"Your living my dream"...

...a friend said this morning in an email. It certainly feels like a dream- we leave for the airport shortly!

We had a few beers last night, after busy day of buying last minute things and packing all our gear. Despite taking few clothes, our bags are stuffed, mainly due to sleeping bags, ground-mats, mossi-nets, repellents, and months of anti-malaria tablets.

My evil twin rang me this morning to wish me well, and asked if I was excited yet. Not really, but I am getting there, now the bags are packed and I'm dressed in my cargo pants and shirt, hiking-boots on and ready to go. But it was hard to get excited while queuing for 5 hours at the consul for visas, or bombing it up and down the M6, or catching up with my old mate Tom who I ain't seen for 6 months.

But now we're off-just hours until our flight.

The next post will be from Kenya.

Hmm, yep, feeling slightly excited I think.

Packing!

This:

Into this:

And that's it, all my belongings for the next 7 months.... Yet it still feels like I got far too much. Mrs Grasshopper has only slightly more than me- which is extrordinary, as she can normally fill my car-boot with luggage when going away for just a weekend!

So we are now all packed and we fly tomorrow, after a crazy last couple of weeks getting visas, jabs, doctors visits, dentist check-ups, awards, sleeping matts, saying last goodbyes, keeping the bank manager happy, and even going to Glasgow to see my wonderful family one night.

I've drove between 120 and 320 miles a day over the past week or so, but its nothing really- we fly to Africa tomorrow!

I'd better get a cold beer while I can...

Our Itinerary

We fly out on the 31st of October. The plan so far is thus:

1st November- 28th November- Masaai Project, Kenya

We'll be living in the Masaai Ranch lands, living in tented research camps just outside Amboseli National Park, and also the boarder of Tsavo-west National park, at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro.
We will be working on Lion and Elephant conservation projects, going out into the bush each day tracking the animals for counting and data collection with local Masaai scouts and full-time researchers. We'll be working and living out in the bush, going on safari in 4X4s and on foot every day during the week. At weekends we'll be recovering and visiting nearby Masaai villages. It's unlikely I'll be able to update this blog much then, as the nearest single computer is a few hours drive away, and there is usually a queue.
We'll have a few days at the end of our work in Nairobi before we fly out on the 2nd of December to Delhi, via an overnight stay in Dubai.

3rd December- 31st December- Himachal Project, North India

We'll be living with local families in the foothills of the Himalayas (it will be cold!), working at one of a number of projects run by a company called IDEX.
We'll find out what exactly we are doing when we get there, most likely assisting in child care at local centers, known as Aanganbari, a school for mentally challenged children, or assisting local teachers in schools.
Extra volunteer work is available at a local orphan home, children's hospital and helping with maintenance of institutional facilities.
Prior to the project and afterwards, we'll get a day or so in Delhi and Amritsar as well as a week in Jaipur, where we will be given a crash-course in Hindi, teaching practices, as well as the Hindu religion, caste system, and contemporary Indian issues.
As well as visiting the Taj Mahal, we'll get chance to go trekking in the Himalayas. We have from the 31st of December to the 14th of January free, so we'll get out and about northern India as much as we can before we fly to Mumbai.

14th January- 12th Febuary- 2008 Goa Project, Southern India

We'll be living in basic purpose-built accommodation on Colva Beach, with volunteer placements available at the local Aanganbari, special education camps for children of immigrant and slum dwelling families and a school for mentally challenged children.
Before we start work, we'll have some free time in Lonavla, go trekking, camping, climbing and visiting villages in the countryside away from tourist development. We will also visit the Ashram for a couple of days before catching the train to Goa.
On the 12th, we fly to Bangkok...

12th February- 8th April- Muay Thai training and travel

We'll spend a few days in Bangkok, and then travel to a Thai-boxing camp, where we will be living, right on the beach in our own small bungalow on stilts. I will be training a couple of hours both morning and afternoons, 6 days a week. I've not been able to train much this year at all (by god it shows!), but there is plenty of opportunity to regain my fitness while traveling, and improve my technique and fitness while I'm there.
We will be living, training and eating alongside local fighters and other visiting students, and in between training sessions, we will have the opportunity to learn Thai cooking, and Thai massage, as well as relax and enjoy the island setting.
Before we fly to Australia, we would like to briefly visit Cambodia and Vietnam, depending on how we feel. The time is our own until the 9th of April, when we fly from Bangkok to Sydney, so we'll take it as it comes.

9th April- 20th May - Seeing my Parents and Brothers!

We fly into Sydney for the 2nd time since they immigrated to a town outside Sydney at the start of 2004. Not sure quite what we are doing while in Oz, other than spending time with my parents and three little brothers... Who are not that little anymore...
Maybe we will see a bit outside New South Wales, but to be honest, it's too far off yet to plan. My eldest younger bro lives in the city center and my parents in the suburbs, and we'll be spending time with them all, as we have not seen them since the Christmas/new year after they left.

On the 20th, it's all over. We're flying back to blighty, to get back on with the Job, and choose our new life. A family, a new washing-machine, car, compact disc player and electric tin opener. Good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Fixed interest mortgage repayments, starter home, friends, leisurewear and matching luggage. A three piece suite on hire purchase in range of f..

Och, it's a while off yet!!

More Goodbyes...

... but they were OK. Again, thankfully short and sweet, to the point where I'm wondering if I am being a bit heartless. But it's not like we're never coming back to Blighty.

Two good friends of ours gave us St. Christophers, which was very touching. That was this evening, moments before we left the town we have called home for the past 5 years. I doubt we'll ever live in that town again though, which is a bit disconcerting.

The past few weeks have been manic, sorting visas, rabies jabs, packing, attending courses at my other "Job", and of course moving out. This weekend was very busy, speed-loading and un-loading a Luton van, in between rattling up and down the M6, engine screaming as I stupidly
kept trying to drive the van like my coupe car. Not particularly successful, but I did get the van back in time.
Apologies to those who were on the M6 on Saturday...

My evil twin has took some stuff of us to store, and when I turned up at 10pm to unload a sofa bed, his expansive, comfortable sofa and well-stocked beer fridge nearly kept me there until morning. But I managed to refuse a cold-one, instead hauling myself back into the van and down to Stoke and the in-laws, where we are now living for the next 2 weeks.

Which brings me to now, sitting here at the in-laws, drinking a beer and tapping on their lap-top. It's the first time I've really had a minute, and even now Mrs Grasshopper is stressing about who she is going to see when before we leave in a couple of weeks.

Me- no stress at all. It's still not sunk in we're off...