PLANNING - WHAT A HEADACHE

                                            
Seven weeks before I depart and I'm in panic mode over the planning details.  I have worked for a week on acquiring visas for China and Russia.  I am using a company in D.C. to get them for me and they have been helpful.  But the process for getting the Russian visa is extremely complicated.  You have to use the on-line application that the Russians have created, and while it is complicated, it also is humorous in some ways.  For example, it asks for employment data: Where employed.  "Who was your chief?"  Date of employment.Date of termination.  (I thought, is termination the only way to end a job?)  There is also magic involved.  The on-line application is about six pages long, but at the end you do something (for the life of me I don't know what) and the six page form is magically and miraculously transformed into a TWO page formal application.  I sorta think it has to do with Adobe Reader and pdf files.  But who knows?  I am dealing with Irina in the Washington office.  She has been very helpful and patient...so far.

I have been reading a blog by Lori and John who are traveling in SE Asia for three months (see www.loriandjohnskiptown.com).  A very good blog and extremely helpful.  I ordered the backpack (Osprey Porter 46) which they recommended.  When it came I was floored at how small it is.  I don't know if I can go around the world with such a small pack.  Guess I'll find out.

I am taking a small camera, not the two ton Nikon.  Its a Sony Nex 7.  There are a couple of technical problems I am trying to figure out, though.  One is how to download and store images.  The obvious answer is to use a computer, which brings up another problem.  Which computer?  My PC desktop?  I don't think so.  I have a small HP laptop but its so slow I could go to Moscow from Beijing quicker than it boots up.
I need a small storage device on which I can also view images.  I will go back through my photography magazines to try to find such a device.

I made an appointment at the Vanderbilt Travel Clinic today.  They will tell me which shots I need and what medications I should take.  Another item checked off the list.

There are still many things to do and my mind is in a constant spin.  I have lists of lists. I think I need to get better organized.  Working on that.

Any suggestions from you experienced travelers out there would be appreciated.