In the immortal words of 80's rock/pop group Europe; "It's the final countdown"

Just over a week to go now and today was spent packing the luggage for the 6 week journey.

Over the years Ces has become somewhat of an expert in travelling light, but even I am concerned that this time she's gone too far!

I have been allocated 4 x T-shirts, 6 x pairs of pants and the same amount of socks, plus 2 x pairs of trousers and some boots. Apparently the wet/cold weather gear is already in Fugly and will be there to meet us when we arrive. When I expressed some concern about the limited clothing, I was told that weight would be our enemy and that she'd wash our clothes en route.

Two things sprang to mind. Firstly I've lost 20kilos since our last rally, so thought I could have some of that back in clothing and secondly, although we're going to be starting our journey in China, and the Chinese are reknown for their laundry services, I am not sure we'll find many laundry companies in the Gobi desert....

Anyway, that's settled..... I'll be taking as detailed above!

We're also taking some British Army ration packs, enough for 4 x days just in case we do a Mark Thatcher and 'find' ourselves lost in the desert. At least that way we'll have something to moan about whilst we wait for rescue.

Well blog fans, that's it for now....

Just over 2 weeks till it starts ...

It's been a bit hectic, as you can imagine. The devil is in the detail, they say, and that's exactly where I've been recently ... in the detail of insurances, communications, evening wear, and most important of all, ensuring that the business runs smoothly while Ces and I are shaking ourselves senseless across the wastes of Asia.

The Chevy is already in a container on a ship trying to avoid pirates enroute to China. We'll be heading off in early September to become reacquainted with the Chevy.

In the meantime, let me formally introduce you to Fugly. I don't like the parallel with Madonna, but I did retrieve the original Fugly (and his 2 brothers) from South Africa, and paid for them to be brought to the lovely England. Here, they were put into the care of a nutty professor who combined the best parts of all 3 into the Fugly that is now very muscular, very versatile, and completely proven.

For more details, just click on the Fugly (the Chevy) link at the side.