T Minus 13 Hours and Counting

3-July-2010 Well, the day has finally come! This whole experience of planning for this trip is vaguely analogous to climbing a mountain-complete with preparation, physical and emotional toil, and a spectacular goal that initially felt so far away and is now just within reach. In just a few hours we will board a Cathay Pacific plane in San Francisco bound for Kuala Lumpur (KL for short), Malaysia with a brief stop in Hong Kong. The flight, 14.5 hours, non-stop, in economy class (sounds like fun!), will take us across the Pacific and to a land of ancient cultures, diverse tropical forests, and mountain highs. On the afternoon of July 5th we start our exploration of Asia in steamy KL, rich in culture and cuisine. Some folks say that in Malaysia produces (as a result of mixing elements of Malay, Indian and Chinese cooking) some of the most exciting, inventive and unique food in the world. My mouth is already watering. We plan on spending (eating) approximately 3 days in KL before heading north to the Perhentian Islands, jewels in the sea off of Malaysia’s NE coast. To say that preparing for this trip has been stressful would be giving the whole experience short shrift. The combination, of packing, last-minute saving, finishing up our duties at work, packing, making purchases, planning, and moving out of our apartment has been far from relaxing. The reality of leaving our friends, families, and comfortable and relatively-carefree lives in Sacramento has been difficult to handle emotionally. We will definitely miss our friends and families over the next 10 months. Saying goodbye to all of you (a process now weeks in the making) continues to be heartbreaking. Nonetheless, I can envision all of the stress and emotions of the past few months vanishing as the sun sets on the Perhentians, Rachel and I gazing over smooth granite boulders, turquoise water, and pure white sand. Yesterday, we packed our bags, tried them on and walked around the house a bit. They feel good, filled with a variety of things we think we’ll need over the next few months, and surely a few things that will get ditched along the way. We will carry with us not only cameras and clothes, but also the memories of all of you that are close to our hearts. We promise not to ditch our memories. And so, here we sit, ready to embark on this journey. We are ready to follow our dream, and eagerly looking forward to savoring and experiencing more of the world together. Blast off!