They say things happen in 3's

Again an apology for no pics. Computers are very slow and my pics quite large. If you wouldn't mind using your imagination for the moment until I can get to a high speed computer ;)

We left Patong for the Similan Islands. It took 1.5hrs to drive to the port then another 1hr by speed boat over the Andaman ocean to the main boat we would dive from. The speed boat was cool at first seeing monitor lizards and flying fish however towards the end of the journey James started to fill sea sick. We boarded the main boat where we had a dive briefing (James still feeling rough) then headed into the ocean. I couldn't decend remaining buyount, I needed more weights. This freaked me out a little on top of my mask fogging constantly. None the less once down to 24meters it was stunning! Our 2nd dive proved to be the winner as we saw an octopus and a sea turtle. It was so amazing. Just like the dolphines. Everything was wild and coming up to you on it's own accord. At one point there were so many fish around me I couldnt' see James or our instructor. I felt like the Little Mermaid (minus the sea shells!)

On the surface James was so violently ill from motion sickness we had to cancel the trip and head back to land. He was so upset and angry however the dive instrutors said they had never seen someone that ill before. Needless to say the speed boat back was quite scary for both of us.

We went back to Patong as needed to go to the Dive Centre re cancellation. The next morning we headed for Khao Lak which was weird as we were covering ground we had already traveled the day before. We spent a nice relaxing day there until whilst rock pool searching James slipped and really hurt his arm cracking it as he feel. I dont' think it's fractured but he went down with a real bump. All so he could get a better look at some crabs!!!

The next morning we got up early to head for Surat Thain where we would catch the train from. James realised he didn't have his passport and procceded to freak out (as you would). I had been preparing for this however I thought it would be because my passport had gone walk about. So I checked emails for insurance details etc and low and behold the hotel in Patong had sent a mail saying they had it and would we like them to send a taxi with it in!!!! How lucky?!?!? We spent that afternoon around the pool waiting for a Mr Bang and Mr Tony to return with James passport. It was the weirdest and funniest situation to be in.

So now these 3 things have happend we are hoping we don't encounter any more surprises along the way ;) The main thing is we have our health and more importantly both our passports!

PADI on Paradise Reef

We are now certified divers! Yeah!

Arriving in Patong beach we booked ourselves onto a 3 day PADI course where we completed 4 12-13meter dives, 5 theroy modules and an exam (which I scored 98 percent in!!!) The dive school even awarded us with there dive school t-shirts! How exciting!!!! The dives were amazing. As well as completing our skills (mask removing and emergency ascents) we got to see Nemo (the real one) a honey combed moray, lion fish and a frog fish. The frog fish was so funny as they are unable to swim having to walk on the sea bed. The one we saw looked like an old punk rocker proping up the bar.

The diving was so much fun that we have enrolled onto the Advanced course where we will be certified to dive down to 30meters although I am not sure why I agreed to this as one of the 7 dives you have to complete is at night!!! I am not looking forward to that however we are promised excellent visibility during the day, allowing us to possibly see turtles, leopard sharks and lots more. James has assured me that if marine life is going to bite anything it will be his masshussive buttocks first!!! That's a relief.

We will be heading to the Similan Islands to do the advanced course aboard (what looks like) arather nice boat and then head for Khao Lak to start our journey north. Negotiating the train system should be fun as it's proving complicated so far then off to Hua Hin.

Sorry there aren't more pics. The system wont upload them. Will post some when in Khao Lak.

Madness and Mayhem in Malaysia

Arriving into Malaysia was quite chilled until James didn't get his backpack on quick enough when getting off the express train from the airport to KL Sentral. The doors ended up closing on us and started off to the next station!!! I freaked as only 5 minutes earlier he had taken the mick out of me for getting ready too quickly. We didn't have a clue where we were headed and I panicked as did James. We were safe, the train only turned round and we were able to get off! Passengers waiting to get on were very puzzled to see us get off an empty train. Hopefuly this will teach Mr Aveling to prepare himself earlier and not rib me about it!

