I am living the dream, baby.
Tomorrow at midnight I'm flying off an another travel adventure, this time to China.
Once upon a time a very long long time ago (in the olden days, as my kids say) I left New Zealand to travel to Canada by myself at the age of sixteen. While I was there, the travel bug bit me and ever since then the smell of jet fuel makes me want to pack a bag and board a plane.
I don't mind airplane food. I can deal with minimal leg-room. I enjoy the inflight entertainment and even manage to sleep sitting up. It's all worth it if I get to travel.
Nothing compares to the thrill of take-off. Or even of pulling up outside Departures knowing that it's YOU who is going somewhere.
I am extremely grateful to have married a travel-loving man. My Geordie has been jetting about since he was a kid too. Together we make the perfect travelling pair.
But not this time.
This time I am heading off without him and embarking on an adventure with a different member of my family. My daughter.
She is actually the least travel-inclined of our children. Miss Fab is usually the first to complain of homesickness, the first to miss her friends.
When she was a baby we couldn't take her any further than Fiji because she'd spend the whole flight time screaming to get off.
What am I doing??? you may ask.
Well, she's improved with age. And also this time, it's just me and her. She has my full undivided attention. No noisy smelly teasey boys are coming with us. It's just the Girls Club.
Plus, at the other end when we get off the plane, our lovely friends will be there to greet us.
Miss Fab and Miss Marvellous have been besties since babyhood.
Miss Fab misses her friend like crazy.
And then there's the shopping. Our Kiwi bucks are worth five Chinese ones, and I keep hearing how everything is so cheeeeap. Miss Fab loves to shop. And she loves Bears (so a trip to the Panda sanctuary will be a huge hit).
Of course the shopping won't be for me. At least not clothes. If I have so much bother clothes shopping in the UK, can you imagine the chances of finding Kiwi-hip sized gear in the teeny tiny people-land of China?
Handbags and shoes, they tell me. Handbags and shoes. (Even then, probably just Bags given China's thing for small feet. Mine are Kiwi-mummy sized).
Are you freaking out? my hubby asked me just before.
No... should I be? I replied.
Really, should I be anxious? Travelling with a child to a communist country on my own when I panic in crowds and can't speak Chinese? Should I be worried?
Nah, we'll be FINE.
We're off on an adventure. And if the worst comes to the worst, I have Travel Insurance, right?
So I'm off to finish packing my bags full of all the new (big enough) clothes I bought in honour of my trip, and tick some more things off my list.
I'll be staying with my lovely friend (and blogger) Gail... so I'll hopefully be able to stop by and see what you're up to now and then. But mostly... we'll be off having adventures.
eeeeeeeeeeeeee
I love to travel!
♥
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