So I've just about finished packing and I'm actually amazed that everything fitted in, especially since I am notoriously crap at packing! Everything is feeling very real now, and I'm feeling a weird mix of excitement and anxiety. I've said goodbye to my grandma and aunt today, and it's just hit me how much I'm going to miss everyone (although on the bright side everyone's been very generous with the leaving presents, I think people have been competing for being remembered the most!). I'm leaving Cheltenham in just over 2 hours, so I'll be arriving at Heathrow in time to settle [View Full Entry]

---

---

Amendment: It is so rare that I can get on line, and I spend a good portion of all that alone walking time thinking up intro's to my next blog (and talking to cows, sheep, horses and one llama; asking unanswerable questions; avoiding thinking about what my thesis is about; misconstruing things; investigating strange and macarbe objects at the side of the road ... but that's beside the point) so I have decided to give you an overall picture of the trip just through the intro's. Intro 1: I did!! I have been on the road/track/path/barely discernible trampling down of the [View Full Entry]

---

---

Monday morning finds me still lounging around at the 'hotel' King's Oasis (a.k.a Adam's house), with the grand total of zero miles under my belt. We did climb a hill yesterday to get a beautiful rained in view of Cheltenham and surrounds so I haven't at all been idle. Also, for all those considering a stay at King's Oasis in the future, dont think that it is all spa's and relaxation. There is at least an hour of yoga to do everyday, as well as a rigorous entertainment schedule at the science fair. I have been improving mind and body and [View Full Entry]

---

---

Just about to leave, but thought I'd post some of last night's photos. Amazing party at the pub! Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a brilliant night. I hope I'm better at walking than I am at skittles! [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ok, one day to go. Trying to ignore the fact that my left knee has decided to flare up and is hurting quite a lot. It won't like being bent up in a plane for 8 hours tomorrow then. Almost packed, just have to do things like get money, clean my walking boots so they don't hate me on the plane (mud), take my car to garage, deal with the small but insidious hangover I got by mistake last night, try not to get another one tonight.... [View Full Entry]

---

---

Am getting quite excited now i've booked my flights and insurance. The more I think about it the more it seems like the right time to stay away for as long as possible and be a bit of a globe trotter rather than 1 stop and home. Soon i'll have no job, no house, no ties, so why not! Presently i'm researching Asia, totally different to Africa, not too expensive to get to, can be fairly touristy, lots of busy towns etc, unlike Tanz. sounds rather appealing. I still seem to have a great deal to do and i think it [View Full Entry]

---

---

We cannot believe it’s over!! Less than 12 or so hours to go and we will be back in the UK and probably freezing! Thanks to everyone who read our blog - we really appreciated your text/messages and emails. It was good to have your comments (even the cheeky ones) and we did not feel so far away from home. We hope that we were able to introduce Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Singapore to those of you who have never visited these places before. Perhaps we may also have prompted some good memories for those who have been [View Full Entry]

---

---

Another week in London consisted of my return to work and James still being a man of leisure, thus the need to escape and pretend we were still on holiday. We got some cheap bus fares and made our way north to Cheltenham to visit Jenni & Mat and attend the Postslip Beer Festival. Proceeding our arrival, Jen took us on a walking tour of the lovely centre of town and 15 minutes later we were at Jen's place. Cheltenham is really pretty and thankfully summer decided to show up for the weekend and it was beautifully warm. We took it [View Full Entry]

---

---

Having accepted that I could not continue my journey without a flight, I flew to Tunisia on the 2nd of May and spent the subsequent seven days making my way from there, through France and back home to Cheltenham. I had a peculiar mix of feelings on this last leg; although I felt satisfied that I had made my way to Cairo the way I had, I still felt the frustration of, firstly, being unable to continue from there flightlessly, and secondly, spending much more time there than I had really wanted to pointlessly waiting for a visa. Consequently I was [View Full Entry]

---

---

I stay awake until 4am the night before. Partly to finish a few things off and partly to ensure I am as tired as possible on the long plane ride. I figure it will pass quickly if I can sleep. Our electrician, Simon, came over at 9am to finish off the remaining items on the kitchen and study. Many of you will know that we have been refurbishing the kitchen, bathroom and study since June last year. It has dragged on somewhat. I won't go into it here, but suffice to say it was supposed to be finished by Christmas. Simon [View Full Entry]

---

---