All the beauty of India – Part One

I haven’t written anything in a lonnnngggg time. I guess life just takes over without you realising.

Over this past weekend though, a friend that I hadn’t seen in a very long time was home to visit (she lives and teaches in Hong Kong now and I live at home in South Africa). She told me that she loves following my page. It’s weird; I never really consider that anyone actually takes the time to read what I have to say. Nonetheless, one of the items on my “35+ things to do before 35” is to maintain my blog, even if nobody reads it.

SOOO, thanks Cay for giving me the kick up the butt that I needed. Now I can finally tell the story of our magical journey through India (8 months ago!).

Packing Lists

travel list

I’m a planner, a list maker, an organiser…but when it comes down to it, I’m still always open to the idea of dropping my plans, to do something better!

4 more Mondays, and then we’re off on our trip to India. So what do you think I’m doing in the meanwhile, PLANNING! I can’t contain my excitement.

What would you take on a 3 weeks trip to India? Thats one week up in the Himalayas in December (cold), and then 2 weeks down South causing along the beaches from Kerala to Goa. A bit of a contrast in climates.

So…my thoughts are:

2x leggings

2x warm top (no jacket…to bulky and annoying)

bikinis & underwear & socks 🙂

1x scarf/sarong (good for being conservative and covering up, but also great for using on the beach)

2x maxi skirt (have to cover those legs in India but still cool enough for the heat)

a few tops/tshirts/vests

antibiotics (in preparation for delhi belly) & toiletries

flipflops & trainers

Am I missing anything?

1x boyfriend

iPhone & goPro & selfie stick –> (am I seriously even considering buying one????)

passports & tickets & book (the sequel to Shantaram which has just been released!)

happy energy and a sense of adventure

And I think that should just about do it…

What do you think?

Bare in mind that I’m going to be shopping up a storm while I’m there. I’m bursting with excitement.

It’s been too long since I went on adventure of this scale. ❤

Flights booked! UAE, Oman (maybe) and India here we come!

I’m too excited. We have finally booked our flights for our trip in December 2013. My friends Danni & Cameron (and myself of course) are flying to Dubai from Cape Town where we will stay for two nights with my friend Jay from Uni. He’s living and working in Dubai. (My dream job I might add).

While we’re in Dubai, Jay also wants to take us on a day trip to Oman (if time permits), because there are apparently some beautiful rock pools and caves to see there, and its really not that far away! EPIC! And maybe while I’m there I’ll even be able to set up an interview or two. Fingers crossed. I also have friends working for Emirates as Cabin Crew, so it will be lovely to see their home base.

And then we’re off to Delhi. We haven’t booked yet, but so far, the idea is to see as much of India as we possibly can in the limited time we are there. So, we fly into Delhi, and then want to go to Jaipur and Agra. This is known as the Golden Triangle.

From there we intend to fly from Delhi to Kochi (all the way down South), and gradually work our way up to Goa for New Years, and then up to Mumbai.

We fly back to Cape Town from Mumbai (via Dubai)…

eeeepppp sooo excited! There just seems to be so much magic in India. I cannot wait to get there. I’ve been reading so many blogs about Indian travels. Trying not to get ill from the food. Staying safe. But mostly, just about the magic of it all.

I’m still hoping that my other friend Stacey is going to join us on the trip. But it’s just that first bite of paying for the main flight which frightens people. But once thats done, and you’ve committed, its only excitement from there on.

Anyone want to join us en-route? You’re always welcome!