Friends

Time's getting close now!!!

Off to meet up with two good friends tonight,say our goodbye's and eat good Indian food.
The estate agent called today to have a look round the house and garden.The house will be advertised for rental in September.It won't be long before we're up to our eyes in boxes and bubble wrap.Mannaged to book our hotel in Bodhgaya.We will be staying in The vietnamese Temple near to the large Buddha Statue.Our good friend Dorothy told us about it.Athena called this morning.She will be at the Monlam with one of her sons.Had a lovely chat about the Monlam and this and that.It'll be nice to catch up with her in India.

Bought our tickets to India today, we will be flying from Heathrow to Bangalore on Oct 3 via Mumbai. So now the trip becomes a reality, there is so much to do in the space of the next 6 weeks so its all systems go.
We will be going out for a meal with Anne and Shree on Wed so that'll be nice, to catch up with them, share our plans and also see what they have been up to.
I have planned a vague sort of itinery but i am sure that will change as time goes on but at least it will provide some kind of plan to this trip.
We wont be returning to UK until around July/Aug 2011 and the hope is to spend time at a number of places and just soak up the atmosphere and make each place we stay our home for a while without too mkuch rushing around.
So the itinery looks something like this.
Oct4 Arrive Bangalore
Oct 5-Nov 7 Puttaparthi where hopefully we can stay at our friend Nirmala's apartment.
Nov 8 Bangalore
Nov 9-22 Tiruvannamali( which i am really looking forward to).Home of the great saint Ramana Maharsi.
Nov 23-26 Chidambaram, home to the great Nataraj Temple.
Nov 27-29 Pondicherry, chill out by the sea.
Nov 30-Dec 4 Mammalapuram..more chilling by the sea.
Dec 5 Chennai
Dec 6 Fly to Patna.and onto Bodh Gaya.
Dec 6 -Jan 11 ish Bodh Gaya.
Jan 12-30 Sarnath and Varanasi.
Feb 1 Overland to Kathmandu
Feb 1-10 stay at Benchen monastery
Feb 11- May11 Stay at Osel Ling monastery
May 12 Fly to Delhi and stgay in Delhi 1 night.
May 13 Bus to Dharamsala and stay for 2 weeks.
May 28-June 28 Stay at Deer Park Institute Bir.
June 29 back to Delhi
June 30 Coach to Jaipur and spend 2 weeks in Rajasthan... Jaipur, Pushkar, Jaisalmer.
July 11 home to UK.
Sounds like a good plan doesnt it!!! Lets see what happens!!!

Siddhi our dog went for a weekend trial with his new foster parents Andrew and Ellie and their cute little dog Heidi last weekend. It all seemed to go well, Andrew got locked out of the house with Siddhi and Heidi, they nearly lost Siddhi who went jet skiing down the nearby weir and Siddhi and Heidi had a little holiday romance...so all is good.

We seem to be playing a waiting game at present, there are a number of things that need to fall into place before we can start arranging the trip including money!!!Hopefully before the end of August everything will be in place and it will be all systems go.

First post

We decided to set up a blog and use it as a journal when we are away in India, it will also serve as a place where anyone who is interested can keep in touch with us and our expolits.
This is an epic journey which hopes to take in both South and North India also Nepal. I, Phil have been going to India since 1972 and have had a long, love affair with the country, although it has changed much during this time it still retains a magical quality and always seems to find a way to help me find out more about myself.
Jess has been coming to India with me over the past 3-4 years and has also fallen in love with India. This journey will allow us to really get into the day to day life in India and really feel a part of the culture that we both love so much.
I expect the journey will have highs and lows but it will undoubtedly be an unforgettable experience.