Well, I'm just about ready for my big trip, looking forward to it with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. The itinerary is fun - for those of you who are facing a miserable, dreich British winter and don't want to know, look away now:

• Hong Kong 2 nights
• 2 weeks in Thailand
• 2 weeks in Australia, including Christmas with Wendy
• Hogmanay on Rarotonga
• 3 weeks in New Zealand
• a week in San Fran
• home for a nice cup of coffee

I've been booking a few things here and there, but will be making a lot up as I go along.

The hardest part has been booking a cheap flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok. I thought I'd try and do it on line before I go, so I can plan a bit ahead. Unfortunately, Hong Kong travel agents just don't seem to be geared up for the internet age - most websites look like they were designed circa 1994, don't work in Firefox and (horror) favour the BLINK tag for emphasis. Some actually let you look up available flights, and tantalise users with a "BOOK NOW" button which invariably turns out to be a MAILTO:... link.

I clicked on one of these putative Book Now buttons in the hope of reserving a flight. It started an email exchange with a very helpful travel agent - unfortunately it has taken 13 emails, two faxes and 14 days to complete the (theoretically simple) transaction of buying one air ticket.

• Hong Kong is 8 hours ahead, so every email is sent when the other party is not at work/asleep in bed
• instead of simply getting all the details up front with a web form, they are obtained email by email - what is your name, what time is the flight, how can I pay, no I can't do a bank transfer, don't you take credit cards....
• After a few days I had to send the agent an imprint of my credit card by fax, which meant running around London finding a photocopy shop, then finding a fax bureau... and then waiting for the confirmation email after the weekend to say it had all been received.
• This all took so long that the flight got booked up, so then I had to re-book a different flight at stupid o'clock in the morning.
• Then they wanted a fax of my passport, so it was back to the old photocopying and faxing pilgrimage.
• The it transpired that the local airline requires passengers' middle names to appear on the ticket or they cannot fly. This is unique I believe - I am circulating the globe with Air New Zealand on my first and last names, but the rules are obviously stricter in Hong Kong. So guess what... my agent has to reissue the ticket for a HK$200 fee. I think we're starting the whole process again....

I feel sorry for the poor girl I am putting through this - she's obviously got her work cut out. I should have just bought an expensive ticket on Expedia.

As yet, I don't have full confirmation that the ticket is booked becuase it is now 8pm over there, so I think they've all gone home - and I am leaving the UK tomorrow! Wish me luck....