15 days to go......

After a Christmas weekend with very special friends and two days of excessive eating and drinking, we woke up to a flooded garden and the friendly face of Boerkie! Great food, thank you all for the contributions and Katheleeny for taking five loads of empties to the recycle bins in JHB. Love special friends that made up for the family that was not there. Thank you all!!

The best thing that has ever been invented is booking on line prior to a flight! Check in,through to customs, in less than 15 mins, and with the Gautrain straight into O R Tambo, what a pleasure.

Got to walk the red carpet of the 'First Class' counter......closest I've ever been to turning left onto a plane, still not quite there. Fastest eight hour flight on the new AIrbus 380, amazing leg room and a good incline on the seat, with super HD wide screen! Three movies later, two meals and a very hard landing (not surprising when it weighs 650 tons) and we are here now in Dubai. Have a four hour wait and it's now two in the morning!! Sitting in the Diners Club lounge.....free food and drinks. This airport is so busy, no matter what time, love the congregation of all the different nationalities......my favorite true travel feeling.

By the way, back pack option was a good call, one with wheels (mine,no doubt) one without and two smaller back packs as hand luggage!

Having had a few days in the bush has made us slowly ease into the holiday spirit, a mad few days coming up and then we are off!!

I was fortunate enough to spend a few hours with a friend and colleague in Hoedspruit who was in Southern India in February of this year and has shared some dos and don't s for our trip. The one I remember most is to eat a chilli pip every now and then to stop your stomach from bloating from eating too much rice!!! Love it, apart from that was what extras to take with us.......hand disinfectant, toilet paper (don't worry too much about blocking the drains.....!!!), wet wipes and extra socks for walking through the temples without your shoes.....!!! Rose absolutely loved India and had some amazing photographs too share...Thank you Rose, much appreciated and cannot wait, has just set the scene so well.

Backpack definitely the way to go and remember to take the AC 3, which is the train carriage marked A3 which is a compartment with air con and three levels of beds.....but if you can afford it, advisable to go "Premier"!!! Watch out for the head wobbles in the South!!!! Cannot wait....

The frightening thing is that having not done any Christmas shopping yet, I find that leaving for India so far away!! I know it's going to catch up with me real soon. But I have been absolutely spoilt, as I received MY Christmas present today from Jim. Something that I can see will assist in the blogging of our trip. An iPad .....yes, so here we are both lying in bed, surrounded by gadgets!! Something I am normally so dead against, but as they say, "if you can't beat them, join them". I am already converted.
Thank you not Jim not only for the amazing gift, but also for an amazing 10 years together tomorrow.

back to India...

Visas are required and getting those tomorrow. Fortunately no vaccinations.

Have also looked at some carry bags.....any suggestions on whether a suitcase or a backpack, is best? I Am keen on the backpack, maybe just to remind me of my previous backpacking days at the age of 25.....no!! Just the praticality of the fact that we will be on busses, trains, boats, taxis etc and cannot imagine anything worse than luging a suitcase about. Any ideas, most welcome!! I also can limit the amount of clothes to take along! Jim will be so impressed!!

Will attempt the Christmas shopping again tomorrow.

Who would have thought that we would ever get to India. It was a last minute decision and only when the 'money came through'. is all I kept hearing.....but here we are with only 15 days to go before we leave.

First, a little trip to our farm in the bushveld, which I thought, why not include in our travel blog...it has all to do with OUR holidays and adventures and is very much part of who we are too. Seeing we were asked about our 'favorite places' in the profile, can't see why not. Also will get me use to this 'blogging routine that I am going to need to get use to and hoefully off my new iPad (which I hope to get for Christmas) how more blatant can one get!!!