We decided to head for the Taman Negara jungle so off we went in search for trekking, white water raffting and a bit of general knowledge about the area for a tour guide. We gained nothing of the above. We did however manage a soaking wet 3 hour ride up the river which was much more fun than it sounds and a night jungle walk where we saw tons of wildlife. You can only imagine how excited we both were and what a pair of kids we turned into. The funnest thing on the walk was the sleeping birds. James woke one up by shining his touch to close in it's face and I yelled out "He woke it up! That was mean!" The guide wasn't to pleased. We also saw a red posions spider that was hairy (eeww!) and glowing mushrooms!

The accomodations was no where near as good as the activity therefore we got ourselves out of the jungle double quick. We headed back to KL the next day. And that is where we are now. The weather is pretty misserable but we trekked around town today sightseeing which was cool. It's not the nicest city people wise but I can't get over their shopping centres. One of them has a theme park in it wher ethe roller coaster runs around one of the floors! Madness!

We had an experience on the monorail this evening where by it was jammed, just like the tube. One women got on behind james and decided to hold on to his arm. James couldn't stop laughing as she kept gripping then realising what she was holding on to so letting go then gripping. He also had a little boy clinging to his shorts. He was so pleased he had a belt on. He looked funny being so tall, blond and fair in a sea of small dark haired people all clinging to him. All we could do was laugh!!!

We fly to Phuket tomorrow to do our PADI cert if we can. I am excited but quite nervous.

Official Apology!

To my Dearets Fans

This is a sincere apology to you all for not having kept my blog upto date over the past month.

I know it must have been hard not having heard from me but I hope the girls and Jenny's blogs were a sence of confort to you, safe in the knowledge that I was having the time of my life and too busy to do any blogging. This is no excuse however so just for you, my dearest fans, I have blogged some of favourite bits so far.

Naturally I will have missed things as there is just too much to recall but please read and view below to see what has happend, in a tiny tiny nut shell.

I will endevour to keep up the blog from now on......well I will try!

Yours apologetically

Jules xxxx

aka Juicy, Soft as S**t Burnett, Dolly May, English Rose, Burney

Singapore Down Pours

A very sad goodbye was said to the Burnett Clan in Perth as we departed fro Singapore.

On arrival it was humid and sticky coupled with a bad map reader in James and the result is a 5 hungry and tired girls. A very scary concept for James!!! Needless to say we seeked out food in China Town and were much happier.

The next day rained so hard we just had to go shopping where James thought it would be a good idea to spend 1000 english pounds (yes I said 1000) on binoculars and an i-pod! What rain can do to some people is unthinkable!!! The rain also drove the girls to have what sounded like the most painful waxing experience ever.

Day 2 was drier but not much. However we draved the elements and chanced it with a visit to the Night Safari. This was excellent and we were able to see clouded leopards, lions and have fruit bats fly out our heads! We didn't make it home till 1am. What ravers we are!

Sadly Singapore is where James and I waved goodbye to the girls :( They departed fro home sweet home leaving James and I to head for the Raffles Hotel. At first the doorman wouldn't let us into the hotel (I think it was cause James shirt was so loud!) sending us to another bar around the corner which was cheap and nasty. So we hung aorund and slipped in when he wasn't looking! Two singapore Slings later and it was homeward bound on the bus! Oh the Glamour!

Fun with Flipper

As it was James birthday on the 26th of Nov I bought him the experience to swim with wild dolphins. The girls also joined us on this trip so it was off to Rockingham for early o'clock (again) to see if we could get a glimps of the dolphins. Once more it was on with the attractive wetsuits. I think one of the crew was trying to be kind to me when he clearly held up a suit 3 sizes too small. I saved him (and myself) any embarrassment by stating I was not going to fit into THAT suit! I was right.

Due to the dolphins being wild we weren't guarenteed to see them let alone be able to get into the water and swim with them. Quite early on we were in luck. We got into the water and saw a pod feeding off the back of an Eagle Wray!!! This was so exciting and I would have been happy with this but we were on board again in search of more.

Kate and I attempted to make hot drinks whilst the boat was speedign along. Let's just say it was like trying to make tea at 3am having come in after too many vinos without the fuzzy head. We couldn't stand still for the motion and the giggerling. Nightmare! Poor Kate ended up with the sweetiest coffee ever! Yuk!

The second sighting had us in the water for 45 minutes surronded by a pod of at least 15 dolphins by then end of it. Was an magical experience!

