RTW Adventures of J&M

The title of this post is borrowed from a chapter title in Rick Steve's Europe Through the Backdoor 2009, a book which I picked up from Barnes and Nobles two weeks before we left Seattle. At the time, I dismissed this piece of advice because I felt our trip is different from the type of trips the book's target audience would be taking. I mean - we're traveling for 8 months through different seasons and J needs to bring everything to set up an office remotely! Hence, we left Seattle with 4 pieces of checked luggage.

In the 2 months we traveled through Europe our luggage became more and more annoying. It was hard to manuever our huge luggage pieces along small European balconies and elevators. Our duffle was really hard to carry because of the weight and lack of wheels. And, we were almost forced to pay nearly 300 USD for checking in two pieces of luggage per person instead of the usual one piece because the airline representatives at the check-in counters aren't familiar with the rules of the OneWorld Explorer Fare.

Therefore, while we were in Boston J and I decided to shed and repack our stuff into just two pieces of check-in luggage - one per person with a maximum weight of 23 kgs per piece. All of our winter clothes got cut, which was the plan anyhow, and all of our backup and "what if" items got left behind too.

In the end, we did it! It's pretty amazing if you think it. We still have in there 3 laptops, a shoebox of electronics, a huge 220V power strip and two cooking pots!

1. Luggage on Day 0 vs. Day 62

2. The stuff we left behind in my parents' basement - 3 boxes and a small suitcase worth.

I was so sure I was going snowboarding in the Alps. So sure. To that end, I packed and lugged snowpants, a ski jacket, ski googles, ski socks and gloves across the Atlantic Ocean and halfway across Europe. Big surprise - I didn't go.

Now, just imagine how excited I was when my brother asked me if I wanted to go snowboarding at Wachusetts Mountain. All that effort would not have been in vain! So, I put on my wearable gear, throw the rest in the trunk of his car and off we go. After parking his car in the resort lot, I get out of the car and excitedly go to retrieve my gloves and googles from the trunk. I put on my googles and started to slip my hand into the gloves when suddenly a confused look spreads across my face.

What is wrong with this picture?

After being on the road for 2 months spending a week at my parents' home in Boston felt so luxurious - 3 meals per day prepared for us, people to talk to other than each other, a nice bathroom, having people understand us when we speak English and not having to worry about our budget. It was hard to leave and we seriously contemplated staying an extra week or two, but we knew we had to push onwards. It's so easy for inertia to set in.

Here are some highlights from our Boston stay:

Accompanying pictures

1. Pile of presents

2. My mom receiving JK Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard

3. My brother finding a present to culture his hobby of wine: a wine decanter

4. My cousin determined to play Guitar Hero immediately after ripping open the wrapping.

5. My grandma receiving massaging slippers

6. My mom and dad admiring the free calendar J and I brought to add to their collection. Tell me if I'm wrong in saying that Asian parents looooove the free calendars given out by Chinese grocery stores at the end of the year. This one is from Paris!

7. My sister-in-law, who spent the week with us, receiving an iPod Nano from her brothers and me.

8. My brother carving/hacking the Christmas turkey

9. One of many feasts that week

10. We made dumplings from a meat filling made by my brother

11. My sister brought home a huge platter of sashimi consisting of white tuna, tuna and salmon.

12. Dumplings and sashimi

13. Everyone who was at dinner that night

14. My brother doing some dual-shovel plowing of the driveway

15. A collection of snow on his head after 30 minutes outside

16. Starcraft LAN party with more cousins