Culture shock

Hong Kong had never been on my bucket list - it was simply a convenient destination between the UK and Australia. We decided we wanted to stop somewhere on the way to break up the journey, and Hong Kong and Singapore were the best options. Hong Kong won, simply because it worked out the easiest and cheapest option flight-wise. Plus there was another reason for stopping on the way, apart from reducing flight times and jet lag - being able to cross another continent (and country, of course) off my list. I had already crossed off Europe of course (living there kind of helps), North America, Australasia and Africa (Egypt). South America is still to be done (I'm thinking Rio?), and Antarctica is not really a priority. And then there was Asia. We did stop at Singapore airport for refuelling last time we went to Australia. I sort of counted it as Asia, but was well aware it was cheating. Not only had we not seen any of the country, but I think - officially - the departure lounge of an airport is a bit of a no-man's-land! There was also Turkey; Lee assures me that any part east of the Bosphorus is Asia Minor but I'm still not convinced it counts - it certainly didn't feel like Asia. But there is no doubt that Hong Kong is part of Asia, so I was eager to tick another continent off the list.

At the same time, I was a little wary - Asia per se isn't a continent that's ever really appealed. The accounts of Delhi Belly have always put me off going to India, for a start. Then there's the poverty, the politics and the general 'differentness'... I found my day trip to Egypt (from Cyprus) was a bit of a culture shock, so the thought of Asia always made me a little nervous. It's a long way to go to 'test it out' - but was I really willing to commit to spending a week or more in such a (potentially) different country? Despite loving my holidays, I don't consider myself a 'traveller' - I'm not high-maintenance, and can live without my home comforts (hey, I go camping!), but only to a certain extent. I like to experience different cultures, but in a 'safe' way. I like to try the local food, but no chicken feet or sheep's brains, thank you. I like to have a go at the local language but I like to know I'll be able to get by speaking English. And, most importantly, I like nice toilets. I don't do those awful squat toilets and I certainly don't do toilets with no doors (stories of toilets in China have filled me with horror!). I do nice, clean, pleasant-smelling toilets, with a lockable door, soap by the sinks and plenty of toilet paper.

Anyway, a stop in Hong Kong seemed like the perfect choice, given my misgivings. Firstly, it was a short stop - if I didn't like it, I knew I wouldn't be staying long. Plus I hadn't wasted time or (too much) money, as it was part of a journey I was making anyway. Secondly, it was a 'safe' way to experience China - the perfect compromise. I would get to experience the culture of China - the food, the language, the climate, the people, etc. - but with the added 'Westerness' that Hong Kong brings. A quick Google search told me all the signs are in English as well as Cantonese, and most of the people also speak English. The long British occupation of Hong Kong has left several legacies - which meant that I could experience China in a British kind of way.

I was still a little apprehensive about Hong Kong, however. It was still going to be far-removed from anywhere I'd been before. But everyone I spoke to who's been there (quite a lot of people) sung its praises, and I soon understood why. It's a beautiful city, one that my family and I all liked very much, and with plenty to do. In theory, it should still have been a massive culture shock. It's hard to explain how it feels to be the only white people in a sea of Chinese faces - certainly we were an unusual site (or at least the children were), judging by the amount of stares and points we got. It's strange to be in a country where, despite the English signs, the other signs don't use figures that are even vaguely recognisable. I may not be able to read much Spanish, for example, but at least I can still understand numbers! Even the Greek alphabet makes some sense to me. There were so many other things that were very different culturally - the buildings, the currency (it's hard to get your head around $100 only being around £8), the general ways of the people... Yet, at the same time, it didn't feel like a culture shock at all. Stood on the MTR (the Hong Kong metro), surrounded by Chinese people, all speaking a different language and most of them staring at the children, I thought I'd have felt uncomfortable. But I didn't. Lee and I mused over this - we were both surprised at just how at-home we felt. I guess there is still enough 'Britishness' to feel comfortable with those things that are typically Chinese. Our overwhelming feeling upon leaving Hong Kong was that we'd barely scratched the surface - there's so much we didn't do or see, and we'd really like the chance. I might even be prepared to try China, now we've 'tested the water'.

