A pivot in the year

It's done. Life's been too good for a while; needed to get away, change of scene, shake my innards the way I did most of the 90s and have missed in my respectable-for-me London role. Four years since my last proper adventure out Nevada way, and even blissful holidays in surroundings like Provence haven't taken the edge off. So I've booked two flights with nearly a month between them, and what I do between those dates is now up to me.

Even better, it's somewhere new. One of the two big chunks of the globe (Africa and South America) I haven't covered. Later this summer, when all the tourists have gone home and the heat hits 42, I'll be walking in the footsteps of Pharoahs. Egypt was the first country I ever wanted to visit - I remember being five years old and thumbing a pyramid picturebook for hours - and now, finally, my time's come.

From Cairo, south to Luxor, then a desert-skimming trip to Alexandria, along Alexander's route to greatness. Just me and my tribag. (Triathlon bags are great for lightweight travel - mine unfurls into a flat T with enough hidden pockets to keep everything separate and easy to repack.) Since I land at 2am I may even head straight out to those big stone triangles, and watch the sun rise over the pointy bits.

And even pictures like this (found while idly surfing for Cairo train station) aren't damping the excitement. Lots of triathons (and lots of work to organise) before then; a business to come back to afterwards. The year's just been given structure.