Finding Family Down Under

The 26th of November saw us flying to Perth from Alice Springs. I was particularly excited about this for two reasons. 1 - I got to see James as he flew here to start his trip with me and 2 - we were to meet and stay with uncle Lewis and auntie Mary Burnett for the duration of our stay. The last time I saw Lewis and Mary was in the summer of 2005 when they came over to the UK and stayed with Mary's sister in Southend. Now I was in Perth being given big scottish hugs by my wee auntie and uncle!!!! What a joy to see them.

The time we spent in Perth was excellent but not because of it's tourist attractions but because of the family I discovered that I have here. Lewis and Mary have 2 children, Don and Rhona. Don has two daughters Jaimie and Callie. Rhona has twins, Asha and Cohen. The time we all had together was unforgetable. Discovering I have a whole additional part to my family has been one of the best parts of my travels. We all look similar, laugh at the same things and talk alot!!!

I can't wait to plan my next trip to Perth and hope that they will all try and come to the UK ASAP! Thank You for such a wonderful time Burnett Clan! We miss you tons xxxx

Awesome Uluru

When we first arrived in Alice Springs I didn't like it. I felt unsafe. I think this is because we were warned about all the alcoholics around the place but this soon wore off after a sunbath and swim at the hostel. That night we also meet up with Stef and Pierceaser who are good friends of mine from home. They are also traveling for a few months and our paths crossed whilst in town. Was so lovely to see them.

The next day we headed out to Uluru with a great tour guide called Spud and a slightly better bus than the East Coast tour! Over the next 2 days we had champers watching Uluru change colour at sunset, listended to our guide play the didg around an open camp fire and made friends with some wild ozzy's and an american!

I nearly missed Sunrise at Uluru though. We pulled up at 5am I think and as we were picking spots for the best pics a Hungry Horse attack came on (for those in the know you can imagine my horror, for those who aren't you don't want to know!) Well with no convenience in sight I ran to the nearets plush looking coach I could find and found myself pleading with the driver to let me on. All I could imagine was all the Japanese tourists belonging to the coach wondering why some English girl was on board causing such a stench! How I managed to make sunrise I don't know but let's just say I wasn't that bad in India!!!! Poohie!

Pretty Port Douglas

Having finished our East Coast Tour we headed for Port Douglas just north of Cairns. Here we chilled out and caught up with the original Team Canada, Wendy who had been back to Melbourne for a while.

Whilst we were here we went Jungle Surfing in Cape Tribulation (swinging from trees like monkeys) and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. We wanted to Scuba Dive but because we flew out within 24 hours of diving it wasn't possible but snorkeling was just as impressive even if the waves were a bit choppy and scary!

The Parrott Fish lodge where we stayed turned out to be a real find having $10 champagne Happy Hours and a bar tender Josh who also cooked! One night he cooked esp for us ladies rusteling up a Corona Chicken with Pancetta, cherry toms and mushrooms! I thougth we were backpacking but here we lived like Princess! It was bliss.

Whitsundays With Love

The Whitsundays was my favourite trip of my travels so far. It was such a stunning place in all weathers and we just had the best time on the Boomerang yacht! The crew were excellent and a lot of funny with Max being a brilliant chef cooking us up Nachos and dips ready for us when we got back from snorkeling. We spent 3 days and 2 nights in total on board.

The 2nd day we headed for the beach where after managing to get some postcard pictures it poured with rain!!!! Dancing to YMCA on deck that evening made up for the bad weather and watching Kate run around with Franchies speedos over her shorts was a real treat. The biggest fright was going to bed and finding a crew member, Trevor, already lying there with my sunglasses on!!! Stacey couldn't breath for laughing so much.

Our final day saw us pulling down sails in attractive green and yellow anoracks but still keeping the chic in sailing by wearing our sunnies!

Ristricted Access

So we have been out on a ranch and in the bush for the good part of last week hence the lack of blogging.

Fraser Island was beautiful but a bit of a wash out. It rained nearly the whole time we were there : ( We left Rainbow beach after 2 days of being on Fraser but not before we had been sea kyaking! Being taught by the very healthy and strong instructor 'Byron', the girls and I were treated to a morning of beautiful views. We didn't see any dolphins or turtles but that did not matter! I however had to share a kyak with the crazy italian on our bus Francie who refused to row!! After much telling offs and demanding I was named Capitan Unchino (spelling?) which translates into English as Captain Hock! Nice!