Oh, and the public toilets? Lovely. Clean, lots of toilet roll, doors that locked and antibacterial soap. And there were lots of them. Might be another reason I'm keen to come back to Hong Kong...

Good intentions...

As I write this, we are about to embark on a five-and-a-bit-week tour of Australia with two stops in Hong Kong thrown in for good measure. Those of you who know me personally will know I update my Facebook status religiously when I'm on holiday. It's not all about smug, show-off photos of beaches and pools - although there is that too. It's more likely to be about the various disasters we encounter - and believe me, there are many! It's also nice for family to be able to keep up with where we are and what we're doing - especially when it relates to the kids - and it's turned out to be a way for my mum, amongst others, to vicariously holiday through us. So I plan, Wi-Fi allowing, to do the same this holiday. However, I tend to keep my Facebook updates fairly short - partly because not all my FB friends are actually interested and partly because I haven't got the time to write long updates every day. So I plan to try to update my blog regularly - that way, those FB friends who can be bothered can read about our holiday in more detail, while those who think 'here she goes again' can scroll quickly past my posts in their news feeds. And my random blog readers get to hear all about our adventures in Oz - lucky you! There is also an advantage in writing about things as or soon after they happen - trying to write numerous blog posts a week after arriving home is never quite the same, and I can never remember half the stuff that happened. Of course, I was full of good intentions when I first started this blog too. I was going to update it at least once a week, preferably twice or more. It didn't happen, of course - I think I went over a month between updates once. Now I'll be limited to when and where I can get Wi-Fi access on holiday, plus writing posts on a phone is a lot harder than on the PC. And much as I enjoy writing, I don't want to waste precious holiday time blogging when I could be swimming, eating, exploring, catching up with friends or lying on a beach. So, as I said, I PLAN to update my blog regularly, but I make no promises. In the meantime, here's to good intentions!

Fear of flying

I'm lucky that I've never been frightened of flying. Admittedly, I don't actually believe in aeroplanes. You can talk science to me until you're blue in the face, but I'll never understand how a 300-ton piece of metal stays in the air, let alone how it gets there in the first place. As far as I'm concerned, it must be magic, so I try not to think about that too much when I'm actually in the air. But I'm not one of those people who sits nervously waiting at the airport, knocking back a G&T or a Valium. And, on the whole, I enjoy the flight itself, although it rather depends on who's sitting behind me.

This time will be different. For the first time, I'm actually worried about the flight. Stressed is normal - but this time I'm scared. It started, of course, with the announcement about the terrorist threat on flights to and from America. I felt instantly relieved that we were travelling in the opposite direction, especially as we had previously considered America as a destination for this summer. I felt less confident, however, when the advice was extended to all flights. Practically, it's no problem - my phone would always be charged up before a flight anyway, although I imagine the queues for security will be a fair bit longer. It's more the idea of it - someone somewhere's sole purpose in life right now is to work on an undetectable device of mass murder. It makes me feel sick to the stomach. It is always awful to turn on the television and hear about an earthquake or a tsunami, where the loss of life can be devastating. But somehow it feels worse to me when I hear about something caused by other people - deliberate and avoidable. Likewise, there are so many terrible wars going on in the world, and I feel for everybody involved and those who've lost friends and family. But I am guilty, like many others, of being able to put it to the back of my mind, as it doesn't directly affect me. The tragic events of 911 touched so many because it brought things to the forefront of people's minds. Suddenly, this wasn't something happening somewhere else. This was something that could happen to us. I remember trying to explain what had happened to a class of 30 seven-year-olds - it was very difficult to reassure them when I was feeling so scared myself. And here we are again, with a potential threat of another aircraft disaster hanging over us, and the knowledge that there are people out there trying to cause it. But life has to go on, I told myself. It's probably an extra-safe time to fly, as there are so many extra precautions in place. It won't happen to me - what are the chances? But in the back of my mind, there's the knowledge that everyone thinks it won't happen to them - but it does happen to some people...

