Saturday, November 29, 2008

Hey Ho, Hey Ho, it's off to the airport we go.......

The last big sleep has been and gone, we are off to the airport for yet another flying marathon.
8 hours to Singapore, 2.5 hour stopover before we depart at 2.30 in the morning to arrive in Delhi at 5.55 am on a 5.5 hour flight...no, my maths is not that bad, allow for the multiple time zones and changes.
We have culled (or is it killed??) the amount of clothing we are taking in our back packs:while we are not really ageing hippies, carrying or pulling suitcases is hard work and a real pain-packs give us free hands. Seems ludicrous, but more of the weight of the bags consists of some books, Lonely Planet India and Sri lanka guides, power adaptors, mobile phones, camera, anti-bacterial gel and wipes, sunscreen, tropical strength insect repellant, anti-biotics, anti-diarrhoea and anti-vomiting medication...we reckon our bags weigh less than 10 kgs each, and we both still think we are carrying too much!
As we usually do, we will probably end up 'donating' any excess to fellow travellers on the road. For now, au revoir, auf wiedersehn, ciaio, hasta la vista, 再见,hoo roo

Friday, November 28, 2008

Here today, gone tomorrow

I have not been hiding from the blog backlog, just been catching up with 'stuff'...you know what that is like! Time consuming is only part of it. Couple that with the number of phone calls we have been fielding regarding our upcoming trip to India and Sri Lanka and I am so far behind I'm in front! And my intentions about the packing updates have gone by the wayside also: am actually off to cull some of the gear right now.
If we had been on our original schedule, we would have been transiting via Mumbai on the first day of the terrorist action. As it is, we transit in about 8 days from now with hopefully everything more sorted than it is now. I am sure it will be much more security with each leg: I know that's a good thing, just means even more time at airports. I am taking bamboo circular needles and some wool to knit I-cord while I kill time
We fly to Delhi, visit the Taj Mahal (not the hotel), maybe Jaipur, but other than that, a few days in both Old and New Delhi before we head south to the cardamom (spice) hills and Cochin. All up about 2.5 weeks in India, then off to Sri Lanka. And, no, we will not be going up north where the Tamil Tiger action is.
I may just post occasionally while on the road so you can check up on our well being if you are so inclined.
For everyone (just in case my intentions are better than the reality), enjoy whatever end of year celebrations are appropriate to you. We will be back on home soil on December 30, just in time to sleep through all the New Year's Eve fireworks. Have a glass or 10 of bubbly for us

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Has it really been THAT long....? Long

Where have I been hiding since the last blog?
Well, I got home and despite trying to keep sounding well in my blogs while on the road, I really was feeling v.v.v. sick, losing weight rapidly. I keep remembering Spike Milligan's headstone..." I told you I was sick!"....I really felt that I should be ordering some marble or sending the 'last post' to the blog: my poor daughter thought I was dying I looked so bad: not what any mother really wants to hear.
Numerous visits to doctors, tons of tests finally sent me packing off to hospital for emergency surgery.
I can't believe how much better I feel with some food and fluid back in my system and the problem repaired. Keyhole surgery has seen me get back to feeling well enough to travel. My hubby took a redundancy package after 26 years with the one company, and we had planned our trip as a "de-congest the brain" before he comes back and looks for another job...maybe a part-time one of about 40 hours per week this time!
The trip to India/Sri Lanka has been abbreviated and we are now leaving on November 30.
Since it has been such a tumultuous time, I have decided to take it easy all of December, and start posting regularly again in January 2009 with lots of new and exciting stuff happening.
I will be keeping you up to date with packing (and what I am discarding from the original packing effort) as I cannot carry too much weight or lift anything too heavy at the moment.
And I have to say, it is so sad that I cannot hang the washing out or do too much housework at the moment either.....oh, dear.
BTW, those of you who tried to download the free Ebooks can now do so...it is all up and running.