BANGKOK-SINGAPORE is currently ON!!!!

G'day all! Well, - the latest is that as of yesterday, I put a non refundable deposit of $100 toward a GAP 14 day tour from Bangkok to Singapore!!! The tour is an overland one, it starts at Bangkok with some of the stops including Krabi, (Phuket area and around), Penang, Cameron Highlands, Kuala Lumper, Melaka, then winding up in Singapore! I am scheduled to depart Bangkok on 22 Sept this year. The tour group size averages 10 apparently but can be up to 15 with the agegroup being between 18-39. When I walked into the STA travel agent to dicuss a couple of tours/dates etc.......one of the first things he asked is 'are you under 39'!!!!! Not a nice thing to be asked when only 31......I was about to leave and have a sulk! You'd want to look obviously young enough......not be asked that :-( Ageing fast is something I'm a bit paranoid about, - but my facial skin is good at the moment, no zits, hardly any creases.

Then I noticed I was looking daggy, no makeup on, sneakers and socks, (forgot to change to my thongs), long lightweight stretchy daggy denim shorts just past knees, regrowth with messy tied back hair, (with more greys now) and a baggy top. I'd just come from two games of laser tag and worked up a sweat with them!

I had no intention of putting any deposits on trips yesterday. I just wanted to find out dates, opinions etc of the two I was most keen on. The other one was a kayak, cycling, hiking on around Thailand, a little more costly but I found out that tour won't operate after June at all.....so it made my choice easy. Then the agent said there is a New Year 15% off tour sale that ends today, - reducing the tour cost by $200 or so and I could claim that with a $100 deposit. So I took a bit to think about it........then bang, did it!!!

The first job will be saving weekly, then booking the flights, then paying off the tour, then organising travel insurance and accommodation for both ends of the trip, then spending $$$. I need to work weekly toward this...........while still putting away my $100 a week to invest which is a habit I developed almost 2 years ago and don't want to break at all......unless I invest brilliantly to grow, buy/build a home one day or retire LOL!

Actually my finances are going to be a struggle over the next few weeks unless I make first ever dip to savings......through faults of my own. Over Christmas/New Year period I was calling NZ far too much and calls have gone up in price! I discovered I have a $304 phone bill due next week, then similar due mid Feb already racked up.......so am banning phone for international calls and texts unless of real emergencies now, - sorry peeps! With also joining the gym recently, other bills that leaves too precious little for my liking! $70 max budget for food the next few weeks! E-mails, facebook, Skype sometimes etc instead. I'm scared to make a savings dip as I never have in this account, and in previous accounts if I dipped once......I kept finding reasons and excuses to keep dipping until account was run right down undoing hard work saving!

Gym and online challenge is going well. Am stoked with my doings last week. Weights, rower machine, outdoor cycling, running outdoors and on treadmill plus normal day to day stuff for training. No alcohol at all this week, (7 consecutive days with none), no other habits I dislike to compensate for it either so all good. I did weigh in today, - still 1kg more than my last weigh in on Xmas morn last year, - but I'm sure 2kg down on this time last week, - not that I saw the number a week ago!

So that's it for now, talk soon!

Pip :-)