Tossing a coin...

The most difficult part of an adventure is taking the first step... Indeed the hardest part is making the decision. For me that decision has three parts: where to go, when to leave, and what to do before I go.
 

Where to go

I am young with only myself to be responsible for, I have a degree, some work experience, a dive instructor qualification and a whole smorgasbord (how fun is that word to say, go ahead try saying it out loud a few times) of other random skills that will get me by in a world that is called my oyster.
 
So where does one begin? When there are so many beautiful, exotic, interesting and perhaps even scary places to see and experience how do you pick just one? With all this confusion I find myself listening to a mentor's wise words: the first place you go to is the most difficult, you will find it easier to move on to the next place... and the next... His words made me realise that whichever place I chose, I can always change my mind if I don't like it or if I feel like it's time to move on.
 
So then it's settled, after much debating and research and endless conversations with good friends over ice cream and tea and those awesome little mini caramel Swiss rolls, I have decided that Thailand will be the first stop in my great adventure.
 

When to leave and what to do before I go

My soul is yearning to get on a plane and if it had it's way I would do so tomorrow. Unfortunately I need to be practical and there are a few things I need to complete before I leave. I am consulting on a project which needs to be settled, along with this there are countless Adventure related errands to run.

I have to think which bag (or combination thereof) is best to travel with - I settled for having a dive bag custom made out of old ship sails as well as a hiking backpack- what vaccines to get, where to stay for the first few days in Thailand, book my ticket and a million other small little things that I haven't even thought about. I should really make a to-do-list... "Make a to-do-list" will be the first item on my to-do-list for tomorrow, I think.
 
And then there's also my little detour... I'm pushing my departure date out by a month to go have a little mini adventure. Well, here is my current coin tossing situation. I have an opportunity to go to the coast to do a day skippers course, yacht sailing course, sailing career development course, whatever you want to call it. It will be 28 days spent on the sea learning all about sailing and yachts, and engines and knot tying and... Well let's just say for the water baby and fish (Pisces) that I am is sounds like bliss. Sure I will probably be complaining about sunburn and crazy, untame-able hair soon, soon... But I think the coin has already been tossed and it does not matter whether it's heads or tails, my mind has already been made up...