to leave but also so excited to start a new part of my life!

adiós amigos 

Bryony's leaving to go to Aus!

Evening!

We've had a fantastic weekend this last week my dear and close friend Bryony is leaving St.Annes to do a year in Australia and as a bit of a leaving do she had a 50's themed party!

Dancing around to 50's classics, drinking far too much Vodka (some of us more than others) and chatting to friends we haven't seen for ages! The night was full of tear jerking speaches, lots of red lipstick and great laughs!

I will miss Bry loads but I will probably see her before most of my other friends, we have plans to meet up for a few weeks in New Zealand if all goes well! I can't wait!

I've told EVERYONE I have come into contact with the days, the minutes and the seconds until I go away! I must be driving them all mad! My lovely customers at the post office hear about the latest news atleast 3 times a day and Jan has been very good not to tell me to shut my gob....YET! I really do appreciate it (even if they have all had to invest in earplugs)!

Now it's your turn! It's 49 DAYS UNTIL WE FLY! Only 3 weeks and 2 days until I finish work!! I'll miss Jan millions she's been a star..infact I'll miss everyone! I am however going to have the time of my life!

So far we have...well...pretty much everything I think! We have both go our backpacks, Daniels is brand new but mine is my mums that she used when she did a 4 month "around the world trip" she insists that I'm taking it for a holiday and that she wants it back :) I think it's quite nice to be able to do the same as my mum did with the same backpack! We also have walking boots that we got off Ebay for half the price they cost anywhere else!

We have compasses, water bottles with special filters, head torches, torches, swiss army knives, vitamin tablets, mosquito nets, waterproof everything, multi-purpose soap, deet mosquito spray, money wallets, first aid kits, portable washing line, travel towels and more medication than you could even imagine! Hopefully we are going to be well prepared :)

It's been a long entry tonight because I really haven't had chance to spend time writing, I'm currently working an 70-80 hour week between the Post Office and Party Animal...I'm Shattered!

Anyway I'll catch up another time I'm taking advantage of some time off and watching a film called Changeling with Daniel.

Speak soon x

Happy New Year!

Hi,

It's now just under 9 weeks until I finish work...cannot wait! We got our walking boots through today so that's one more thing checked off our list, we still have the most important thing of all to get which is our backpacks. I love my job now and the girls I work with but I can't wait to see the world and I have to say I have a feeling that I won't be in a rush to come home!

So a new year and 2010 being my year..the year of the TIGER in Chinese years is going to be a great one! Itinerary so far first stop to the last stop is:

Doha - Qatar (Stop Over)
Sri Lanka
India South to North via West Coast
Nepal
China (Beijing) down East coast to South China
Hong Kong
Vietnam
Laos
Cambodia
Thailand
Through Malaysia
Indonesia
Singapore
Sydney - Australia (Stop Over)
New Zealand
Argentina
Chile
Bolivia
Peru
Ecuador
Colombia
Venezuela
Madrid -Spain (Stop Over)

Seems like such a lot to do in just a year and before we know it the year will have past and we'll be looking forward to our next adventure!

I need to start writing down a check list so I don't forget anything and of course start the Visas for India and China...so much still to do!

Speak again soon....

The Most Recent Update..

Good Evening,

Our first stop, Sri Lanka.. We will be staying away from the North and North East, due to the issues with the Tamil Tigers but we are hoping to cover as much of the Sri Lanka as possible in just under 3 weeks that we will be staying for before we fly to Travandum, South India.

So every thing's coming along nicely, believe it or not we finish work in just 9 Weeks time and I couldn't be happier! I have worked since I was 12 with my family business and never taken anytime out..not even when I was in school. It's my turn now to enjoy a year off and well deserved it is (Even if I do say so myself!).

The pile of travel equipment is slowly getting bigger and our progress with travel plans are coming along swimmingly, most recently we booked a hostel with Hostelworld.com for when we arrive in Sri Lanks...very cheap site and they have a fantastic reputation to go with it. We land in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 2nd April 2010 in the early hours of the morning after flying for nearly 24 hours including our stop in Doha, Qatar.

First of all though we officially finish our main jobs on the 5th March 2010 and then leave on the 8th March 2010 to travel around the UK saying Goodbye to our nearest and dearest! For anyone that ever fancies travelling around the UK a great tip is to book well in advance. A great company to use is The Mega Bus if you book far enough ahead (3 months or so) you can even find free tickets to places! Daniel and I have managed to find some free seats on our journey from Gloucester to London, Victoria! Worth a look :)

Anyway I better check my Ebay sales for Party Animal and then have a nice relaxing bath while I imagine how my first days in Sri Lanka's going to be! I can't stop dreaming.....

Not long Now!

Hi Everyone,

So sorry I have been super slack at staying on top of the blog, Christmas work has been consuming all my free time. I have, however managed to get some time for Travel research this week and we have now booked our flights from Sri Lanka to India (Travandrum) and that's another thing paid for. The only very scary thing is we have only 2 months of pay slips left and no way near the money we were hoping for. This flies right over Daniels head and he says "It'll be fine" I however am a bit more sceptical. We will be living life on the cheap that's for sure.

I can't wait to fly away on the plane, it's got to the point where I fantasize about landing in a beautiful new country every night in my dreams and the hustle and bustle of a chaotic city and the soothing waves lapping up against the shore of some idyllic getaway..... Not long now!

I'm counting down the days!

:)

All paid up.....Brighton and to great friends!

Hellooooooo!

I know it's been ages! I have soooo much news for you. First of all I'll tell you about Mine and Daniels trip to Brighton. What a fantastic place, we went down to stay with Chris, Ellie and Steve and what a great catch up we had. My 23rd birthday was on the 27th October and I got spoilt rotten by all of them, I haven't had so much fuss made of me for years and although "we" always insist we don't want anyone to go out of their way, it was so nice to feel so special and I'm really greatful to them all for that.

Ellie and I got some quality girl-time together which mainly consisted of having a right good slagging session, which deffinately needs venting once in a while so we keep our sanity. Ellie is a really great friend and we get on better than I could of ever imagined! We talked about all sorts and of course the possibility that moving to Canada after the world trip could be on the plate....which suits me just fine! We made amazing muffins and they tasted so great and of course drank possibly the best MARGHERITAS ever created!

Since then Daniel and I came back home and back to work and are working VERY hard! The Ebay shop has really taken off and our websites really started to pick up which means, fingers crossed, I'll have a job to come back to when we get back from our travels!

*BIG NEWS* We paid off the full balance of the flights and are now building up our savings fund! So far we've paid £6000 and we just have our spending money to go! We must take as much overtime as possible! With just 145 days and counting we have lots of Visas, Medication and Equipment still to pay for, so we need to really push ourselves!

I think that's pretty much everything for now! I am ready to leave this town........

Take it easy x