Just as I was starting to adjust to the whole bombs-in-phones issue, I heard the devastating news about the Malaysian Airlines plane that was shot down (allegedly) over the Ukraine. Hearing about a major plane disaster ahead of taking a flight myself was never going to be good. But, again, the fact that it was deliberate rather than accidental makes it all the more tragic - and frightening. I cried when I read about all those innocent people, going on holiday, returning from visiting family, en route to a work conference - all caught in the wrong place at the wrong time in a conflict that had nothing to do with them. Of course, there are so many innocent people that lose their lives every day, through war, famine, illness or accident - and, as a mother , I find myself crying very easily when I read about it. I confess I often take the route of closing my ears and eyes and not thinking about it, because it's just so damn depressing. But this particular disaster has affected me that little bit more because - well, it could have been me. It could have been my family and friends talking on the news about the tragic end to our trip of a lifetime. It's easy to separate yourself from things that are happening on the other side of the world. But when you and your family are flying right over the top of them, it's a different matter. I'm suddenly filled with such a sense of responsibility, knowing that I'm making the decision to take my children on a flight at such a politically volatile time. Am I being irresponsible? On the plus side, I'm guessing there will be all sorts of extra security and safeguards in light of the recent awful events. There's probably never been a safer time to fly - but I wish with all my heart that the reason for that hadn't been the loss of so many innocent lives.

So, we're going to Australia. On a plane. And I'm scared. But I'm also telling myself not to be so silly. You can't live life too frightened to do anything. Life is short, and I want to live it without regrets - as far as I can. Life goes on, and hopefully we will look back on this summer as one filled with amazing experiences - and we'll be very glad we took the plunge and carried on regardless.

Incidentally,  I visited the Cathay Pacific website soon after hearing about the Malaysian plane, in the hope of reassuring myself that they don't fly over Ukranian airspace (they don't). The first thing I saw on their home page was typhoon warnings for flights to and from Hong Kong (our first stop). Great... anything else?!

Freedom

We're off to Hong Kong and Australia a week on Friday, and I admit to feeling a certain sense of trepidation. Lee, if he's honest, would rather camp around France for the summer again, and I must admit I'll miss the tent this year. What I'll miss most, though, is the freedom and flexibility to do what we want when we want. Of course, we're always tied to our ferry or tunnel crossing (although that's more flexible than a flight), and we often book a hotel or the odd campsite in advance. We also usually have a rough itinerary in our heads - probable routes and destinations and ideas for possible campsites. But the beauty of it is that we're not tied down to anything. If the weather is cold and we fancy heading south sooner than planned, we can do. If we particularly like a campsite or there's lots to do in the area, we can stay a bit longer. If our neighbours are too noisy, we can move on to another campsite. Nothing is set in stone, and there's no pressure to be somewhere at a particular time.

This holiday is going to be very different. Although we've included a ten-day drive along the Queensland coast in our itinerary, Australia is way too big a country to be able to drive around it all - that means, of course, that we've had to book a lot of flights. In fact, including our stops in Hong Kong, we have ten flights booked for this holiday. Flights don't just tie you down, they tether you with unbreakable cable-ties. Although in theory the flights could be changed in an emergency, one change in flight has a knock-on effect on all the other flights and accommodation - not to mention the potential charges involved. And even a short flight ends up taking almost a whole day once you allow for travel to and from the airport, check-in times, customs and waiting for your luggage. Although we're going for over five weeks, a large amount of that time will be spent on planes or at airports, and it doesn't actually allow for as much time sightseeing as you'd think. At least when we're driving around France, we can please ourselves, stop when we want to and see things on the way. Not to mention the fact that we don't have to check-in with anyone and our luggage stays happily in the car (this in itself is a huge plus - no grappling with cases and hand luggage to contend with!).

In theory, our ten-day drive from Cairns to Brisbane should provide a little more freedom. In practice, however, it's just not - well - practical. In France, we have a tent - that means you can turn up pretty much anywhere and be able to find somewhere to sleep. Even the busiest campsites usually have at least a few pitches free, and when you have no set route, it's easy enough just to drive somewhere else if they're full. In Australia, we won't have a tent. No, it's not because we're scared of snakes, spiders and kangaroos (although they could certainly cause some issues) - it's more to do with the practicalities (or impracticalities) of packing a tent and all our camping gear and taking it on the plane with us. Which leaves us with hotels, motels, B&Bs, apartments, etc. All well and good, but a little more likely to be booked up in advance than campsites. Add to this the fact that Australia is so much less populated than France, and therefore there just aren't quite so many overnight places to choose from. When travelling with kids, you just can't take the risk of not having anywhere to stay for the night. It's easier to find somewhere with room for two than four, and it wouldn't matter too much to us if we didn't find somewhere until late, whereas the kids need their sleep. Lee and I could sleep in the car if it came to it, but I wouldn't want to inflict that on the kids (nor inflict all of us sleeping in the car on us, for that matter!). The bottom line is that we have had to book all our accommodation in advance to ensure we have somewhere to stay. We'll still have the option of driving straight from one hotel to the next and arriving early or taking a more leisurely drive and arriving later, which will make a change from the rigours of airport check-ins, but this part of the holiday is still pretty much set in stone. We've even booked a few trips in advance because we're scared they'll get booked up and won't be able to fit us in if we don't!

So all in all, it's a pretty different holiday for us. I could tell you fairly accurately exactly where we'll be at any given time on any given day - I have the five-page itinerary to prove it! In theory, this should suit my control-freak personality, but the laid-back part of me (there must be one somewhere!) loves the spontaneity of our camping adventures and the freedom of not knowing where we're going next. Of course, I neglected to mention the time when we drove around the Carcassonne area of France for three hours and tried around 20 campsites, none of which had room for us. We ended up in a convoy of camper vans, caravans and cars with roof boxes, all clearly in the same position, and all desperately hoping to spot a campsite before the others. We found somewhere eventually, of course, but it wasn't very nice, and we had to put the tent up in the dark with two very tired and hungry children moaning at us. I do remember the mounting feeling of panic that we had nowhere to stay and two children to worry about - suddenly that freedom was not looking quite so attractive. So at least this time we know we've got somewhere to stay every night - and, thanks to Trip Advisor, we know our accommodation will be nice. And if I really get an urge for spontaneity and freedom of choice, maybe I'll go for a strawberry ice cream instead of my usual chocolate...

The time when The List didn't work (also known as the time when The List would have worked perfectly well if it wasn't for my husband...)

On reading my last blog, a friend reminded me that The List isn't quite guaranteed to ensure you don't forget anything. To be fair, I didn't actually forget anything at all. The List was written, the bags were packed. Everything I needed for my holiday went into those bags. Most of those bags went into the car. You see? Not my fault!

Luckily, it wasn't an epic camping adventure or a five-week trip to Australia - it was just a week-long trip around the UK, visiting friends. Also luckily, all my clothes were in a case, and the bag in question just contained my 'stuff' - brush, book, make-up, etc. I packed all the bags myself, and asked Lee to load them into the car. He says it was my fault for not leaving all the bags in clear sight. I say it was my fault for thinking it was safe to delegate. Either way, we were at a motorway service station  several hours' drive away when I realised. We only opened up the boot because my son (a toddler at the time) had wet himself and needed a change of clothes. A quick search through the boot for his clothes, and I realised my bag was missing. We then had the decision of whether to turn round and go home for it or to carry on regardless. Of course, we chose the latter option. It wasn't too much of a problem, as I still had all my clothes - it just took a trip to the local supermarket to buy supplies (good excuse for a new book!). The only real problem was that my inhalers were also in the bag still sitting expectantly in my hallway at home. Cue a delightful evening spent at the walk-in centre at the local hospital, waiting for a prescription.

