A wee break

Our good friend Sam visited us after her trip around the golden triangle, which includes the Taj Mahal, Jaipur, Delhi etc.. We met her off a long train trip from Delhi to Hyderabad and immediately whisked her away for a hot shower and pizza, two things she was looking forward to after back packing! Was so good to see her, share news and introduce her to our home. The next day crack of dawn we flew out to Kerala south of Hyderabad - this is a must if visiting India. Set on water the area is full of natural beauty, peace and tranquility it feels like an island, something we all enjoyed after the noise and business of the cities. We only had two days there but they were very special, one day was spent on the famous waterways, drifting along in a pontoon boat we also had a chance to experience the fabulous south Indian dishes prepared for our lunch, and have a turn at driving the boat!

A lot of our time there was spent relaxing, sadly Sam was not feeling too well after all her travelling and we were ready for a break - so it provided us all with a much needed rest. Sitting in the pool, which overlooked the water watching the sun set will be always be a special memory.

We then returned to Hyderabad Sunday morning, and only a few hours later we waved goodbye to Gareth who was heading to Singapore and China with work. Sam and I then spent the next few days having a girlie catch up, shopping, showing her the city, chatting for hours, bliss!

Then Weds after saying goodbye to her at the airport I headed back to work. This included a two day visit to the World Vision India HQ in Chennai a city I hadn’t visited yet. Was an intense few days, but very productive managing to assess their crisis and relief plans and get to know the team, plus pick up my laptop and camera. It also included a surprise meeting with two friends from the UK none of us knew we would be in the same city at the same time, but ended up having dinner before I flew back home.

All in all a busy past month, cannot believe it is Christmas so soon, before that Gareth has a trip to the States and I to Cambodia and Bangkok both with work. Christmas day will be together and then we fly to Oz to spend New Year with my family in Melbourne. 2007 looks a little more relaxed travel wise so far, but we can’t complain it is all amazing opportunities!