Decisions, decisions, decisions

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I'm not going to pretend or suggest even for a minute that this year has been full of tough decisions when we're fortunate enough to be in the position of doing what we're doing. But I've been back and forth on one all week that is annoying yet relatively trivial and privileged... (and that in itself it has sparked a raft of interesting conversations between us about all those decisions we're lucky enough to be able make when we get back to blighty, even if we don't want to yet - we actually got round to buying a flight that lands on Sept 8th which has also focused the mind!). However, those are for us at that moment!

... So this decision. We're in South Africa and will be in Johannesburg for the last Test of the Lions. At the moment, ahead of a potentially series levelling or winning (for the Boks) second Test, there are still tickets left for the final game... but a 100GBP a pop. Do I do it? Back home or even a few months ago this would be an absolute no brainer and I'd be there with bells on. But as it is, and regardless that it might be the decider, I'm caught in two minds about shelling out the cash. Sure there's plenty of amazing experiences to shell out on in South Africa (see our shark dive!)... but there's a huge amount of quality experiences to be had for free/next to nothing and that begs a question of value. On the one hand, it's unlikely I'm going to be abroad for a Lions Tour in the future and here I am... and I am in love with at least half the team. On the other can I live without going and will I have an equally good time getting grief and having banter with locals in a pub? Yes. No doubt also that the money will go much further over the next couple of months as we head north to Tanzania. I watched the first Test with an amazing and generous woman called Pat and her 70 something year old mother called Joyce who we stayed with for a couple of weeks in a township outside J'burg. Joyce, more of a Bafana Bafana fan than a Boks fan, delighted in the rough and tumble of the breakdown and spent most of the match swooning at the muscles and brawn on show. Pat rather unpatriotically adopted the Lions after feeling sorry for them after their first pitiful twenty mins and was up on her feet and screaming at the tv with me for the final twenty. Definitely wouldn't have predicted that experience and wouldn't have missed it for the world!! 200 quid for 80 mins of sport is definitely money not well spent for nearly everyone we've met here. But it is the Lions...

Anyhow. While I mull, here is Top five Decisions on Tour

1. Trekking Kepler in NZ. The whole snow on the mountains, closed route and walkers who decided to pull out off the track made our calculated decision to go on a bit nervy, but in succeeding we got lots more confidence in our abilities and its since impacted on a load of other (good) decisions like taking ourselves off for a few days to trek solo without map and find shelter where and when we need it in Colca Canyon Peru. (Though with a valley floor and two steep sides how lost can you really get?)

2. Great White Shark Dive in SA was in the plans over a year ago but the chat since then has been full of "will we, won't we" considerations. Will the cage hold? Will my nuts drop off in the freezing water, etc. However cage diving sounds more 'cage fighting' than it is and the sharks are incredible close up... magnificent and beautiful beasts full of power and grace. Undoubtedly one of the moments of the year was in said shark cage. For over a minute we were captivated by a young fur seal, one of 65,000 reasons that Gainsbaai is GW shark capital of the world, who played freely around the cage, before something made me look down between my legs, only to see an enormous (though half sized at 3.5m) great white rush vertically upwards out of the shadowy depths. I instinctively push up out of the cage to be looking straight at the classic Jaws poster opened mouth, pinked gummed shark with row after row of razor teeth, less than a meter away. The seal had saved itself by pushing flat against the cage and as the shark then crashed back into the water the seal made the most of his head start swimming off as fast as he could, leaping in and out of the water, with the GW in hot pursuit! Incredible (but no pictures!)

3. We could have gone into the highlands but decided instead at the last minute to head to the Mekong Islands for five days. Plenty of ass-ache travel (hitching in boiling sun, needing the loo, hours sitting half hanging out of a truck etc) to get there but it was so worth it! 3000 tropical islands in the middle of the river, laid back and stuck in time locals, hammocks, cool beer, etc, etc.

4. First few days in Delhi were a cultural shock in that it was unbelievably manic and not stop in-your-face. Despite crashing in a grim and poor (by tourist standards) area we were seen and treated as walking wallets. Hotel owners, workers, waiters, tuk-tuk drivers, attraction workers all tried to rip of us and it quickly became exhausting (let alone the hundreds of beggars, chancers and touts!). We we're planning to travel through the middle of the country but instead bought a cash next day flight to Darjeeling, hoping a remote hill station might be a bit quieter. It was. Not only did we then have an amazing Himalayas trek it gave us time to get to know the people and culture a little better and set us back off our journey more relaxed. Two months in India would have difficult without it

5. Travelling by train. Transport of kings if you need to cover long distances while lapping up views of the countryside and chatting to/ watching locals. Often uncomfortable but always entertaining, the best have been 14hrs to Calcutta, Kolka Express to Shimla, South to North Vietnam over two weeks on the 'reunification express', Shosholoza Meyl (1000km+ CT to J'burg), TranzAlpine in NZ, Ollytambo to Aguas Callientes (Peru), etc etc. WOOOO WOOOO

and the Top Five bad decisions... well, it's a case of no regrets so there aren't any. Though we always think we don't need to buy toliet paper as there's bound to be some at the next place... never is... and we never learn!

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