It was onto the ranch at Kroombit. The 1st night we arrived we had to cross dress for the evenings events. We all made spectacular men with eyeliner tashes and bad outfits. The men beat us by miles, stuffing socks into bras and painting eyeshadows on. It was hilarious. It got better when we had to ride the machincal bull! Katie polvolting herself over the bull having overestimated it's width was the highlight of the evening! Sore heads we rose the next day to go Goat musting on horse back, take part in goat rodeo and clay pigeon shooting. Kroombit was totally crazy and everything you expect from and Ozzie ranch! We all had an excellent time here.

From the outback to the Bush, Carnarvon Gorge was our next stop. Just imagine "Iam a celebrity, get me out of here" with canvas tents and you have our next 2 days. Bugs the size of your hand and Cookabaras that are so loud they sound like monkeys. The Kangaroos live here too and came right up to the grounds being only feet away from us. It was amazing but I had a few freak outs when things crash landed on my head & walking into spider webs! Gross! We did a 15-20k walk through the gorge and then our guide had a little hissy tiff when we suggested he didn't prpear our lunch with his dirty hands! Yuk! After his sulk in the bus he was ok.

Leaving here we travelled 10 hours on our lovely squashed bus to Airline Beach where we are now and about to get on a racing yacht called the Boomarang! We sail for 3days and 2nights round the whitsunday islands which I can't wait for. Sorry this is so brief but time is restricted. For more insight do visit www.thegirlsareaway.blogspot.com and Jen's blog (link is on the girls blog) I know, I know, this is a cop out but they are much better at blooging than me!!!! ;)

Laters,

Jules xxxx

What's with the early mornings?!?!?!?

6am we were stood outside the Oz Experience office in Sydney!!! 6AM! What is the world coming too?!?!? I was still trying to get over my 5am night out. Our trip up the East Coast began and we headed for Arrawarra, a place so remote it's not even in "the book". This was home to Mojo Surf Camp where we were greated with the most beautiful site of fit, toned and tanned male bodies. Totally worth the 6 hour drive we had just endured. An example of one of these specimens can be seen here heading into the surf. What a treat!!!

Once our eyes had adjusted to the glare of beauty around us we noticed the beach was also stunning. We were then joined for a walk by the Surf Camp dog "Mojo who quickly became friends with Debbie! That evening was drinks round the camp fire on the beach. I loved this. The guy playing guitar&singing made a really rude song up about Stacey, Jen and I. Ask Jen to play it to you when she gets home, hilarious!

Day 2 at Surf Camp and we were woken up at 6:30am. What is wrong with these Australian folk? Weirdos! Brekkie was yummy but I def was not in my wet suit! Priceless. I am surprised I wasn't harponned in the sea! I didn't look much better on a board and considering I was the only one not to have stood on my board whilst it was in motion topped it off. Despite the failure I had an amazing time and really enjoyed surfing. I am better at skiing but would not turn down another oportunity to surf again. Teaches me right for laughing my head off at the thought of Miss L surfing. She did very well (but still cracked me up in her wet suit!!!)

That evening we spent in Brisbane then another 5:30am get up to drive to Rainbow Beach near Fraser Island where we venture to tomorrow. We were meant to go sea kyaking this afternoon but it's been postponed until Friday. Thank goodness cause the weather is rubbish and I am knackered from the early mornings. Do comment on our blogs when you read them as we love hearing from you all. Much love. xx

Cocktails and Blue Mountains

We have done so much since we arrived in Sydney that's it's all been a bit of a blur.

We have toured the city, been out for chinese where Jen nearly fell asleep in her chilli beef, gone to "the zoo the zoo the zoo, we went to the zoo the zoo the zoo"(bloody song has been stuck in my head ever since!) been out for swanky drinks at Iceberg down at Bondi beach, visited the Blue mountains and sang bad karaoke in an old mans pub followed by a night of drunken dancing with Team Canada until 5am this morning!

