Here we go!

Hello to all you fine readers and welcome to my first post! I thought it would be a good idea to write my first before leaving, and you know, get in the habit of writing stuff down down before my goldfish-like memory renders it impossible to remember the goings-on in the year ahead. So here goes…

I thought a good subject for my first offering would be one that we all have experience with and most seem to have strong opinions on. The art of packing! For the last couple of weeks I’ve been bombarded with advice about what I should be bringing with me for my year in India, most of it sensible advice (malaria pills- check, mosquito net- check) and some not so sensible (Italian ham- how will I live without prosciutto for a whole freaking year??)

I’d consider myself a reasonably seasoned traveller now and have developed my own highly refined packing technique over the past few years. This basically involves me throwing a bunch of stuff- too much stuff- on a bed and then, through a process not too dissimilar to grieving, whittling away at it until I feel like I can justify the contents to my travelling companion. Since I’m flying solo this time around, I need YOUR help. I want to hear tips on packing technique (to roll or not to roll) and suggestions for things I should bring- the practical and the quirky, nothing is taboo here!

The brief: Single chick travelling to India for around a year to work with a local NGO; will be living in a town with Internet access and a supermarket although includes some travel to more rural areas. Bringing one 65L backpack and a small backpack. Here is what what the bed looks like at the mo:

So, what do you think folks- anything missing from this picture? You have two days to impart your wisdom before I’m off! I fly to Chennai on Monday and will spend my first week familiarising myself with the surrounds and starting the hunt for a place to live. I hope you’ll all stick with me on this trip, to make it super easy to keep up-to-date with my posts, click the “+Follow” icon at the top of this page and you’ll get an email alert when I write a post.

Before I finish this first post, I have to say a *HUGE* thank you to my lovely friend Megan who employed her considerable artistic skills to design this beautiful blog for me. It’s now up to me to make sure I use this wonderful platform to share my experiences with you guys. If you like what you see here, please check out her site at Meginificent Design for all your design needs!

Look forward to reading your comments and speak soon!

Francesca x