#bigtourleece2017
I've never been overseas - Rottnest doesn't count.
The time is fast approaching when we'll be getting on the big white red-tailed bird and heading first to Changi, Singapore and then to Helsinki, Finland. We're only staying there very briefly before heading North to a couple of places in Finland we want to visit, and then to Aland for a couple of weeks. Then it'll be back to Helsinki for Worldcon.
We're arriving a few weeks before Worldcon, because we reckon we're going to be too stuffed after Worldcon to do much. But we will be there a couple of days afterward. I'm hoping to see a lot of time on the water, kayaking. Cycling and kayaking on Aland, walking, ferry tours, spy museum, post office museum and nature, nature, nature. Northern Hemisphere nature, whoa, and fresh water everywhere. But probably not snow so that's something that might come some other time for me. Still don't believe it exists. :-)
Our Baubax travel jackets will be getting an outing.
One thing I'm determined to do is keep a daily diary. This will be handwritten, and then photographed and put up - probably on Google Plus first, and later Dreamwidth. So if you see nothing here, check for an entry on Google Plus with the hashtag bigtourleece2017 A handwritten journal has such a different feel to a typed one - more personal.
I've got a journal I got for it - half lined, half blank. I was hoping to get one with alternating pages - that's what I thought it was - but never mind. The back half is blank, the front half lined. I've written in the date of each lined page as a help, and the town, arrival, transport etc. I hope to do a drawing and a written entry each day. Some landscape practise for me!
We've got our passports, I'm planning to get my International Driver's License just in case (hire car on Aland is proving to be expensive or very dodgy for an automatic so we will probably give it a miss or look into it when we are there for a couple of days hire) and look into the international Camping Permit in case we want to tent it some time, for a campinhereg overnighter - who knows? Registered my trip at http://smartraveller.gov.au and got the travel insurance. Hotels and transport are 99% booked.
It really began to hit home when I wrote the dates into Smart Traveller and the journal.
I've been to a Worldcon, it was pretty cool, but it was at the far end of things for most attendees - Melbourne, Australia. Across the continent for me, across the world for the usual crowd. So this one will probably be bigger, because there's a lot of people in Europe who I expect are jumping at the chance not to have to fly to America. And there's a lot more people in Europe than there are in Australia. That's going to be another country entirely, never mind Finland.
#finland #bigtourleece2017 #worldcon2017
Sounds excellent. Extremely jealous :-)
ReplyDeleteIf you don't have some already, buy, borrow or steal some noise cancelling headphones for the flights don't skimp on quality.
ReplyDeleteThanks Michael Thompson! What's your favourite destination? Garry Winterton thanks - you're well travelled, how do you deal with jet lag?
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, It tends not to bother me. Once I've had one good rest I am usually good to go.
ReplyDeleteRe: Jet lag. We like to plan to arrive at our destination before noon and stay up to at least 8pm, getting out into the sun with some exercise during the day. We also liked spending 2 days in Singapore to un-lag before flying back to Perth which we did for the first time last trip.
ReplyDeleteair sickness is another story. window seat for me. meds as and when required.
ReplyDeleteOh and we highly reccomend these for packing clothes: strandbags.com.au - Korjo Compression Travel Bags - Other / Accessories (3078145)
ReplyDeleteStephen Gunnell yes indeed, we find them handy for storage of unseasonal clothes.
ReplyDeleteNorthern hemisphere star maps?
ReplyDeleteIt will be quite strange.
ReplyDeleteWe only had one night far enough out of town to have a chance to see the pole star and then we didn't have a star map and couldn't identify it. Also bloody freezing and no auroras visible. :(
ReplyDeleteI don't think we'll be far enough north for the auroras but perhaps they'll come down to meet us. We have handy start chart apps which might help us. Wow, Polaris, never thought I'd see it. shakes head None of this messing around with the Pointers and Southern Cross to work out where South is, just a dirty great star saying, yo, this is North.
ReplyDeleteIt won't take much sunspot activity to have auroras visible and Polaris is one dinky star in a field of stars. You need the ... dipper? great bear? ... some Northern constellation you've never seen before to locate it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, far more likely to see them there than here, I guess. And I have seen them here, so who knows. Looks like W shaped Cassiopeia will be pointing right at Polaris where we are.
ReplyDeleteHave a great trip!
ReplyDeleteGarry Winterton Garry speaks the pure, undiluted, raw truth here. Noise cancellers are essential; I'm currently on my third set, and NEVER fly without them.
ReplyDeleteI'm equivocal about the volume taken up by headphones but I wouldn't travel without my e-book reader ... much longer battery life than a tablet.
ReplyDeleteMine are folding and slip into quite a small case so they take up little room.
ReplyDeleteBeing able to hear the music and NOT hear the cabin noise is worth the relatively small case to me. A lot of planes also have USB charging ports now anyway.
ReplyDelete