So what did I learn from this experience? Firstly, The List is still the way to go - I did actually remember everything! Secondly, if you do forget something, it's not the end of the world. Most things can be bought while you're away (even clothes - what a great excuse!). Lastly, if you want something done, DO IT YOURSELF!!!

How do you pack for five weeks?!

In exactly three weeks, we're going to Australia. For just over five weeks. Gulp. After countless holidays, to different places and of different durations, I like to think of myself as a bit of an expert on packing. But this one is going to be tough. Here's a few reasons why:

1. Duration
Okay, this one's a no-brainer. A week is easy. A fortnight's no problem. But five weeks is a different matter entirely. Obviously, we can't take five weeks' worth of clothes. But we still need enough to last us...

2. Weather
If we were going for five weeks in the Caribbean, it would be easy. You could pack a bikini for every day of the holiday, plus a few summer dresses, and still have room to bring back a pineapple and a bottle of rum. But when we go, it will be winter in Australia. Obviously, an Australian winter is nothing like a British winter. But it does match our autumn. The temperatures in the north of Queensland are likely to be in the mid to late 20s (Celsius for those who think in Fahrenheit!), but temperatures in Melbourne may go down to 10 degrees - and let's not mention night-time temperatures. When we visited Sydney ten years ago, it was so cold when we arrived that I went out and bought a hat and scarf! Yet two days later, it was warm enough to be wearing shorts and T-shirt. Plus we also spend a few days in Hong Kong, where the weather will be hot and humid. Basically, we need to take winter and summer clothes and something in between. In a nod to Antipodean talent, I keep finding myself adapting Crowded House's song and singing 'Four Seasons in One Holiday...'

3. Weight
Lugging suitcases around is hard-going at the best of times. But this holiday, it's going to be made extra difficult due to Lee's fractured spine. All is nearly recovered, and the specialist said Lee should be able to resume normal 'sporting' activity (ha!) around now. 'Great,' said Lee, 'does that mean I'll be able to carry the cases on holiday?' 'Oh no,' was the reply, accompanied with a grave shaking of the head. This means, of course, that it will be yours truly hefting cases on and off trollies and conveyer belts, and in and out of cars, trains and coaches. Our hold luggage limit is 20kg per case - several people have already been horrified that it's not the usual 23kg. Sod that - I'll be the one carrying it! Not only do we have to pack five weeks' worth of stuff into four cases and four hand luggage bags, but those cases need to be light enough for Lee and the boys to pull, and light enough for me to actually lift! And who cares what the hand luggage weight limit is - we have to carry those bags!

4. Living out of a suitcase
Normally when you go on holiday, you unpack when you get there. It doesn't matter how things fit in the suitcase - as long as they actually do fit - because once you get there, you're going to unpack them all. Shoes tend to go at the bottom of the case, followed by clothes and then anything else. It doesn't matter if you don't know where things are, 'cos they'll all come out of the case when you reach your destination. Clothes aren't kept packed for long enough to crease much - and hanging them up in the wardrobe when you get there means that most of the creases will drop out anyway. Travelling around, however, makes things a bit more difficult. When you're only in one place for a night or two, is it really worth unpacking everything? It would be easy enough if you only had one or two nights' worth of stuff, but unpacking five weeks' worth every couple of days is a hassle, and takes up a large chunk of what little time you have at a destination. So you leave most of your stuff in the suitcase - which brings a whole host of problems. Clothes end up creased from being folded so long. Trying to get shoes from the bottom of your case means the clothes on top get messed up - and how the hell do you put them back again?! How do you find the dress you want in amongst all the other clothes? And how do you separate out the dirty clothes?! Help!

