Our first senior gap year
In and around World
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Having spent 30 years working full time in software development and raising a family we thought it time to relax a little and do some of the things we always dreamed about - before it was too late.
Time does not permit us to indulge in visiting many of our desired locations. The trans-siberian to China will have to wait till next time. We thought it best to concentrate on those areas of greatest influence to our own culture and civilisation - Europe and the middle east.
HOWEVER, whilst travelling in Morocco in November and December and planning phase two (Christmas to March 15) it became clear that cold weather was affecting us. Our original idea had beem to travel up through Italy and Greece to Istanbul for March 15, and we also considered Egypt, Jordan and Siria during the same period. In the end we were able to spend 7 weeks in the heat of Southern India.
Therefore the blog covers
- September to Christmas in Eurpoe and North Africa
- January to mid March in India
- Magic bus trip from Istanbul to Kathmandu, strating from mid March.
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Marian & Simon
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1
Escaped
At last - we are on the road. Saturday's departure was postponed till Sunday and then finally we managed to get away Monday 15:30 - and even that w... Continue reading » -
2
Leave Ellie at Uni
Ellie starts a degree course in hospitality management at Bournemouth University.
She ends up in a lovely house shared with 2 other girls, wi... Continue reading »
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3
Overnight with Fina and Roger
We stay overnight near Chichester. We go into the town on Wednesday and have a walk around the old city walls. It has a oldly worldy feel. A charm... Continue reading »
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4
Choir trip to Kent
We stayed at the Ramada hotel, Maidstone. Excellent facilities and right next to Leeds castle.
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5
Kent Coast
En-route to Cliftonville for a concert with Thanet MVC, we stopped in Whitstable and Broadstairs. It was a bit blowy, and much of Whistable was closed... Continue reading » -
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Canterbury
A picture postcard place, if ever there was one. I felt like I was back in the middle ages - either that or on a film set.
In the evening we... Continue reading »
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7
Rochester
The choir sang in Rochester cathedral. The acoustics and atmosphere of the cathedral make singing in a spiritual place like this a moving experience. Continue reading » -
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Concert with Snowdon MVC
In the evening we crossed to the other end of Kent for a concert with Snowdon MVC.
Thanks to John Smale, we have a good sing sing on the coac... Continue reading »
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9
Farewell to England
We left Dover at 12:00. The 2 hour crossing was perfect.
Half way across there was a hive of activity as all the mobile phones got sent a mes... Continue reading »
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10
Dunkerque
We stayed overnight in Dunkerque. In the morning we visited the museum which commemorates the evacuation of 1940.
I found the words of Winsto... Continue reading »
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11
Châteaudun, south west of Chartres
Châteaudun, a charming little town with its very own Chateau.
Being a Monday in France we expected most of the shops to be closed, bu... Continue reading »
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12
Visit June and Julian
Stay with our old friends, who are now farming sheep in France
We met June and Julian at Reading University in 1974/5 and we all got marrie... Continue reading »
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13
Poitiers
We took a friend to the SNCF in Poitiers, and then spent a few hours looking round the centre-ville. It has a lovely feel to it, with a nice pedest... Continue reading »
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14
Limoges
We drove an hour to Limoges to pick up John from the station and spent the morning there. It's more spread out than Poitiers, but does have some nice... Continue reading » -
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Lyon and it´s rivers
Lyon is France's second city and lies at the confluence of the Saone and Rhone. It has remained an important centre since Roman times. The centre-vil... Continue reading » -
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Lyon and some of it´s churches
Lyon has many churches and a gothic cathedral. We vistsed quite a few of them. All are typically grand and calm
Here are just a few ima... Continue reading »
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17
A couple of days near Perpignan
We stayed with Brian, an old friend from Looe. He took us around some local spots of great interest.
On Sunday we climbed (the last 700 metre... Continue reading »
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18
Barcelona
Always wanted to get to know Barcelona
The architecture is quite outrageous. Gaudi is the main proponent, but others have been influenced by... Continue reading »
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19
See Ariane in Mallorca
Our daughter Ariane, is living and working in Mallorca. We stayed in an appartment a few yards from her in Santa Ponsa, on the west coast of Mallor... Continue reading »
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20
Andalucia - Malaga
See the Moorish influence in Adalucia.
We flew to Malaga from Palma de Mallorca by Air Europa. In fact the most common reason for visitng Mal... Continue reading »
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21
Andalucia - Granada
Very different. Disticly Moorish. A strong North African influence.
