It might look all relaxed and glamorous, this Round-the-World trip planning, but let me tell you – it isn’t!

Mark and I have one million things to do before we leave. Literally. One million. We wrote a To Do List the other night (at my insistence – he’s not quite as fond of making lists as I am!) and it was almost overwhelming how much there is to be done by the beginning of September. Turns out leaving real life for 9 months requires rather a lot of foreplanning…

Like what? I hear you ask.
Well.
There’s the trip planning, to begin with. Deciding on countries, deciding on cities, deciding on dates and modes of transport, costing everything out and making really tough decisions about what we’ll see this time, and what we’ll regrettably have to save until next time.

Then there’s the life planning. Selling the car, renting the flat, clearing the flat out of all our worldly goods, finding somewhere to keep those worldly goods we’re not quite ready to let go of, and ensuring that things like insurance and monthly payments are taken care of. And did I mention visas?

And THEN there’s all the day to day stuff. Somehow, between sending out and following up on sponsorship proposals, doing publicity, getting the word out about the trip and making sure that we are as prepped as we can be, Mark and I seem to have new full-time jobs!

And did I mention that we need to become much more video and web-savvy before we leave?

Now that I’ve garnered a little sympathy, though, I must be honest – we are loving every second of this stage. We’re crazy busy, it’s true, and in front of our computers waaaay too much (it’s 7pm and we’re both still hard at work) but it is such a JOY to know that what we are planning is going to turn into something that has a life of its own, and that in a few short months we are going to be having the adventure of our lives…

Till then? Time to get back to that List of One Million Things To Do.

Now you can plan one! Whether for a real life adventure, or to plan a dream trip (that will be more likely to come true if you actually have a specific route in mind!)

How? Good question. This time yesterday I wouldn’t have been able to tell you… But then I discovered a magical little tool called ‘Round-the-World Booking Tool’ on One World – www.oneworld.com

I was actually a little hesitant to click on it in case it didn’t turn out to be what I’d hoped for… but it was! And more. You see, when you’re planning a round-the-world trip there are all kinds of terms and conditions and confusing rules and regulations that can make your head ache – you’re allowed 16 flight segments in 5 continents, but you’re only allowed to fly in one direction (East to West or West to East) and you’re only allowed a certain number of flight segments within each continent. You’re also only allowed to fly the routes that the airlines in that alliance fly (which isn’t too much of a bother with One World – they’ve got everything from British Airways to Cathay Pacific to the LAN group in South America).

Still, when you’re something of a control freak (as I am – had you noticed?) and you really just want to get your flight path organised, the whole thing can seem a little overwhelming.

Which was why I was so thrilled (really thrilled, down to the tips of my toes) when I discovered this Round-the-World booking tool. You type in the cities you want to go to, and then choose your flights and your itinerary is built in real time… Really freaking cool.

I’ll keep you posted as I go along with how easy it is to follow through on the process, but for now – go and dream! At www.oneworld.com

That’s the theme of the story I wrote for Real Simple magazine in July last year. It was called ‘Sugar Rush’ and it was about how being diagnosed with diabetes made me reassess my definition of success, and start living the life of my dreams.

And… It just won the South African leg of the Novo Nordisk 2009 Diabetes Media Prize! Which is a huge honour. And makes me very happy because it means it’s going through to the international leg of the competition, and so am I! They’re flying me to Vienna in September for a 4 days diabetes conference. Fantastic!

I’ll try and figure out a way to get the PDF online… Not too sure how to do it yet, but I’ll keep you posted! I just read it for the first time in almost a year, and I have to say I’m rather pleased with it. I managed to capture the mood of how I feel about this subject, and I think that’s all any writer can ask for…

So I’ve just returned from a 3 week solo trip to the USA, to publicise my novel, Strange Nervous Laughter, being released over there. Very exciting, let me tell you! I don’t think I’ll ever get over the thrill of seeing my book on bookstore shelves…

In many ways, though, this trip felt like a test run for our Round the World trip. It was my first time travelling overseas on my own with diabetes and my first time crossing time zones with diabetes, and I really wasn’t sure how I would feel. I am (very) happy to report that I felt great! The whole time. It was no problem adjusting to new types of food, no problem taking long plane trips (except for the discomfort of having to sleep sitting up!) and in general I felt really healthy and full of energy. What a relief!

It was also a test run for me to see how I feel about travelling. Knowing that my next trip will be over ten times as long as this one, I kept checking to see how excited I was about it. The verdict? Unbelievably excited! There is something so exhilarating about travelling, it makes me feel really alive and open to everything around me. I didn’t realise how much of a routine real life was until I had 3 weeks away from it… and it has done nothing but wet my appetite for our Big Adventure later this year.

Of course, a lot of that was because I was travelling in comfort. I’ve been to the States and back many times – I used to study there – and every single time I went, packing was a nightmare. Either my bag would break, or I’d have to leave half the stuff I wanted behind, or I’d pull a muscle dragging my suitcase through the airport. Seriously – you name a luggage affliction, I’ve had it!

This time, though… what a breeze! I gave my very fancy (very beautiful) Samsonite Aeris a run for its money, and it more than rose to the challenge. Somehow my stuff kept multiplying (possibly because everything was on sale!) and every time I had to pack up and go, it was more and more of a challenge to fit everything in. But fit it in I did! The beautiful thing about this suitcase is that it’s solid, but it can also expand. Don’t ask me how this works, but it does… And the locks are so secure and tight that I didn’t have to worry about it bursting open in the middle of the airport (or, worse yet, on the New York City subway!) Of course, those miracle Vac Bags helped a lot, too. If there’s one thing I would recommend every girl to take with her on holiday, it’s Vac Bags. No matter how many dresses you buy, they’ll fit in your suitcase if you have these bags. I didn’t really believe the hype until I saw how dramatically they reduced the space my clothes took up. Now I’m permanently indebted to them.

So now I’ve returned, and although my suitcase is looking slightly travel-worn, I’m sure she has many years of adventures in her yet.

What did I learn from this trip? A number of things, actually.
* Diabetically, I’m going to be fine.
* I can’t wait to start travelling around the world.
* And, perhaps most importantly, I have to leave at least half a suitcase for all the temptations I’m going to run into on the way!