Of course, I refuse to be defeated, and I'm nothing if not resourceful (ahem!). My first weapon is, unsurprisingly, The List. This doesn't apply to this holiday specifically, of course - I have made The List for every holiday I've been on since the age of about 17. It started off as a list in a little notebook - the clothes I would take and all the other important bits like toothbrush, sun-cream, books, etc. Each time I went on holiday, I would dig out my notebook and look at my most recent list and then write a new one, using that for inspiration. It was invariably the same but with slightly different clothes, depending on what I'd bought in between holidays. It took an embarrassingly long time to realise that the computer was actually a far better option than a notebook. I now have a 'Holiday Packing Lists' folder on my PC, with lists for every holiday I've been on for the last five years (which is quite a lot). Each time I go on holiday, I look through the files to find the previous holiday that matches most closely. Is it a few days, a week, a fortnight or the whole summer? Is it UK, city break, beach or camping? You get the idea. Then I read through the list, make a few alterations (don't think we need nappies or a dummy anymore, but the iPhone has now been invented...) and save it for the current holiday, to be used again in the future. Anal, I know. But it's much safer (and easier, of course) than making a list from scratch each time, let alone (shudder) not making one. It's very unlikely that I'll get to my destination and suddenly realise I've left behind something vital, or even something completely unimportant.

Anyway, this will be my first step towards this summer's packing. But what are my plans for dealing with the problems above?

1. Washing
Yup, also a no-brainer. We simply can't take five weeks' worth of clothes - fact. And I refuse (as some people have seriously suggested) to throw away the dirty clothes on holiday and buy new ones as we go - wasteful and expensive! Which only really leaves washing. It's what you'd do at home! We're pretty used to this from our camping extravaganzas - we usually take enough clothes to last around ten days, and then make sure we stay at a campsite with a laundrette. This time we're staying in a few apartments, as well as with friends, so hopefully we'll be able to do a few loads of washing there while we're away. If necessary, we'll trawl the streets of wherever, looking for a laundrette (as we did once in Spain - an interesting experience!). Other than clothes, the duration isn't really a problem. You'd take a toothbrush, phone and camera whether you went for three days or three months. And it's not as if you can't buy things that run out while you're away, like shower gel and toothpaste. The only real problem is books. We're all readers in our family, the kids included. And we read more on holiday than at any other time. Normally it'll take me a month or so to finish a book, but I'll easily get through a couple a week on holiday. Yes, I know, Kindle, blah blah blah. I know it's the solution. But I like books. Hey, something's gotta give.

2. Um...layering?
There's no great answer to this one, really. There's no getting away from the fact that we're going to need swimsuits for the beach, shorts for Hong Kong, raincoats for Perth and jumpers for Melbourne. Not to mention walking boots for Ayers Rock, flip-flops for Queensland and comfy, waterproof shoes for most other places. The only thing we can do is take a few staples in neutral colours and layer them up in the colder weather. Forget pretty dresses and colour schemes - this holiday wardrobe is all about practical, comfortable, non-crease and tumble-dryable (is that a word?!). Denim goes with everything, so jeans, cropped jeans, denim shorts and denim skirt make life easier, as all tops will go with them. Vest tops, T-shirts and a couple of hoodies should see me through all weather, plus a couple of dresses just in case. (You may notice I'm not speaking from a male perspective here; shorts, jeans, T-shirts and hoodies will suffice there - easy!) We've bought light waterproof jackets for everyone - warmer than cagoules but small and light enough to fit in the front pocket of the cases. Plus we'll pack a hat and scarf for everyone (I learnt my lesson in Sydney last time!), which should be enough to keep out the wind. Sorted (hopefully)!

