I Still Call Australia Home

And so, after 95 days, 15 countries and 12 languages the time had come for us to head home to the Great Southland of Australia.

We took a flight from Phuket, through KL, to Melbourne where we spent three days hanging out with Andrews Dad, Olgierd, and his wife Gracie. After having no sleep on the overnight flight we were wrecked and spent most of the time sleeping.









It was so nice resting in their beautiful house nestled in the Dandenong Ranges, eating amazing food and drinking great wine. We did very little; went for a walk one day, hung out in their garden and just generally chilled out and read books. It was a little strange, after three months, to be surrounded by familiar sights and sounds, but was a very nice place to be reintroduced to home. Thank you Tata & Gracie for having us.











And so at 7:30pm, Wednesday 27th October we landed in Adelaide, our final destination, where we were greeted enthusiastically by our family and friends. Walking up the ramp to the terminal and seeing their smiling faces was so beautiful. After many hugs we were taken back to our place where even more friends joined us and we all spent the night catching up. It was so good to see everyone again, though to be honest, we wished it were for a quick stopover before heading off on another adventure.





I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who hosted us during this trip; Kate & Lydia in London, Stryek, Tadeusz & Ewa, Łukasz & Asia, Witek & Karolina in Poland, Damion & Amy in Shanghai, Vijay & Emma in New Delhi and Olgierd & Gracie in Melbourne. We had an absolutely wonderful time with all of you!

I would also like to thank my best friend, husband, editor and travel partner, Andrew. I had the most amazing time with you. I love how we travel so well together, how we laughed our way around the nations and how we now have so many more memories to share and to reminisce on until we’re old and grey. I’m also absolutely delighted that you and I have now been to more countries together than I ever went to as a single woman. I can’t wait to see where we go next!

And finally I would also like to thank my God, Jesus Christ. For all the impossible things that only you can orchestrate so perfectly; the ridiculous amount of times we found that the weather was crap just before we arrived and yet was perfect while we were there; the early snow that I so badly wanted in Mongolia; the incredible timing of our arrivals that meant special shows or national holidays in Moscow, Beijing, Shanghai, Vietnam, and the Commonwealth Games in India! We never planned any of this but you brought it all together. We were warned many times of pick pocketing and dangers but never lost even the smallest thing. We travelled through countries that are so foreign yet felt like we were home the entire time. We caught numerous trains, buses and planes yet never missed a single connection nor lost any luggage. We had so many occasions of unmerited favour that it was almost ridiculous, so I just wanted to say thank you publically for all of that.

And so ends our journey around 2/3rds of the Northern Hemisphere in 98 days.

The Holiday from our Holiday – Phuket

In light of the common saying, ‘I need a holiday from my holiday’, Andrew and I decided that we would do just that. So we landed on the beautiful island of Phuket in Thailand and headed to the Andaman White Beach Resort, which lies on a private beach 30km’s away from the main tourist section. We stayed in a spacious Sea View Room with a spa on the balcony which was absolutely stunning, did nothing the entire week except sunbake, swim, get a massage and facial, eat and drink watered down cocktails moving from our room, to the pool or to the beach.



The first day we arrived early and, with our room not ready yet, we fell asleep on the beach beds and then again on the pool beds before eating lunch. Then we checked in and were taken to our stunning room where we slept again and watched the sunset from our balcony.







Day two saw us move from the room to the pool and then to the beach to watch the sunset.









Day three we booked into the spa and both had a massage and facial, which we really needed after the grime in India. There was also a wedding taking place on the beach so we camped under one of the canopies at the other end and enjoyed the sunset from there.







Day four we chilled out some more, drinking coconut juice at the bar and walking the length of the beach to the rocks where we relaxed and enjoyed the vibrant setting of the sun.









Day five we didn’t even leave our room. We watched a couple of movies, read books, wrote blogs, ordered room service and slept a lot, watching the sunset light up the sky from our balcony.





On day six, our most eventful day, we left the room and ate lunch at the pool bar before I went back to the spa for an hour-long foot massage. We then went for a swim in the pool, before heading down to the beach bar and chilling out on the gorgeous red lounges they set up the day before. We swam at the beach and stayed on the lounges to watch the stunning sunset. After dinner we enjoyed drinks with a beautiful couple we’d met, Chris & Sneh from Sydney.





















