The Grand Plan

I love coming home. I’ve always had it pretty sweet, still occupying the largest room in the house, a brand new car, the most generous loving parents, it does make it wonder why I ever moved out in first place.

But exactly two months since I touched down on UK soil quoting “it’s now time to settle”, I’m off again. I just couldn’t help myself. And like all the times as a child when I happened to do something I really shouldn’t have ought to, I blame my brother.

My younger brother Peter escaped the madhouse nest in September 2015, embarking on a cycling tour around Africa. He’s been happily sleeping rough and peddling his way through some unbelievable situations for the past four months and suggested I join him in India. Don’t get me wrong, I love cycling but the thought of relying on my recently appeared chubster legs to get me across a 3.3 million square kilometre sub-continent terrifies me. Not to mention I hate camping and the idea of swapping my memory foam mattress for a minuscule spot in Pete’s one man tent just baffles me.

My home for the next few months

And why, why the hell would I want to leave all the possessions I have built up over these 27 years of life behind. No change of clothes, no make up, no expensive skin care, my dearest Russell & Bromley shoes all gone, along with any aspect of my feminine self.

Life would be boring if it was easy right?!

So let’s get on the “Grand Plan” which quite frankly consists of no real plan at all. I find it best like that.

 

On the 3rd February I will be flying to Delhi to spend a night in the airport thanks to Air India. My delayed connecting flight will take me to Kathmandu, too late to catch the bus to my destination nestled in Nepal’s Himalayas.

While I wait for Pete to arrive from Kenya, I’ll help volunteer with a company called All Hands who I worked with in The Philippines in 2014.

What better training for a cycle tour around India than two weeks clearing rubble and rebuilding homes affected by the 2015 earthquake. Preparing for a challenge with a challenge whilst helping others. It’s a no brainer really.

Once Pete arrives from Kenya we’ll spend a week sorting out the countless paperwork and logistics required for India and (hopefully) squeeze in a bit of what Nepal is famous for, trekking. Once we are good to go, we’ll hop on a flight to India’s southern state Kerala and attempt to find me a bike.

 

Now THIS I am not looking forward to. Being offered “tourist” prices for items much cheaper to locals is my number one pet hate along with the art of bargaining and the act of shopping itself. Once I have a bike to accompany Pete’s £100 trooper, we’ll cycle north along the west coast to Mumbai, north west into the Rajasthan dessert, across to New Delhi and the golden triangle, up to Himachal Pradeshat the north of India and then who knows……

There’s no real plan as such, just a couple of bikes, a one man tent and a pair of siblings who’s views in life couldn’t be more apart. I hope it works out, I hope we stay safe and I hope to share with you our stories from the road.

What I can guarantee is while this is possibly the hardest most craziest thing I’ve done, life this year will be anything but boring.

Join our journey, I’ll keep you posted.