the first stop!

This photo was taken right after leaving baggage claims at our very fist stop of our year traveling in January 2010.  I was TERRIFIED as well as the most excited and pumped that I'd ever been in my entire life.  There is nothing like this feeling!  I was dead tired and about to fall over in a haze of exhaustion, but the adrenaline was unstoppable!

Looking back at this moment, this exact photo sort of defines how inadequately prepared I was for what we were doing....I was CLUELESS!

My hair - I ended up chopping it all off 2 weeks later after stubbing my toe on some coral because I couldn't see thru my bangs.

The pak - You can barely see a gigantic padded strap around my waste..these huge "back supporters" and the mini micro fleece travel towels that smelled of mildew for most of the trip, were the two major items I wish I hadn't brought with, just due to how much misery they caused!  Definite lessons learned.

By the time we reached our Ryokan in Tokyo a few hours later, we quickly realized we had made a grave mistake in packing....our paks were killing us and we were now on the other side of the planet. 

Perhaps we didn't need 50 granola bars and 20 pairs of underwear and socks?!?  (ok, that was just me) Luckily our paks got lighter with time and we had a pit stop in the States 5 months later where we reconstructed our exact needs and cut our pak weight by more then half, only traveling with a carry on bag for me and one large backpacker bag for my husband.  It made a huge difference...and a safe place to store electronics and essentials on a plane/train/bus/boat.

"It's dancey dance time" - I loved this shirt so much....but, I hadn't yet gotten the memo that although I was on holiday, the rest of the world wasn't....it got ditched somewhere in Indonesia sadly, I do miss it now.

The blue fleece jacket - I'm from Minnesota.  I love comfy-ness.  I love warmth.  I LOOOOVE fleece jackets.  This also got replaced once returning home for a North Face close fitting wind proof coat that didn't make me look homeless. In a lot of places, it makes a difference to look good while also feeling comfortable.  If you want strangers to speak to you and help you at midnight desperate for a good nights sleep....you don't want to be wearing pajamas already!

I wish I could sit myself down in that airport and explain a few things to pre trip Sarah...and perhaps lead her to a trash can and dump out half of her unnecessary pak!  I wish I could tell her to calm down, stop worrying and enjoy the ride....would she listen?  Probably not!  and thanks to that first experience late at night I learned quickly soon after what felt right and what didn't. 

There's always next time!