Stacey's work kindly gave her vouchers for Iceberg as they didn't feel she would gel with roughing it like a backpacker to well. We all dressed up, boarded the 380 bus to Bondi(classy ladies that we are) and ended up at the end of the line. The bus driver had totally forgotten to tell us where to get off after being asked to do so. We couldn't believe it. All dressed up stranded in the middle of Bondi. We made it there in the end and what a treat it was. Positioned on the cliffs over looking the ocean and the beach we sat drinking bellinis and eating cheese&biscuts. Very posh! We had such a lovely evening and the bus ride home was just as amuzing remonising about school and getting myself into trouble with secrets as usual!

A visit to the Blue mountains was embarked on with our tour guide Wild Bill! He was an Australian version of Billy Connelly. What he didn't know about the moutains wasn't worth knowing and he made our day so enjoyable. Katie even won first prize for her aberigional drawing on a bit of bark, rather artistic I must say. A few treks and some lovely lunch later we were due to ride the stepest train in the world. My face said it all at the end. I was petrefied but well worth it.

I took the girls to Uliveto for breakfast this morning as this is somewhere I visited often with Alex when I was last here. They all really enjoyed themselves and loved the food. Stacey's friend Sara also came with us which was nice.

We leave Sydney tomorrow am at 6:20! to start our east coast tour. I am so excited but not about the time I have to get up. The girls did there Bridge Climb this afternoon so I am back off to the hostel to see how they did.

Here I am in Sydney! I made the 32 hour journey from Goa to mumbai then onto Sydney. I was so sad to say goodbye to India but on the other hand I was ready to leave. Such an amazing country with so much to see exhausted me.

Arriving on the 29th of Oct I got the shuttle bus to the Wake Up! hostel where I met Team Canada! Wendy was on my bus and staying on the same floor as me so we hung out for a bit as Stacey, Debbie and Kate weren't due for another 2 hours. On returning from the supper market the 3 of them jumped out on me from the lifts and there was lots of screaming and hugging. I am sure people in reception thought we were insane not to mention poor Wendy!

With full bellies from a decent pasta dinner and heavey eyes we returned to the hostel. I went upstairs to call Gemma and James. Whilst on the phone the girls appeared out of the lift suggesting drinks?!?!?! Were they mad? There was no way I could have gone for a drink even if I had wanted to. I was beat. Kate said "are you sure cause we found something that might persuade you to come out" then from round the corner appeard a little Jenny, rucksack and all!!!!!!!!! I screamed so loudly that I woke the floor up and got told off!!! Not caring and hugging Jen within an inch of her life I burst into tears of joy (they don't call me soft as s*#t burnett for nothing). Needles to say we went out for drinks (goodness knows how). What a wonderful surprise and the most amazing end to a drained day. So glad to have you here Jen! Me thinks this is going to be the trip of a life time as it has already proved to be.

Goodbye to the 2 L's

What an amazing time we have had! Leaving Anjuna on the 25th of October we headed for Arambol further North. A minging hangover and a hot day saw me pretty fed up whilst having to lug my backpack across the beach! Lesley and Nicole went accomodation shopping and scored highly. A basic room with a firm bed and the most spectacular view of the ocean allowed my soar head to mend. We even saw Dolphines out in the ocean from our porch! Bliss!

Yahoo and Ellesie (not their real names but we couldn't pronounce them properly so made these ones up!) showed up one last time to try and persuade Lou to go south but we were staying put(old Yahoo was smitten with Lou!). Nicole then spotted a rather fine example of a man on the beach the following day. Egging her on she chatted him up and that's how we landed ourselves a dinner date with Mr Scotland and his mate Onslow! The evening was spent laughing and giggling at the most random stuff ending with Nicole snogging Mr Scotlands face off! Nice!

3 nights later and I was preparing for my next leg of the journey. Goa to Mumbai then Sydney. I was so sad to leave the 2 L's as I had one of the most memorable times of my life. Talking none stop for hours in the sea and sharing Pacorra's. Girls, thank you! It was truly amazing.

Goan Dream

My last day in Varanassi was a scary one. A nasty local kept following Mel&I around and even attempted to grope us. As he did I turned around and thumped his shoulder. He didn't get the hint and kept following us making us feel terrible and quie scared so I took my Birkenstock off, raised it above my head threatening to hit him with it shouting "GO AWAY! LEAVE US ALONE AND GET LOST!" Everyone turned to look & laughed as he ran away covering in his head fro protection. Wether at him or me I am not sure but he got the message. Looking back it's funny but at the time we were so scared.

