It’s the eve of our big trip to India and as anyone who knows us well will be aware, Matthew began packing his bags about a month ago and I’ve only just started!

Whenever we travel by bicycle, or on foot, I always try and persuade Matthew to pack as much ‘air’ as possible  – in other words, travel light! The problem with travelling light of course is that we invariably wish  that we had something with us when we’re away, which we hadn’t packed. It’s also the case that my version of packing air and Matthew’s are substantially different!

When we started planning this trip, we needed to get a rucksack for Matthew, which necessitated a visit to my favourite camping store: Taunton Leisure in Bedminster. Matthew was a bit put out in the shop when I told him that I thought he’d need a bigger rucksack than I have … he accused me of wanting him to carry some of my stuff  (which of course I do) to which I replied: “What do you think the point of you is?!”).

I have been making my packing list for a while, though, but now it’s time to make some tough decisions. Do we really need to take an iPad each?! My binoculars are quite heavy, even though they are small, but I’m fairly certain that I’d regret not bringing them with us. Matthew is packing five of each: socks, pants, t-shirts and shirts … but I’m going with only three, because I think the hotels were staying in will have a laundry service – so one on, one drying and one in the wash makes sense to me (plus I’m taking some swimming trunks that would do in an emergency!). (I may regret this decision in the heat of India!).

Fortunately, it’s the night before we go and I’ve started packing with the help of the ever-faithful Jojo. This may take me some time!