United Kingdom

Made it to the gate after some emotional goodbyes, including the one to my bag as it makes its way to Sin via Hel! Bagged an extra legroom seat for the Helsinki trip which makes up for the flight delay.

Hard to believe that this time tomorrow I'll be basking in 35C heat, what a contrast! Bye for now UK.

Ready for the off, now battling the M25 traffic en route to Heathrow!

Take off at noon, in Helsinki by 1510 and then transferring onto the 12 hour flight to get me into Singapore for 0940 tomorrow (1640 local time).

Thank you to everyone for getting me to this stage, the adventure starts here!

So this is it, the final draft of the kit list that I'll be carrying around the world for 5 months.

I don't have time to create an annotated picture, but before anyone asks where the clothes are - they're in the big bag at the back!

Would love to hear any extra suggestions, if I'm feeling keen later this evening I might even add a full list of what's shown on the photo. And before anyone comments: yes, I suppose I could take less in the accessories department but I'll be the one laughing when that pack of zip ties stops my bag/shoes falling apart!

16 hours until take-off... aaaaahhhhh!

Without warning I've stumbled into my final 24 hours in the UK, and although I'd hesitate to say it out loud I'll brave putting it in words: I'm ready!

After yet another checklist session yesterday I have now completed my extensive on-board pharmacy, sealed and locked my backpack, printed copies of my passport and itinerary, emailed the same to myself and family and had a cup of tea (featured often in my checklists). Today's final tasks will include camera cleaning and battery charging, taking the first of the antimalarial tablets and reconfirming my two booked nights in Singapore.

So, this time tomorrow I will be at Heathrow watching my 9kg (!) bag disappear down the conveyor belt and strongly considering asking for an underweight baggage refund! In contrast to my impressive organisation for the flight (I even remembered to pack chewing gum for take off), I'm woefully underprepared for the goodbyes and highly expect to find myself sat weeping amongst the wrappings of a giant Toblerone in the departure lounge...

This time next week I will be in the air on the first leg of my global trek!

Today marks the start of my annoying pre-travel bragging, finding any excuse to begin conversations with "this time next week I'll be..." and hopefully making it easier for my family to see me leave!

By my calculations, I'm 95% completed on the trip checklists (of which there are now at least 6) - so the rest of the week is being spent putting affairs in order and sitting in a corner with a paper bag hugging my knees and telling myself it'll all be alright. It's been a long time since my last solo travel, and those 3 weeks in 2005 are unlikely to have prepared me for this year's 19 weeks away from home.

Time for one of my 7 remaining British lunches, not that I'm counting...

It's been a challenging 4 weeks but as of this morning I am now fully vaccinated against Yellow Fever, Tuberculosis, Meningitis, Japanese Encephalitis, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Rabies, Typhoid, Cholera, Diphtheria, Polio & Tetanus!

For anyone looking for vaccine advice, my tips would be: A) get the big ones (Jap Enc mainly) ordered early as there seem to be supply issues at the moment, even in the NHS core vaccines like Cholera; B) don't plan to use your arms in the 24 hours that follow tetanus or typhoid jabs; C) shop around for the best prices of the jabs, I used a combination of the local walk-in's travel clinic as well as the travel nurse at my GP and got some great deals! D) record everything in a vaccination booklet - several of my jabs from years ago weren't on my records so without my trusty booklet I may have had unnecessary vaccines and wasted much needed money.

My anti malarial tablets arrived in the post on Saturday too, woohoo! Will's TOP TIP: after some research I found out that Malarone (the anti-malarial of choice due to its lack of side effects) is made by GSK, hence the giant price quote of £247 for my trip! However, their patent for the drug (atovaquone and proguanil) ran out late last year and you can now source generic but medically identical tablets online for a fraction of the price. I paid £125 for an 11 week supply, result!

Altogether an expensive experience, but you can't put a price on avoiding disease and death really.

For those not already aware I will be in London this weekend catching up with long lost friends and saying au revoir to everyone else. So please get in touch if you are in the London area over the weekend - first round's on me!

No idea where the last 2 weeks have gone, but all of a sudden there's just 12 days to go and my room is littered with last minute checklists written on the backs of envelopes!

At long last I have found a suitable bag to carry my gear around the world, I've opted for an Osprey Farpoint 70, which not only fits all of my kit comfortably but also meets my brand snobbery standards! First practice pack today weighed in at just 8kg for the main pack and 2kg for the daysack. Even with a shoulder injury I should be able to manage!

At long last the 4 week countdown has begun, official leaving date is Tuesday 16th April 2013!

Flying from Heathrow at midday and taking a long flight to Singapore (via Helsinki!).

Have a look through my profile for a map of my route.