An over night sleeper train took us back to Delhi which was the most fun I have had in ages. We all got the giggles at having to sleep in bunck beds and generally laughed all the way to Delhi.

Now I am in Goa with the lovely Lou&Lesley. I randomly bumped into Lesley on the beach. We have stayed in this shack type room for the last two nights sharing 2 beds between 3 of us! Only cost us 5 quid a night though! Needless to say after an amazing day of sunbathing, a massage on the beach and a trip to the flea market we all got wasted watching the sun go down whilst the aging hippies palyed there crazy music. Iwas a night to remember. Oh yeah and Lou has managed to find her foreign man, surprise surprise.

xxx

Nearly Over :(

I survived rafting! So much water went in my mouth I thought I might die but no! I still haven't been ill! WooHoo! Needles to say my Delhi Belly Diet has not gone according to plan but I am not moaning.

Leaving Orchha we headed east to Khajahro (sorry re spelling) which wasn't the nicest of places. Everyone hasseled us none stop but to a degree where your private space was entered and no was not taken for an answer. The guest house was crawling with bugs too. Yukk!

Onto the Ken River in Panna National Park. What a change of scene! Beautiful lush jungle where we stayed in this wicked outback lodge (Jen you would have loved it!) Here we went Tiger spotting. Sadly I didn't see any Bengal tigers and was a little dissapointed however the safari was excellent and the nature nothing what I expected.

Next place was Chitrakott (might has well be renamed shitrakoot) which is meant to be where Rama(Hindu God) spent 11 of his 14 years in exile. Although not the prettiest of places (beyond a joke) the people were much nicer here and we taught our waiter how to say "Cuppa Tea" which he responsed "but I not a cuppa tea" You had to be there I suppose! Next was Allahabad where the three sacred rivers meet and all join into the Ganges. This is where Kumbe Mela is held every 12 years ad is one of the largest religious gatherings on earth (Dad rekons he is going in 2013 but I don't think he will handle the dirt&bartering!!!!)

Now in Varanassi where at 5:30am this morning I was sat on a boat on the Ganges watching the sun rise whilst the ghats filled with Hindu worshipers coming to take their daily soak. AMAZING! Needless to say I wasn't the best person to have a conversation with but I enjoyed the views through my crust filled eyes enjoying every minute, quite moving really.

Have just had a massage (an expereince needing a post of it's own!) I am stressing a little that I still can't upload pictures. Internet just isn't powerful enough :(

Hope everyone is well. xxx

Land of Plenty

Sat in an internet house, bare foot waiting endlessley for the slow system and my photos to be burned to disc, life couldn't be better! So much has happend since my slightly anxious afternoon in Delhi that I sadly wont be able to share all :(

Currently in Orchha for 2 nights where the people are a little more harrassing but not intimidating The best bit about today was that I saw my first monkeys just lounging around Orchha temple. Their tales were so long! Loved them!!! We arrived yesterday from Chanderi where we travelled 5 hours on the bus. Nightmare.

Chanderi was a small village where we also stayed two nights. This place was amazing. Not for the sights but the people. Never before had I meet such happy welcoming people. They treated us like film stars when we arrived. Shouting and wanting to shake our hands. The kids were the best. All they wanted was their photo taken. When I showed it to them on the digital camera they went crazy. Their little faces were such a delight. We also ate dinner with a local family. The food was out of this world!! We were also treated to traditional henna designs on our hands and feet which I must say are very beautiful!

Before Chanderi was Agra where the Tag Mahal is. What an experience. We were there for sunset which made the building change in colour several times. The only down side were the crowds, so many people were there that it spoilt the atmosphere a little. We were also joined by a couple in Agra, Martin and Abigail who are really nice. The four of us have been haggerling in the market already! So now it's an afternoon of rafting down the Betwa River before our cooking class this evening. Apparently it's the cleanest in India - Yeah RIGHT!!!

Chelo! (Let's go!) xxxxx

P.S. Photos are coming, aslong and Mr Orchha hasn't deleted the all! EEEkkkkk!!

Julie sets fourth into the unknown

Sensory Over Load!!!

I made it! Here I am sat in New Delhi having found a "cyber cafe" not quite believing that I am here. I can't begin to discribe what I have experienced so I will just try and explain by listing the random things I have been up to.