At 735 meters above sea level it was much cooler than anywhere we have s... Continue reading »
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22
Andalucia - Cordoba
Cordoba is a terrific place, with a very quaint old town, but also the usual assortment of modern fashion shops. The highlight is the Continue reading »
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23
Andalucia - Antequera
Antequera is a small town with typical Andalucian friendliness and charm. Get here by train or bus, but it is best to have a car to reach the loca... Continue reading »
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24
Algeciras
You probably wouldn't visit Algeciras unless you wanted to take a ferry to Morocco. In fact the best ferries are from Tarifa, but you can get a fre... Continue reading »
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25
Tanger
Tanger is a new experience. The medina is terrific and full of very cheap accommodation - but you get what you pay for. I would recommend the Hotel... Continue reading »
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26
Chefchaouen
This is where they filmed the new blockbster "Harry Hobbit and Wardrobe" - it's a fairy tale land. The medina is an amazing blue to waed off evil... Continue reading » -
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Fes
What can I say about Fes that has not already been said.
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28
Marrakech
The Marrakech express was too hot and too cold, due to the quirky air conditoning unit and the double glazed windows were all steamed up, so t... Continue reading »
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29
Essaouira
Essaouira - back to the sea makes me remember how nice it is in Looe. Sun, sand, surf and a pleasant no hassle medina. The food here is nicer and c... Continue reading »
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30
Tafraoute
We left Essaouira on the 21:30 bus and arrived in Continue reading »
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31
Marrakech for Christmas shopping and Easyjet home
Back to Marrakech for a bit of Christmas shopping and for the Easyjet flight home. Although Marrakech is a must for all who come to Morocco we actu... Continue reading » -
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Home for Christmas
A united family for Christmas.
Arrived safe and sound at my parents in Oxford at 19:00. It was lovely to see them and so nice to have th... Continue reading »
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33
Londonderry
Recommend the City Tour at £4 - tell +44 287127 1996 or see www.derrycitytours.com Ryanair from Luton to Derry. Hired a car No problems Continue reading » -
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Wedding and New Year party
Thanks to Frances, Marian's friend from the year dot, and her son who is getting married on New Year's Eve. Good fun and great people Continue reading » -
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Gortin with friends and familly
We came to Gortin to catch up with aunts, uncles and cousins (and Marian has 36 first cousins!) Gortin lies in the foothills of the Sperins mountai... Continue reading » -
36
Dublin
See Helen and Anne in Dublin. Marian took the bus north to Kells and Navan to see aunts. I explored some shops in the 'fair city.' Continue reading » -
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Mumbai
A couple of days in Mumbai to recover from the plane journey and take in some sites:
- The Gateway of India
- The Elephanta cavesContinue reading »
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38
Allappey
28 hours on the Netravati express from the LTT terminus in Mumbai. We went 2nd AC and it was great.
Allappey (aka Alappuzha, pronounced Alapo... Continue reading »
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39
Thekkady
We stayed in Thekkady, a touristy town next to the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Click Continue reading »
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40
Tea plantations
Munnar is a compact little town high up in the tea growing area of Kerala. The town is small but bustling.
Continue reading » -
41
Marari beach
Mararikulam is a quiet village, one of many that parallel the coast of the Arabian sea. We stayed with Sebastian. There are power cuts every evenin... Continue reading »
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42
Kochi
Kochi (aka Cochin) has a VERY quaint old part, Fort Kochi, which is a MUST for travellers. There aren't many places in India that could be called q... Continue reading »
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43
One World Peace Centre
Malayattoor is well of the tourist route. We visited our friend, Swami Charles at his One World Peace Centre see
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44
Overnight stop in Thrissur
We had hoped to get straight on the train to GOA (thence to Hampi) but it was fully booked and so we have got a train to Hubli tomorrow and stayed... Continue reading »
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45
Hampi
A Magical place of many temples, most dating from the 15th and 16th centuries but all brought to an end by the Muslim conquest in 1565. The bus or... Continue reading »
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46
Sai Baba Ashram
Sai Baba is a controvertial figure outside of his native Puttaparthi, but he is a real cult figure here, and has a huge following worldwide.
<... Continue reading » -
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The tip of India
Just one evening and one morning to witness the sunset followed by the sunrise.
It is worth making the effort to get her for a sunset and s... Continue reading »
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48
5 day yoga course
They say 3 weeks is the minimum, but we reckon 5 days is as much as we can absorb at the moment. See Continue reading »
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49
Varkala
Varkala beach is wonderful. Hotels and resturants line the cliff which overlooks the beach. Exciting breakers roll in from the Arabian sea ad provi... Continue reading »
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50
Music
5 days studying Indian music with voice violin and drums, plus added yoga sessions. See Continue reading »
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51
Agonda beach, GOA
We took the overnight train to Cancona, arriving at Agonda beach at 5 am.
