The EPIC South East Asia Trip: Pack dat shit

A week before Japayuki and Bebot Angel and I were to fly off and begin the awesomest adventure of all, I had a case of the procrastinitis and left packing the night before the flight. I am not a heavy packer, mind you. I know all my travel needs and know that I don’t need to bring the kitchen sink for a 5-day trip. But since I was beginning to panic, seeing as my bag was still empty save for a couple of carton of cigarettes, I got into git-r-done mode.

I took out all the clothes I could possibly need and laid them out on the bed, the bag by the foot of it. Shirts, shorts, pants, towels, a dress, shoes, socks, underwear, jacket, malong, toiletries, electronic equipment (ie. my crappy point-and-shoot (RIP)), and documents were spread out in their own areas and neatly arranged. I hit the blunt a couple of times and started packing slowly and methodically. I then started taking off my clothes. I kept packing the essentials. I was now down to my underwear. Should I bring denim pants or is that a bad idea altogether? I danced half-nekkid to the rockin’ songs in my head. Oh! I must remember to bring .. heeeyyy .. I still have half a bottle left of wine .. *drinks*

I may or may not have looked like this while I was packing my shit.

This went on for the rest of the night. I slept on the bed, over the clothes I wasn’t planning on bringing, drunk and high. I woke up the next morning, with a slight hangover and a stench in my room. As I stood up to get ready for work, I noticed that my bedroom blinds were wide open. And that they faced a nice family on the 5th floor and a couple of bachelors on the 6th. I just gave my neighbors a bon voyage show. Could this trip get any better? OH HELL YEAH.

To be continued.

The EPIC South East Asia Trip

I’m not difficult to talk to when you want to do something crazy. Or even something very mundane as watching paint dry. It’s not because I have such great confidence in myself. God knows I cry bucket loads when afflicted with self-esteem issues and the like. The only reason why I leap is because I want to have great stories to tell my grandchildren. I want them to sit around their Lola, enthralled by all her (mis)adventures and know that they themselves have nothing to fear in the world. I want to lead by example and not just words of advice. How can you believe someone when they haven’t LIVED through life?

The thought was exactly what drove me to go penny-searching in my couch and go all in on the Southeast Asia Trip that Japayuki had suggested. Three countries in five days? It sounded crazy! It sounded so hurried! It sounded like it was going to be a painful experience! It sounded like the perfect opportunity to leap.

Of course we didn’t just go flying off. Purchasing of tickets, starvation to save money, internet browsing for hostels, and a lot of finger-crossing, the adventure didn’t start until months later when, in the middle of busy work week, I looked over to my planner and spotted a huge sign blocking off stretches of days saying, THE EPIC SOUTH EAST ASIA TRIP. My heart raced and I had a knot in my stomach. This was really happening, wasn’t it?

To be continued.