Finally!

Brisbane, Sunday, and less than a week to go now until I head off on the trek to India. People keep asking me if I'm getting excited, and right up to the last few days I've had to say 'No'. But at last I'm starting to feel excited about it all, as it all becomes real.

The last couple of weeks have involved getting lots of trekking gear, especially the cold weather stuff. Mountain Designs in the Valley in particular has been a favourite spot, and done very well out of me.

And now it's less than a week to go - next Saturday at 2345hrs my Singapore Airlines flight should be taking off. This time of anticipation reminds me of my first trip overseas back in the 70s, when I flew from Perth to Singapore on British Airways. The week or two before I left was a time of the most delicious anticipation. I'd given up work, and was staying at the beach shack belonging to the cray-fishing family I'd boarded with in Perth.

This little shack that the men used to stay in after their time out on the boat was just behind the first line of dunes; at night I would drift off to sleep with the sound and feel of the waves crashing on the shore maybe fifty metres away. The beach and sand hills were pretty well deserted, and during the day I'd swim - a bit chilly in August but felt great - and then run through the sand hills.

So I'm looking forward to this next week or so, and hoping to savour once again something of that some wonderful anticipation.