And so, well rested, we checked out on the final day to catch our plane, via KL, to Melbourne, our final destination before the inevitable flight home.

An Indian Summer

One of my best friends, Emma, had moved to India a few years ago to marry her sweetheart, Vijay. I hadn’t made it over for the wedding so we decided that the time had come for us to visit. When we disembarked the plane we found we had arrived at a brand new airport, breezed through immigration, but had to wait a little while for our bags where we met a man who’d been to Delhi a number of times and was flabbergasted at how easy everything was. Once the baggage belts got themselves sorted out we went straight through customs and out the front door arriving at the same time as Vijay & the beautifully pregnant Emma. It was so good to see them again.

Our first Indian meal – Subway. We were in an unknown area to them and Subway was ‘safe’ so we spent the time discussing how to not get sick in India, which was very useful. Then we headed to their place and after a quick catch-up we all headed off to bed.



Vijay & Emma go to a church in New Delhi that has a learning centre set up for children who’s parents can’t afford to send them to school. These kids, of all ages, would’ve be spending their days at home in the slums alone while the parents went to work but the church provides them with the opportunity for safety, food and education.

So we took our first auto ride and went to visit the learning centre in the afternoon only to find that, due to a Hindu festival, most of the children had returned with their parents to their villages and the other children had gone home early. So we played with the five remaining kids until naptime, met the teachers who were delighted to find out I was ‘Veronica’s daughter’, as my mother has visited a number of times before, and then spent the afternoon chilling out on the lounge.







Once Vijay finished work he picked us up and we headed off to meet up with Emma to go to watch the gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games. Just getting through security was a nightmare, Emma & I getting felt up by the female guard while Vijay had to part with all his coins as, for whatever reason, they were on the list of items (including torn paper, umbrellas & any forms of food & drink) not allowed inside the stadium.





The gymnastics was amazing, though we were very surprised to see just how often the girls would lose their ball or get the ribbon tied up. We also got to watch a Medal Ceremony where Australia won gold, which was a real treat.







The next day we decided to stay home and rest, as I wasn’t feeling well due to some stomach thing I’d picked up in Vietnam. So we chilled out and then met up with Vijay & Emma who took us to Dilli Haat for the evening, a market showcasing the foods, merchandise, song and dance from all the different states around India. It was a great night and was very interesting to see the unique cultures that have developed within the one country.





Vijay & Emma had taken the Thursday & Friday off work, so we got up early Thursday morning to catch the train to the city of Agra, the location of the famous Taj Mahal. The train ride itself was interesting, but we’d pre-booked our seats so at least we didn’t have to fight for those. The whole way there were men walking up and down the aisle with urns, eskies and baskets selling all sorts of snacks and beverages. We ambled past the outer slums of the city and headed out into the countryside where we watched the locals hanging around, doing their business on the tracks.













When we arrived we became the subject of a major argument between different taxi drivers as to who would be the one to rip us off for the day. Declaring Vijay as our official guide (it’s so helpful having an Indian on your side) we made it through to the actual prepaid booth unscathed and found a driver standing off to the side. Outside the Taj we were met with two ticket booths, one for Indians who paid 20 rupee and one for foreigners who paid 750 rupee (with a free water!) and then with two lines, one for ladies & one for males. Emma & I breezed to the front of the line, though got caught up in the most ridiculous security I had been through ever, (they wouldn’t even allow my mini-torch or plastic tripod through!), and after finding a locker we spent ages sitting on the grass with all the ladies waiting for the men.



The Taj Mahal is stunning, though to be honest a lot smaller than I had anticipated. We split up, so Emma could take the shaded route inside, and Andrew & I headed down the middle in search of the famous ‘Princess Di Bench’. The crowd at the bench was ridiculous so we went to leave but were accosted by a man who said he was a gardener and then started taking our photo. We went along with it, and even posed for the customary ‘holding the Taj’ pic that he didn't get quite right, but when he asked us for money we honestly told him we didn’t have any. We had spent the last of our cash just getting in the front door!