Arrived on Monday 8th around 6:30am. The taxi ride to the hotel was an experience in it's self. None of the roads have markings and when they do no one sticks to one lane. On arrival at the hotel I had a sip of some (sealed) bottled water which after 2 minutes made me lose my stomach! Nice welcome to India. So when my room became fee I just slept after adding the good old purification tablets to the bottle water. Around 2pm there was a knock on the door. I was in such shock that I opened the door with my eye mask half way up my forehead with all my hair askew to be meet by another traveller, Melissa! She must have had the fright of her life seeing me in that state. I was shocked to know someone was sharing my room as there was only one double bed!! Good job we get on!!!

Sanjay (Don't you just love his name, adds to the experience!) our group leader took us for our first meal in Delhi last night. Very apprehensively we ordered and were surprised how good it all tasted. Lots of locals were eating there too which is always a good sign. We tried Lassi (Rach, it's so nice!) and the whole meal cost a whoppping 3quid! Dead chuffed&still no Delhi Belly.

Today we hit Old Delhi with Sanjay. The bus journey was the funniest thing, no different to the tube with crowding but the chaotic order in which it operated was fasinating. You have to get on at the back and leave by the front. We got on at the front though as the conductor let us. Don't think most of the passengers were happy about this but then they never seem to be happy anyway. They love to stare at us too. This is odd at first but after a while it's ok, I suppose we do look like aliens with our cameras and pale skin! Visiting Old Delhi& the tiny back alliways, Sanjay had us taste ginger tea off a side stale. I was so British about the whole thing at first, having my reservations, but Mel was more enthusiastic so I went with it. After all the liquid was boiled within an inch of it's life!! Surprise Surprise, it was lovely (James you would have liked it due to the Ginger) and no want to vom so I was happy :) He then had us try some food further down the bazarr. I totally freaked but smiled and said ok! (am I mad...YES!) so we had chipati with mint and cauliflour. Again really nice and no signs of dysentry or fever!

Having visited the largest Mosque in Asia (apparently) we went on to the Sikh temple which was so beautiful. We had to take our shoes off again but this time they had to be washed at the door. We also had to cover out heads. Inside was so ornate, everything covered in gold and strewn with strings of orange&yellow carnations. The singing also was wonderful, wonder if they would flog me a CD?!?!?

So now it's free time. Mel and I are alone while Sanjay does some paper work? Oh I forgot to mention, Mel and I are the only ones on the tour so far! We meet another couple in Agra tomorrow but at the mo we have had our own private guide. In some ways this is great in others a bit weird as it would have been good to meet other travellers. Either way we are here and about to venture out on our own. We have decided to get an autorickshaw to India Gate and then another to our hotel to get over this sensory expereince! Luckily the hotel has hot water for a shower! Yeah!!!

Tomorrow is a 6am start(I must set the alarm!)to board a train to Agra where we will visit the Tag Mahal and the Red Fort! Eekk! Sorry no photos yet and also for the bad spelling. You wouldn't believe how sticky the keyboard is...ok maybe you would but hey! I have antibacterial gel, I am fine!!!!

Narmastar (goodbye!) for now.

The time has finally come.....

....for me to pack my backpack and see the world. Well India, Australia, Malaysia and Thailand to be precise but it's a start.



Having wanted to do this for so long it's a weird feeling knowing that in less than two weeks I shall be heading to Delhi (alone!) to start a two week tour of North India. After this hair raising experience I shall be flying down to Goa where I meet two friends (crazy Lou & Lesley) for some sunbathing with the sacred cows!!!!



With my bindi firmly in place and my chakra cleansed it's onto Sydney where I meet the girls (catch up with them at http://thegirlsareaway.blogspot.com/) for Bondi bathing & travel swapping tales. Together we will trek the East Coast, discover Ayres Rock and cruise onto Perth where we will be joined by James.



Leaving Australia we all fly to Singapore and sadly wave good bye to the girls after a few days as they fly home. James and I then head up through Malaysia (look out for Bungle in the jungle stories) to the West Coast of Thailand where we hope to do some diving & find Nemo's cousin! On to Bangkok where we then fly home in time for New Years Eve and some serious partying with my new tan!!!!

Join me on my trip of a lifetime, the view will be great ;)