The Carlton Hotel Folkestone

Next stop was Calais, sort of. We didn't really stay in Calais but we kept getting drawn back there for one reason or another. It is the closest city to the U.K at just 34kms of water in between the two. We first decided to stop there to stretch our legs and grab a bite to eat. The city isn't huge and besides a few nice buildings there wasn’t too much to see. We got some good food at a restobar ...

... I had just determined to forget it and go to Broadstairs instead, when my stubborn side kicked in. I was going no matter how late it was.

I trotted myself down to the Canterbury bus station about noon and headed out. The trip went by fairly quickly (not quite two hours), the last 10 or 15 minutes of which were spend with eyes wide/jaw dropped. Now, don't ask me why because I'm not quite ...

... It is going to be amazing though, first stop is Kenya and we should arrive there at 8.50pm ish tonight (6.50pm here). Then we have to get our visas at the airport - I am feeling totally clueless about all this kind of stuff still, but apparently it is quite easy to do. We start our 'South East Adventure' as it is known on Sunday, so looking forward to meeting some of the tour group today on the plane/at the hotel.

Ross is still in ...

... bus from Satara to Panaji
Night on bus

Tues 29:
Arrive in Panaji at about 8am
Take bus to Calangute – 45 mins
Night in Calangute/ Candolim

Wed 30th:
Visit Calangute
Depart for Madgaon
Depart from Madgaon to Jog falls OR
Depart from Madgaon to Ernakulam (Train – 14hrs)
Night on train/bus

Thurs 1st Oct:
Visit Backwaters - Allepey
Depart for Coimbatore (Train – 8-9 hours) bus?
Night in Coimbatore ...

... 3 hours 45 mins to get to Pune(a mere 100
miles). This is when I start realising that possibly half of this trip
might be spent travelling.

But that doesn’t bother me one little bit. On the contrary, it gets me
more excited and anxious. I have always wanted to see India but not
from a Limo window or from an aircraft window. I want to see India ‘Up,
Close & Personal’.
Ramsgate, England, United Kingdom kartik_bhudia

Here we go......

I recently watched a movie called 'Julie & Julia' starring Meryl
Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams who plays a character called Julie
Powell. Julie turns 30 and has nothing interesting in her life. She
doesn't enjoy her job and wants to do something that she enjoys. She
loves cooking and is an avid fan of Julia Child who has written a
cookbook for servantless American women! So Julie then decides that she
is ...

... coaches, cars, cyclists, and the years over our heads. We decided to drive on. It's a skill that we will develop. Tick that off our “Yes List”, that we have written a few minutes after we got onto the road this morning. Mental note: remember that newbury is a NICE place. We got a free can of engine starter fluid from the first mechanic, and advice and reassurance from the second one. And we didn't have to pay a penny.
There is a trick to moving forward.
Don't ...

... due to a couple of little incidents on the way. We had a new inverter delivered yesterday morning as the original failed on Friday so I attempted to install that this morning but ran out of time. We were making good time to Dover but we needed to fill up the gas before we left the country as we had no time to get a French adaptor. The pump we found filled ...

S*rry I skipped the update last week. We have been crazy busy. Our sea shipment arrived *n Friday, Decemb** 7th s* it's been unpacking and *rganizing and d*ing s*me creative st*ring. I started w*rk *n the 3rd. That is g*ing well. I am adjusting t* my surr*undings and sl*wly m*ving all *f my stuff that I had at my desk in Ann Arb*r t* my desk h**e. I am taking the bus t* and fr*m which is als* g*ing well except f*r *ne ...

Time to spend a few last days with the family, throw stuff in the attic, figure out what the hell I'm taking with me(!), to explain to the dog what's happening and that all the bags don't mean she's moving home again. Somehow, I ended up decorating a bedroom in the house which was strangely cathartic and distracting, but did contribute to a mad session of packing the day before I leave. A quick dash to get my last round of shots ...