So we walked to the spot where you have to take your shoes off and waited for our friends who seemed to have disappeared. Eventually we decided to enter the tomb without them only to find Vijay at the top of the stairs where he had been waiting for us in the hot sun for almost half an hour. We joined Emma inside and checked out the burial chamber, then walked around before heading back out. Andrew & I then again went to the bench where I managed to fight my way into the photo and off we went.









After lunch, where a kid playing a bongo belted out ‘Waltzing Matilda’ and tried to sell me dolls, we headed to the Agra Fort. We again paid almost forty times the Indian rate of entry, were asked for more photos and then headed inside. The grounds are beautiful, but to be honest we took more photos of the squirrels and monkeys than the actual structure.











The funniest story, I really wish I’d caught it on video, was where one tourist decided he wanted to get up close to one of the monkeys, but instead of just walking up slowly, he followed the monkey and then started cutting it off so the it was trapped into a corner. We were all watching this going ‘what the heck is this guy doing? Is he crazy?!’ Sure enough, the trapped monkey turned, reared his teeth, hissed at the man and then started chasing him. The guy freaked out, and ran in absolute fear, only to trip over his own feet and wind up on the ground scuttling to get away from the monkey who’d given up his chase by that point. We all lost it, as did everyone else in the courtyard. It was the funniest thing to watch but I am so glad he didn’t get seriously hurt. Life lesson – don’t mess with the monkey’s.











So after an amazing, long day, we headed back to the station, where I gave the beggar kids some candies and we caught the train back home to Delhi.

The next morning we woke to find Vijay had gotten seriously ill. So we left him at home to rest and Emma took us to the Sarojini Markets to go clothes shopping and to demonstrate her incredible ability to barter. According to one man we met Emma manages to get better prices than even the Indians.

It goes like this (all in Hindi).
Emma: How much for this top?
Merchant: For you madam, 350 rupee
Emma: What?! My husbands Indian, I know how much this is worth. I’ll pay 100
Merchant: Oh no madam. I can only do 300 rupee
Emma: (are you serious look) No way. This top is worth 100
Merchant: Oh madam, I couldn’t possibly sell it to you for less than 275.
Emma: Look me in the eye and swear on your mother that this is the right price
Merchant: (blushing & grinning but making absolutely no eye contact) umm.. umm… okay madam. 120.
Emma: Sold





One thing I just don’t get about Indians is their unique head wobble. It’s not a nod, it’s not a shake, it’s a combination of the two and then something else mixed in that can mean absolutely anything. The amount of times I was bargaining for something and I swear the merchant shook his head to say no and Emma would turn to me saying he’s accepted my price, was ridiculous. But we had a great day, buying more items than we had in the three months prior, and we went home exhausted.





With Vijay’s temperature soaring and signs of heatstroke setting in we stayed home for the rest of the night, and ordered McDonalds delivery for dinner.



Our final full day in Delhi, with Vijay still unwell, saw us heading out by ourselves, though with incredibly detailed instructions, to explore the sights around the city. It was nerve racking as, to be honest, you constantly have to be on your guard, with everyone you meet trying to take advantage of your ignorance and rip you off and we were heading to some of the not so great areas.

We caught our first auto and were surprised to hear the man give us a very reasonable price to take us to the Lotus Temple. A temple of the Baha’i faith, it looks like a cross between a Lotus and the Sydney Opera House, where people of all religions are encouraged to come for silent prayer. We saw the long line of people taking off their shoes and decided instead to walk around the side and check out the pool area where we got accosted for more photos. After resting in the shade we headed up to the front, jumped the cue, and were surprised when no one questioned our shoe wearing. Inside was quiet and incredibly boring so we left silently and found an auto to take us to the closest metro station.







New Delhi Metro System is the newest metro in the world, built for the Games, some of the lines literally opened the week before they started. Most of the outer stations are still construction sites so we mapped our way through the workers and hanging wires, ambled through the metal detectors and bag scanners and eventually made our way onto the incredibly new train.

We ended up in Old Delhi, the original centre of the city and walked the length of the main thoroughfare. Old Delhi, in a nutshell, is a chaotic symphony of narrow streets and tiny alleyways filled to the brim with merchants selling all sorts of wares, rickshaws, auto’s, motorbikes, wooden wagons heavy with produce, men carrying two or three boxes on their heads, women in beautiful sari’s, children playing or begging or just hanging out, cows, goats, chickens, dogs, etc. When we arrived and saw all this we paused, took a deep breathe of the potent air, and plunged in, not daring to stop less we mess up the hectic flow.







