Well today is the day. In about two hours I will fly from Whangarei to Auckland and all being well from there via Brisbane to Singapore.
The last few days have been fairly busy but I think that I've sorted out most of the things that needed to be sorted and everything else can wait till I get back from my travels.

Saw the doctor today and got my pills and potions for the upcoming trip. Actually more to the point I got about half of them as the chemist isn't supposed to dispense more then three months worth of pills at a time. The way around this, as I anticipate to be away at least twice that long, is to get another script tomorrow and go to different pharmacy. Stupid but true.

Tried to buy some traveller cheques from the bank yesterday. What a performance. First I went to my regular branch where they have a sign at the foreign exchange desk promoting the sale of American Express Traveller cheques. So I approached the teller and requested USD 2,500, this got met with a vacant stare and a look towards her supervisor who shook her head. I was still waiting for an answer but as none was forthcoming I asked again this time they deigned to speak to me and said we haven't got that much in stock try our other branch in town. I was furious but stomped of to the other branch anyway. They made up for the sullen approach of their colleagues by at least arranging to order my TC's in; they didn't have them in stock either. Then I also wanted some cash US dollars in tens and twenties, always handy for the odd last minute purchase or to smooth the way with officials in the countries I plan to visit. This was again rather difficult and I ended up with a combination of five and fifty dollar notes. Sometimes I really wonder if I am the only one in town that goes on overseas trips.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I am still alive.
The last few days I have been staying at Bron's place and spend most of my time either playing with Daniel or reading Peter Hamilton's new book Pandorra's star.
I also finally managed to figure out what I was doing wrong with my photo pages and have managed to fix that now. So far I have only placed some photos in the Singapore section to test the concept. The photos are actually from Bali and will be replaced with the real Mc Coy once I start my travels in two weeks time.

The visit to the dentist went remarkably well. I have an abiding fear of dental work but this was as painless as they can manage. So cavities filled and teeth cleaned that should be one thing less to worry about on my trip.

Over the last few days I have been working on and off on my website and have started to put some info up on my itinerary, accommodation and the packing list so if you feel so inclined have a look. Unfortunately the photo pages are still not functioning but I am confident that I will have it up and running in a few days.