Less than 24 hrs

Travelling down to London in preparation for tomorrows flight (Aimee said to mention it's a moon hotel, some inside joke I miss out on).

Online check in is complete
Passports packed
Money check
Tickets check
If it's not in the bags now it's too late, although my mom is still knitting.

If I was a sporting man I would say it was like waiting on the pitch for a match to start. There is definitely a bit of tension, not knowing what is coming, running over the list. The check in desk feels like a starting line, after that point all of the planning and excitement and dreaming gets mixed up turned into something new.

Saying all of the "see you later"s has been hard because we know that we will be missing out on sharing loads of experiences with friends and family. House warming parties at first homes, greeting new babies into the world, the first words and steps of others that we have only recently met. The world seems a smaller place than ever with so may different ways to stay in touch but we know that we are trading the experiences we will have on the road for those we would share at home. Thanks to everyone who has given us an amazing send off over the last few weeks.

That is quite enough emoting for one man so I will get back to my guide book...

so what is there to see in this place they call the big apple?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Asia trip 2004

These are the top10 images from my trip to Asia in 2004, is it really that long ago!

Automatic Sushi in Tokyo, Japan

Wedding Photos

As our honeymoon is fast approaching we have been reminiscing about our amazing wedding in September last year, a few people have mentioned that they have not seen the photos.

If you are one of those people here is a link to the blog post our photographer did about the wedding.

Skomer part 2

Who knew I would have less time now I have finished work?

I didn't want to be outdone by my wife and not post anything about our Skomer camping trip so finally finished culling my photos.

Pembrokeshire is a really beautiful part of the world and I wish that I had visited before when I lived just down the motorway in Newport.

I had way too many images so I have tried a slideshow to show them, let me know what you think.

Enjoy.

Skomer, puffins and a burnt nose from Matt Prentice on Vimeo.

Travel - The moving bit

I read this post on lonelyplanet.com about distance in travel this morning and it got me pondering why I like overland travel so much. I love to be on the move, mode of transport does not matter but there is something about overland that really works for me. Overland travel is not just about getting to where I am going but also how: air conditioned Lincoln in the US, open sided Tuk Tuk in Thailand or crowded subway in Tokyo. Overland travel has a lot of romance, trying the local way of getting around is like sampling the local food.

Travelling overland is also like getting a crash course in local geography. Moving between places rather than jumping from one to another I feel I get a better sense of the context of the place, how it fits into the world outside. Flying into Bangkok last year it was more difficult to get a sense for its place as the hub of South East Asia. Arriving by bus from Cambodia several years ago I was able to be part of the smelly, crowded electric current of the people, vehicles and goods flowing in and out of the city (can you still call a place as large and dense as Bangkok a city?).

If this bus hadn't broken down...

I would have missed this sight. Prayer flags protecting those travelling the mountain pass.

The convenience of flying can't be beaten (even with the shoe checks and see through bags) but sometimes I love to see what is in between.

Happy Last Day

Home after my last day at work until after the trip, Aimee had left me a nice hand drawn 'happy last day' poster and a balloon. It feels amazing to have the opportunity and the freedom to take this trip knowing that we have amazing family and friends watching out for us.

Work down now I can crack on with my long list of pre-trip tasks. I thought I was doing so well but there still seems to be a mountain to sort out.

After Harry Potter of course...

Matt

Happy Campers

As this blog is titled ‘Matt and Aimee’ I thought I had better show my face and make my first entry. So I have decided to break my blogging world cherry with a post about our camping adventure last weekend!

Our lovely tent!

It was secretly fun putting the tent up in the dark, slightly delirious from a 5 hour journey while other campers looked on bemused at ‘The English’. Our little pods were amazing- keeping us nice and warm and the creepy crawlies away.

Queuing up for the boat to Skomer at Martin’s Haven.

The boat trip to the Island on board the Dale Princess was reminiscent of the scene in Jurassic Park when they see the Island for the first time, only instead of Pteranodons there were puffins.

Speaking of puffins... theres some now!

The intrepid adventurers- clearly loving it!

Everybody loves a fact about a Puffin so I decided to break up the lovely pictures of the charming puffins with some fun facts! See, learning is fun….

Puffins are sometimes referred to as ‘Clowns of the Ocean’ due to their clown-like behaviour and little stubby wings which flap very fast and hard in order for them to get anywhere.

A baby puffin is rather cutely named a puffling!

Puffins rate amongst Becky Mitchell’s top three animals of all time alongside such greats as the giant turtle and the domestic dog.

During courtship, puffins rub their beaks together to make a sweet puffin-kiss.

On board the 'Dale Princess'

We seem to have acquired an old man in our group.

The O'Connors!

But our trip wasn’t all puffins and camping there was also a poignant side to it. On Sunday we visited the beautiful Freshwater West beach, the location of Dobby’s final resting place in Deathly Hallows Part 1 (although in the book Shell Cottage is located on the outskirts of Tinworth, Cornwall- maybe this could be our next trip?).

And so I end this post with the immortal words of a true hero.

‘Such a beautiful place it is, to be with friends’.