3. New cases
Our old cases are - well - old. They're heavy, they fall over if you attempt to stand them up, and - the most important bit - two of the handles have jammed, meaning they're pretty difficult to pull unless you're four-foot-nothing. Yup, we needed new cases. And this time we needed cases that were light and easy to pull. Obviously, we'll need to pack as light as possible, because I'll have to lift these cases frequently, but the weight of the cases themselves plays a big part in that. I keep seeing these 'lightest suitcases in the world' in shops. Given that they're all made by different brands, they can't all be telling the truth, but they certainly are light. However, they also look very flimsy, and I'm not convinced they'd do a good job of protecting everything inside. So, it was off to my tried and tested friend Amazon, where at least I could read some reviews and work out which cases were likely to survive ten flights (and preferably more after that). I eventually settled on Aerolite cases, which were light, had four wheels and, most importantly, had good reviews. Actually, scrap that - most importantly, they were really reasonably priced. The price seemed to depend on the colour and the availability - the most expensive was £129 but, by choosing the cheapest colours, we were able to get the largest one for £40 and the others (two small and one medium - although it's actually pretty big) for £20 each. They arrived last week, and so far I'm pretty impressed. The handles extend to varying heights, making them easy for everyone to pull. The four wheels mean they can stand alone - particularly vital for the kids, who always let go of the handles when they stop pulling, only to see the cases fall to the ground. The four wheels also mean that the cases can be pushed, pulled or just rolled along next to you. Even a five-year-old and a man with a fractured spine should be able to manoeuver these. And I realised how light they were when they arrived and I lifted the biggest case out of the box, thinking how much lighter it was than our old one. I then searched the other box for the medium case, wondering where it was, until I realised it was actually inside the biggest case - yup, both cases combined weigh less than our old case! They even each came with a combination lock - bargain. Obviously I haven't yet put them through the rigorous testing of our holiday, but so far I'm impressed. And no, I'm not on commission - although maybe I should be...

4. Clever packing
I've had a certain amount of practice at this during our camping holidays, where you certainly don't get to unpack. I've now developed a rigorous system for camping packing, which has worked really well so far. We have the overnight case, which has everything we all need for night-time - toothbrush, PJs, shower gel, book, etc. - and this comes into the tent as soon as we've put it up. We have a bag each for clothes, which stays in the car and gets accessed in the morning when we're getting dressed. We have a bag for toiletries, medicines, shower gel refills, sun cream, etc. A bag for books, toys, board games and other miscellaneous bits. A bag for shoes and a bag for beach stuff. And of course we have boxes for food and cooking utensils - plus sleeping bags, camping stove and so on. Okay, this won't exactly work for flights - plus we won't be needing airbeds and camping chairs - but I can certainly borrow from it. The first thing is the overnight case - this will be what travels in our hand luggage. We'll all take what we need for a night in our own hand luggage - even the boys should manage to carry PJs, a toothbrush, a book and a teddy. This way, if we arrive somewhere late at night, we don't even have to open the cases to find everything we need to get ready for bed. The second thing is rolling. I wasn't convinced initially when someone suggested rolling clothes for packing instead of folding them. I'm still not 100% convinced that it takes up less space or stops creases. However, it does make it an awful lot easier to locate and remove items of clothing without upsetting all the other ones. The final thing is separate bags for different things. I did briefly wonder about using one case for clothes, one for shoes, one for books, etc., but quickly realised the uneven distribution would make this a problem. So my solution is dividers: I'm going to make cardboard dividers to stick in the cases and separate them into different compartments. Yes, I really have no life. Shoes can all go in one compartment, preferably at the bottom of the case when it's standing, to help stabilise it. Clothes will go in another compartment, rolled of course. Everything else will go in the other compartment, probably in the middle. That way, everything should be easy to find and take out without upsetting everything else in the case. I'm even going to have a divider ready to make up a dirty-clothes compartment. Oh yes, I know how to live.

So that's the plan. It's by no means fool-proof, but I'm hoping it will help to reduce some of the potential problems with this mammoth packing task. I haven't even written the packing list yet, let alone made the dividers, but I have been planning this for months. I will let you know if it works...!