why are travel pants always khaki, beige or blue-grey?

Wow! Today is the big day. The beginning of our adventure! Time has flown...

We are at Auckland airport filling in 2 hours before boarding. Byrdie suggested we bike to the airport as Kellys car has no tow bar. Fortunately the weather forecast was for rain so we dismantled our bikes and squeezed them into the car. A bit scary that I wasn't overly keen to cycle to the airport when the whole point of the trip is to cycle around Europe.

I got badly sunburnt yesterday. Yes, I can hear you tell me off Mark. I managed to go the whole summer without being badly burnt and my last day in NZ...

I managed to fit in some last minute shopping where I purchased some ugly beige travel pants (you know, the zip off light fabric with pockets). They're less ugly than the ones I'm replacing though. I also bought some hand sanitizer (now Marks approving), which Byrdie is 'intrigued' about (ie. thinks is pointless).

Was great to catch up with so many people before flying out. We had a family wedding last weekend. I was telling my cousins about my cycle trip around Europe and how first we were flying to Hong Kong. One cousin asked "Is Hong Kong in Europe?". I explained no. He then asked "What language do they speak in Europe?"...

Well, off to Hong Kong... don't have high expectations... have heard that it is crowded, polluted and people spit. Will keep you posted...