It's a terrific place, lovely beach, not too touristy but with en... Continue reading »
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52
Panjim
We took 2 local bus trips, about an hour each, to get from Cancona to Panaji. The country side was great - rolling hills remidning us of Cornwall.... Continue reading »
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53
Fly back to blighty
Our flight to South India cost 285 pounds each with Air India. For this we had to return to Heathrow. We will have a days break from our year's bre... Continue reading »
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54
Istanbul
TOP TIP when travelling from London Luton to Istanbul by EasyJet - don't turn up at Stanstead to check in. In the end we paid EasyJet an extra 35 q... Continue reading »
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55
Oz Bus - The Hippie Trail
On Saturday we moved to the Hostel Orient and met our travelling companions for the next 7 weeks on the magic bus trip from Istanbul to Kathma... Continue reading »
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56
Cappadocia
Goreme - what a fairy tale place this is! It took 11 hours (ıncludıng stops) to cover the 750 KM from Istanbul.
Lots of the houses have poi... Continue reading »
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57
Lake Van
We left 7:30 to catch a ferry
Then through some nice mountainous country. Lake VAN is beautiful, and Ercis is on the North coast. The town... Continue reading »
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58
Dogubeyazit
They say this town is worth missing, but we found it had an interesting and easy main street. It is also the last stop before the Iranian border.Continue reading »
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59
Tabriz
We arrived at the border at 08:20 and had no trouble leaving Turkey. The Brits had fingerprints taken on the Iranian side, but this was not ne... Continue reading »
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60
Esfahan
We took a 2 day drive from Tabriz to Esfahan, stopping overnight in Tehran.
Esfahan is a lovely city. It was very busy with with ... Continue reading »
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61
Kashan
Plenty to see here in Kashan - some terrific 18th century houses used by merchants and traders. This is an oasis in the generally parched landscape... Continue reading »
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62
Tehran
Tehran is the capital city. There were several museums to visit but the city does not have a very friendly feel to it.
Continue reading » -
63
Karachi
Due to security considerations we flew from Tehran to Karahci instead of going overland and undertaking the arduous trip close to the Afghan border... Continue reading »
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64
Hyderabad (Pakistan, not India)
We went via Tatta to visit the huge cemetry at Makli.
In Hyderabad we were pretty much confined to our hotel by our police guard. How... Continue reading »
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65
Sukkur
A full day on the road on the Indus Highway, i.e. on the West side of the river Indus. There was a lot of wheat, all cut by hand.
When... Continue reading »
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66
Multan
Another full day on the road with little to write home about. Once again the police did not let us leave the hotel in the evening. There were over... Continue reading »
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67
Lahore
At last, a bit of Pakistan that we can get to grips with. No police restrictions, and we can come and go as we please.
On Monday we visited... Continue reading »
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68
Amritsar
The crossing from Pakistan to India at Wagah was unexpectedly easy - it took an hour and 10 minutes. We got to Amritsar one ish and then went to th... Continue reading »
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69
Dharamsala
It took 7 hours driving over some pretty crappy roads to get here from Amritsar, but now we are in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains there i... Continue reading »
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70
Shimla
Shimla is where the Raj (British government of India) would reteat to during the intense heat of the Indian summer. It has some great relics of the... Continue reading »
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71
Delhi
On the my first visit in 2002 I found Delhi excessively smelly due to traffic fumes. Now it is much improved, and it has a fully functional metro s... Continue reading »
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72
Jaipur
Left Delhi 8 am and found reasonable roads nearly all the way to Jaipuir, including some genuine motorway wih no cows and no lorries, cars or carts... Continue reading »
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73
Agra
The Taj Mahal is a MUST SEE, but you wouldn't otherwsie visit Agra. Pressure from street sellers and beggars was greater here than anywhere else we... Continue reading »
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75
Varanasi
Terrific - a MUST SEE. Go to the main Ghats at 7pm and be treated to a wondeful service. There were a couple of musicians (vocal, harmonium and tab... Continue reading »
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76
Gorakhpur
Ghorakpur is a place to pass though as quickly as possible. The only reason for going there is to get to Sonnauli on the Nepalese/Indian border.Continue reading »
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77
Chitwan
Another great place - we stayed in Sauraha where there are plenty of hotels and guest houses. They have an elep... Continue reading »
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78
Pokhara
Pokhara is very touristy and western oriented, but a pleasure to spend a couple of days in. Take a boat out on lake Phewa and have a swin - it's go... Continue reading »
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79
Kathmandu - the Magic Bus arrives
Kathmandu at last, after 7 weeks. It's very touristy again, catering for the western market with loads of food and drink and trekking and rafting t... Continue reading »
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80
Annapurna
A nine day trek into the Himalayan range dominated by Annapurna.
It was not as arduous as it may seem, as we flew to Jomsom for some trekki... Continue reading »
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81
Kayaking on the Seti
Saturday afternoon we joined a group of 3 Israeli's for kayaking practice on the lake by Pokhara during which it was hard enough to paddle the kaya... Continue reading »
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82
Boudhanath
We returned to Kathmandu on Friday prior to our departure by Jet Air on Sunday.
Instead of the torture that is Thamel we decided to stay in... Continue reading »
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