Let the Adventure Begin...

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My trip actually began a few weeks before I left having taken some time off work to go and visit friends and family before I departed (in other words go to the pub). Plus, the fact that I had done zero preparation save booking my flights and organising a few visas, it was indeed a welcome break to get my shit together. My Lancaster BBA Management compadres (the GymSoc Elite) will all too well know the phrase "by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail", yet I was fairly optimistic that no plan would afford me more flexibility on the road, but only time would tell.

Alas, D-day drew near and I hot-footed it down to London the day before my flight to say some final farewells and also get a free bunk for the night owing to an early departure from London Heathrow. So, cheers Snapey and Vic for your kind hospitality and your free music!

The next day I was up and out early doors and in true backpacker style, catching a cab to Heathrow from the leafy suburbs of Ascot. Not much of a surprise the flight was delayed by two hours, which only meant more time to invest in getting through the rest of my book - Shantaram; good preparation indeed for life on the road (if you want to fight with the Mujahideen, join the Indian Mafia and tend to slum dwellers in a ramshackle clinic, of course). Jet airways was my airline of choice and a welcome surprise it was too. Good food and an exit seat, I settled in to a bunch of movies and more of my book. A hurried connection in Mumbai 8 hours later where the passport control didn't even look at my passport and I was Hong Kong bound.

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