The story so far (well, my side of the story)

(by The Wife)

Right – I can’t do any sleeping, so I might as well do some blogging!

The Husband is in Thailand……but the wife…..well, the wife is in London!!!

How, why and WHY do you ask?

Well, the story goes that The Wife, that’ll be me, has to stay behind due to matters concerning employment (note previous post).

I know I don’t have long to go before I leave – but this is plain torture! I have to go to work in the freezing cold, it’s almost like the weather has turned just to taunt me! Im sure it’s not usually this cold at this time of the year! The days feel longer!

This is hard for me, in every which way (I hope you read this Gurcharan!).

I had to blog about this – so when I do read this in the future, I’ll remember how I felt.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GURCHARAN!!!!

And Happy Last Day at Work!

Now that you're off work, fancy going for a trip round South East Asia for 6 months for your birthday present?! ;o)

6 months of my life in a bag!

(by The Wife)

For 6 months I will have to live out of a bag!

A daunting thought - but not so bad I guess. Unlike many of my mates, I can live without mascara and heels and curlers and eyeshadows of every hue! ;o)

It has been quite a mission to find the perfect bag.
I needed one that met all my requirements:

1. Designed specifically for women (make that small women!)
   
2. Tough enough to survive 6 months, but not too heavy duty (c’mon who am I kiddin? Im not reeeally technically backpacking!)
   
3. Easy access and a GOOD SOLID locking system!
   
4. Wheeeeeeels! (This is crucial for someone not quite built like Hulk!)
   
5. Not sure if I will be able to wheel the thing around everywhere – so may need a comfortable way to carry the bag now and again. So, by the time I come back, I will look like Thunder Thighs! :o)
   
6. Pockets – oh I’m such a freak for organisation!
   
7. CHEAP! Ah I am such a cheapy cheapy cheap cheap!
   
8. An inbuilt cappuccino machine won’t go amiss! ;o)

Gurcharan managed to find his perfect partner (er..no…not me!) thanks to my brother Himmat’s ingenious-time-wasting-on-the-internet-while-at-work. It has aaaalll the above spec, except it’s not designed for women. You see Gurcharan is a man, not a woman. He is very much a man. So its perfect for him. But I am a woman, I guess I could pass as a man and buy the same bag. But something tells me I will regret it later.

So, I applied the same ingenious principle that my brother has by now perfected and found this:

The Berghaus Womens Jalan 65 + 15 Rucksack (you can call her 'lil miss Baggins!)

Yup! It's a backpack and trolly bag all in one! The coolest thing is it has a cute little baby bag zipped onto the front - so you can take it off and use it as a day bag! But, like all good lookin gals, she comes with a price! A whopping £125 - but I managed to apply the Himmat Principle again and found it for £100. This is still waaaay over my budget - £30 more than what Gurcharan paid for his. Oh well, lets hope she is worth the extra £30.

My husband says I will be the belle of the ball with that lil baby! My husband says all the other travellers will look at me in awe! They will say "ooohh aahhhh she is a pukka backpacker she is!" awwwww im in a happy place now! :O)

The best part is getting there! (by The Wife)

Right, so I got my tickets booked for Saturday, 27th October 2007 – and I finally feel like I really am going! :o)

Yoghurt fans, like myself, will be familiar with Saint Muller Lite’s philosophy of “so much pleasure, but where’s the pain?” The pleasure is obviously the amazing experience we will have for the next 6 months. However, I’ll tell you where the pain is:
The OVER 24 hour’s its going to take me to get to get there!

YES, that's no typo – it will take more than 24 hours to get there! aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
Don’t believe me?! Well, being the ingenious mathematician that I am, I will work this out for you:

PART 1: Fly from London to Bombay = 8 hrs 20min
PART 2: Stop over in Bombay = 7hrs 25 min (YES, spend the night in a Bombay airport for…ah I don’t have the heart to type it again!)
PART 3: Fly to Bangkok = 3hrs 45min
PART 4: Stop over in Bangkok = 3 hrs
PART 5: Fly to Krabi = 1hr 20min (I get rescued by the lovely hubby here)
PART 6: Taxi/bus (im hoping taxi) to the hotel in Ao Nang = 40 min by taxi or 2 hrs by bus
A grand total of more than 24 HOURS to reach my destination

I have failed to include the fact that I will have to leave home early in the morning, train it to the airport which takes 1hr 30min and make it in time for the “check in 3 hours before departure”! So really you can add 4 ½ hours to the above journey time.

The husband will be in a similar boat (or plane should I say ha ha!) when he flies off in 2 weeks time. Although he will spend a night in Bangkok before flying off to Phuket the next day. At least I will be rescued by him when I land, I won’t have to wander around on my own looking for transport and accommodation.

So, why didn’t we take the 13hr direct flight to Bangkok I hear you ask? Well, we are planning on visiting India after we have covered SE Asia so this was the ticket we had to get.

Now my good friends, if you could come up with some fun ways to keep myself awake and to entertain myself i'd be MOST GRATEFUL!

It’s finally happening – for me too!

The cheeky husband was all too eager to rub in the fact that I was having a few wee…er…issues with booking my plane tickets.

You see, Employment is a beast whose very nature is such that he (yes, he can only be male) will turn round, bite you in the a$$ like a rabid dog and hold on till hell freezes over. As I do not posses the competence nor the desire to navigate to hell (not yet anyway), I had to resort to other means – namely low necklines and high hems, which, in retrospect, was bound to have some dire consequences. Nevertheless, what matters now is that the beast has been tamed.

Employment 0 Preet 1

Although, like all good gory battles, this one comes with its scars – I have to leave a full 2 weeks later than Gurcharan!
Which means:

1. I miss the Vegetarian Festival
2. I have to travel on my own
3. I have to work while Gurcharan gets cajoled on the beach by the Thai ladies of the night

Where is the justice in that?

Take another look at the score board shall we:

Employment 3 Preet 1

Buzzie: Hey Flaps, So what we going to do?

Flaps: I don't know, what'cha wanna do?

Buzzie: Look Flaps, first I say "what were going to do?" then you say "I don't know, what'cha
wanna do?" then I say "what we're going to do" then you say what'cha wanna do" let's do something.

Flaps: Ok. What'cha wanna do?