We made our way to the famous Spice Market where the air took on a new and unique fragrance. We ventured into the tiniest laneways and caught rickshaws, one of which had a small accident that saw me fly out of the seat landing with one foot on the road and one still in the vehicle. It was an overwhelming atmosphere, the air so loaded with activity and noise I don’t know how it could take anymore.







So we headed, according to our instructions, to the Jama Masjid Mosque, only for the rickshaw driver to misinterpret our head nod to stop and take us on a further kilometre. We walked back and went inside as the mosque has the tallest lookout tower in Delhi and provides a brilliant view of the mess we’d just walked through. At the gates we paid our money to enter, took off our shoes and I was provided with a silk covering so we could go inside and pay more money to get up the tower. We went up, enjoyed the stunning view, paid more money to our tower guide, and then, being nearly sunset, we had to get down and out of the mosque before the call to prayer. We unhappily paid more money to the man who’d guarded our shoes and by this time were broke so went in search of an ATM to pay for dinner.











We made our way to a restaurant named Karim’s, famous in Delhi for it’s unique and delicious food. The chef is a descendent of the head chef to the emperors who once inhabited the Red Fort and they’ve even featured in Time Magazine. It was amazing food; Butter Chicken dropping off the bone, wrapped in the roti and dripping with sauce. We ate our fill and then, exhausted, headed home. When we arrived home we found Vijay sitting up and doing a lot better. We regaled them with our stories and went to bed absolutely wrecked.



Sunday, our last day, we headed to Vijay & Emma’s church, then visited the markets to buy the final few things and went home to pack for our flight to Thailand.





India is the most unique land I have ever seen in my life. After all the different countries we have been to in the last three months India has still managed to surprise us. On the most part they have managed to keep their culture alive and have avoided the Westernisation that robs a countries heritage. The women still wear all their traditional clothes; the food is still full of their unique flavours and textures; the preferred movies come from their own country and are full of colour, song, dance and vibrancy. You don’t need to go to a ‘traditional folk show’ to see the real India, it’s there before you everywhere you turn. I have come away incredibly impressed at how a country can be so different from anywhere I have travelled before. I guess this is the allure that so many fall in love with.

We loaded our bags into a taxi and said a sad farewell to Vijay and Emma. Thank you so much for being the most amazing hosts; for taking us around and showing us all your favourite things; for all the laughs and talks and friendship; we had an absolutely amazing time with you!



There is just one more story I have to tell and that is the story of the security and the drama we had to go through to leave the country. It is the most ridiculous security I have ever been through in my life.

1. When we pulled up at the outer gate of the airport we were stopped by security, had the cab searched with a torch, and were asked our flight time.
2. At the front doors we were stopped by security to have our tickets and passports checked
3. At check in our luggage was 3kg’s overweight so we had to reshuffle items into our hand luggage to bring it down, even though the flight was practically empty and our hand luggage ended up being way above the permitted weight and quantity.
4. Immigration demanded the address we’d been staying at. Fortunately they accepted the area, as we didn’t have it with us.
5. Security was a nightmare.
a. Before we could even go through the guard demanded we put labels on our hand luggage. Now I have flown on over 150 flights all around the world and have never once had to put a label on my hand luggage!
b. They wanted to see our boarding passes when we went through
c. I got felt up again by another female guard
d. My bag was opened and was searched thoroughly. The x-ray operator had seen a half-moon metal looking object, which we couldn’t find until he came over and found it was actually the handle of the bag itself. Fortunately we all had a good laugh about that one.
e. All our bags were then bomb swabbed
f. Once they were absolutely sure everything was fine they stamped those pointless bag labels.
6. After going through the normal boarding procedures we were stopped halfway down the ramp to have our boarding passes and passports checked again
7. At the end of the ramp we had our bag labels checked
8. And just before the door to the plane another Indian security guard checked our boarding passes and passports yet again before handing us over to the Malaysians.

And that… is India.