What to pack for a container ship voyage?

I just don't know!  I've been advised to pack sensible shoes - I'm not naive enough to wobble around on platforms on the Bridge or deck: trainers, sensible slip ons with a good grip, yes.

But I'm not going on an average cruise: I am very well aware that I may be the only passenger and whilst there's a swimming pool on board, let's face it - as I'll more than likely be the only female, I really do not think I should be parading around in a bikini!

So, in an attempt to resolve this dilemma, I bought myself a one piece with a skirt - as I thought the skirt might hide even more. 

But I'm wondering if the very fact I am trying too hard to be 'demure' might have an adverse effect?!

One of my Twitter followers Matt Clarke suggested a Onesie - ha!  He also told me to just 'be myself'...I think this is the best advise so far.
I think I will seek the advise of Travel Fashion Girl.  She specialises on travel packing, and my article about What to pack for a trip to Greece was featured on her site.
Anyone else have any tips?  Otherwise I'm going for three-quarter length shorts, my baseball cap/sunhat, t-shirts/vest tops and things to also keep me warm at night on deck. 

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Many people are supportive of this grand adventure of mine:  Author Nene Davies sent me this little ecard today as she said it reminded her of my impending voyage.

Pic by Ken Done

Any advice will be greatly received :0)

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Beware the Pirates - and yellow fever

Somehow I don't think it's this pirate I need to worry about
Source: http://depositphotos.com/1034641/stock-illustration-Pirate-attack.html

It's all becoming rather real now...I have just received a Declaration I need to sign.  Here's the outline of it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hong Kong accommodation - and return trip

I know, I know...I've not even left yet and already I'm thinking about how I'm going to return!
Well, for a trip of this magnitude, a girl's godda be organised.  So I've already booked my One Way flight back - for a very reasonable price: 399 Euros inc. tax with Aeroflot via Moscow.



Source: http://aviophobia.net/

Please don't feed my fear.  Yes, the price is very good, and then you see who the airline is.  But let's not be in a hurry to judge them!  I checked: they fly Airbuses now (I had a fear they'd fly a cargo carrier or something, in keeping with my cargo trip by ship out, why not the plane back?!)
I did wonder if I would stop overnight and see Moscow.  Ha!  Fat chance!  The visa process (yes, even for a stopover) is a nightmare.  Oh well Moscow, if you don't want my tourism...

Now then: as you may all be aware, Hong Kong is an expensive city!  So where am I going to stay?  Well, Facebook kept putting up adverts for Airbnb, a site where people list their spare room in their house...heck...even their whole house!  I have found a nice place for 9 nights for the grand total of 273 Euros!  This is for a room in a place...I won't feed you too much information yet as I want to experience it myself first too.

Next cometh the Yellow Fever inoculation (I'll leave that for another blog post).

I can't wait to see the HKG skyline at night!  (Source: http://news.ncbs.res.in/forums/image/hong-kong-night-skyline)

The route

I'm sure you're all dying to know the how/what/where etc.

Well, I can confirm the route to you...it looks like this:

PIRAEUS		2013-06-20 05:00	2013-06-20 06:00	2013-06-21 06:00
LA SPEZIA		2013-06-23 15:00	2013-06-23 17:00	2013-06-25 07:00
GENOA		2013-06-25 12:00	2013-06-25 13:00	2013-06-27 01:00
BARCELONA		2013-06-28 00:00	2013-06-28 02:00	2013-06-29 14:00
VALENCIA		2013-06-30 01:00	2013-06-30 02:00	2013-07-01 14:00
PIRAEUS		2013-07-05 06:00	2013-07-05 07:00	2013-07-06 07:00
SUEZ (EL SUWEIS)		2013-07-08 18:00	2013-07-08 19:00	2013-07-09 18:00
SINGAPORE		2013-07-24 07:00	2013-07-24 09:00	2013-07-25 03:00
HONGKONG		2013-07-30 00:00	2013-07-30 02:00	2013-07-30 20:00

 

 

The timings confuse me a little as well, before you ask.  I can tell you that I'll be leaving Piraeus on 21st June and arriving in La Spezia (Italy) on 23rd June at roughly 3pm (15:00). 

 

You'll also note that I come back to Piraeus on 5th July.  I can see your thought process:

If you live in Athens and are joining in Piraeus, why not just go straight to Hong Kong?

Well, look at that route (in bold for you).  It's kinda boring, is it not, as in long distances at sea and not many stops.  Wouldn't it be nice to see a little bit of Europe at first?  Hell, I get two days at both ports in Italy & Spain...enough time to explore the surrounding area.

 

So, having checked that out, if anyone's in these destinations at these times, do get in touch and you can show me around! 

 

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Getting ready for the journey...

Am I crazy? Have you heard of many people who take off on a container ship as a passenger?
I won't go into too many details about the how/why etc as I have written a post about it here for my other site LeavingCairo and have also undertaken a similar journey across the Atlantic Ocean in 2005.  You can read about them.

If you're interested in the practicalities, read on: