The Time Grows Nigh

As I welcome the first day of February, my emotions are brimming with the prospect of leaving on a freighter in just a couple days. My itinerary for the first leg of my journey has been pretty much set in stone, and while there is still some uncertainty due to circumstances beyond my control, I am due to board the Hanjin Pretoria on Thursday, February 3 at 10:00 p.m. The ship will depart early the next morning, 2/4/11. After a journey of fourteen days (and losing one day in the process) I will disembark at Port Klang Malaysia.

I have been sending off requests for hosts via Couchsurfing.org and have received a response from a kind British gentleman living in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. I hope to stay with him upon arrival. I will be taking the KTM Komuter train from Port Klang to the Batu Ketonmen stop

Also of note, KL is the birthplace of the Hash House Harriers organization, in which I have had the pleasure of participating in both Flagstaff and Santa Cruz. On on! We'll see if I can join up with the original group for an event.

After KL, I will head north through Malaysia and into Thailand, and hopefully join up with my sister in Bangkok.

On a logistical note, today I picked up my final visa at the Chinese Consulate (I received my Russian visa on Friday). I am trying to get everything in order and move out of my apartment within the next two days. At least I have the comfort of knowing that one way or another, everything will be finished by Friday and I can relax in comfort on a cargo ship!