Pit stop in Notts

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Returning home to Nottingham for a week was both lovely and odd in equal measure. It was great to catch up with family and friends but it was strange being back without having to go back to the daily routine.

We had just six days to see everyone and get through a to-do list that rivalled the kind of nightmare work to-do lists I had in the run up to this trip. If it had been down to me we'd have gone home for two days max, but thankfully Paul is a little more practical and insisted on a few more days.

Packing for the second half of our trip proved to be a little challenging. We had all the stuff we need for diving in Indonesia (wet suits, snorkels, fins, masks, dive computers) plus warmer clothes for China, dressier clothes for Hong Kong and a self imposed weight constraint of 15kg; the internal flights in Indonesia have crappy luggage allowances and for one flight there is a particular measly 10kg checked allowance. I predict that we'll be throwing a few things away before we board that plane, or we'll turn up wearing all of our clothes and looking like the Michelin man!

After two days at home we felt like we were making some progress and were in good shape. My parents came to stay for three nights and we had a lovely meal out in Ruddington with both families. On Monday we went into Nottingham for a malaria appointment, to buy most of Boots the chemist and to pick up some cheap summer clothes we'd be happy to bin before our 10kg flight! We even had time for a relxing alfresco lunch - after three months in the mountains the 18 degree weather we had felt positively balmy.

Then things started to go off plan a little. Our older, more loved car decided this was the year to fail its MOT. At 4pm on Monday we found out it had failed but the same garage could not do the repair (the downside of taking it to a Mercedes garage!) which left us with just two days to get it fixed and then back to the original garage for a retest! It was a close run thing, which wasn't helped by the incorrect part being delivered delaying the repair by a day, but it all came together in the nick of time! On Wednesday, our last day at home, I did a mad dash to garage number one to pick up the fixed car before heading to garage number two for its retest. I then had 20 minutes before meeting everyone from work to pop to Sainsbury's for some more last minute shopping (I was like wonder women in the changing rooms!). Wednesday afternoon was more relaxing with a leisurely lunch with everyone from work and then three hours at the hairdressers.

The evening was hectic with more last minute shopping, the final pack (yes Katherine, there might have been a small amount of repacking!) and then a run out to the train station to pick up Paul, who had decided the best thing to do with his last day was to trek down to London and return home for 14 hours before going back down to Heathrow??!!

On Thursday we jumped back on the National Express, this time with a rucksack each weighing 15kg, just a little lighter than the three 23kg bags we'd carted back from Heathrow exactly one week earlier.

Next stop Beijing!





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Comments

[Mum M]

Hi
Good to hear from you. Your itinerary made me tired - just reading it!!! Your first week in China sounded lovely. So glad it has been such a success. You both look very well, very happy, very relaxed. Hope the rest of your trip is just as good. Keep in touch - it is so good to hear you. Have fun. Loads of love. Mum x