Railway Rigmarole

After a little discussion between Rory and myself, a route around India was agreed and considering my "Security" job can be extremely tedious at times, I willingly accepted the task of booking the various journeys required.

If you ever fancy a mental workout I would highly recommend attempting to purchase Indian Railway tickets online. When I accepted the task I was unaware that a 1st class degree in Railway Time-table-ing was required. However, after an hour of entering the same station and passenger information repeatedly I managed to find an Indian bank that would accept my payment. My options for seating were fairly slim as we had left booking quite late in Indian rail terms. But I managed to secure two beds in a 6 man cabin (Pictured Right) for an over night trip from Delhi to Varinassi.

One Trip down, seven to go.

After a few more teething problems and 120 Rupees (£1.70) worth of cancellation fees, I managed to book tickets for all 8 legs of the journey and it only took me 8 long hours.

The route we will shall take is shown on the map to the left (Click to enlarge).

First we are taking the blue loop through Delhi - Varanassi - Agra - Jaipur - Jodhpur - Jaisalmer and back to Delhi.

Then we will take a short 3 day trip to Shimla (Red loop) which is apparently "a mock Tudor settlement with all the characteristics of a suburban town in Surrey". I've also read that Everest can be seen from Shimla on a clear day. I'm pretty certain you can't do that in Guildford.

Santa's little visit

I must have been a good boy this year as St. Nick was extremely kind. He got me a whole host of items to aid me on my adventure including one item which nobody should be without, The Universal Travel Plug. A plug capable of blocking any plug hole on the entire planet. All I was expecting this year was a lump of coal so I was especially pleased to receive this little hoard.

Saying that, in the world's current economic situation, a lump of coal can only appreciate in value....

New Name

"The Adventures of James Peel" is now available via its new address:

www.jamespeel.info

The Positive Side of the Credit Crunch

I went shopping today for various items of Travelling paraphernalia. I went to blacks in Norwich and was very pleased to discover they had a 20% off sale on everything in-store for one day only. I'm now fairly well prepared equipment wise which is more that can be said for my sidekick who is hoping a Tesco carrier bag, a box of PG tips and his collection of 35 guide books will suffice.

Smyles all round

After reading numerous books and travel websites during my long tedious night shifts. I took some advice and booked a hotel with Airport transfer included for our first weeks stay in Delhi.

After a little googling I stumbled across the Smyle Inn which describes its self as;

"The right place if you are looking for a very Neat & Budget accomodation in New Delhi 's Paharganj area which is 5 minute walk from New Delhi Railway Station." - Not the greatest use of the English Language.

Despite this rather enticing description, the real selling point was the picture of the reception area including the receptionist and his salmon shirt. All this class and sophistication for the grand total of 2223 Rupees, roughly £15 per head.

Milan

In preparation of the real adventure BJ and I jetset across Europe, with only 1 bag of hand luggage, for a few days in Milan, Italy.
Milan in a nutshell:

• Italians love a shiny shoe.
• There is no parking laws.
• Everybody is dressed a little too well.
• There is a beggar who can whittle animals/flowers out of vegetables. i.e. Carrots, potato, beetroot. (Pictured Right)
  
• Always use the underground especially if your footware cost less than £5.
• If you ever visit the Castello Sforzesco count how many stray cats you can spot in the Moat. I counted 47.
  

Flight Confirmation

Today we received confirmation of the flights we shall be boarding. This got me very excited.

The incomprehensible format in which Skippy sent them to me took a little while to untangle but the important bit translates to:

Heathrow to Delhi : 16/01/2009
Delhi to Singapore : 20/02/2009
Bangkok to Melbourne : 22/03/2009
Cairns to Brisbane (Transfer) to Auckland : 26/07/2009
Auckland to Sydney (Transfer) to Honk Kong : 28/08/2009
Beijing back to Heathrow : 20/09/2009

The Booking

Today the Adventure was finally set in stone after it was booked and paid for. 16th January 2009 is the date it will all begin. First Stop - New Delhi, India. I've plotted the route we expect to take on the Map above. If you click to enlarge it you will be able so see more clearly.

Blue lines represent flights and the red lines represent routes Rory and I shall have to navigate using public transport.

Foreword

For some time now my good friend Rory (Pictured Right) and I have discussed leaving these shores and setting sail on a little adventure around the world. Recently discussions have developed into something a little more substantial and after nearly a year in the pipe line it might just go ahead. Potential dates & destinations have been flagged, vaccination causes have begun and the money has been saved. Well almost.

Along with the aid of my noble side-kick The Adventures of James Peel are about to commence and will be documented here for anybody who wishes to follow. I don't wish to be overly ambitious so have only set myself the target of updating the site with new photos and stories at least twice each month. Nothing too strenuous.

I would also like to take this opportunity to apologise for any spelling & grammatical errors that will inevitably feature throughout.

And so it begins.......

Testing

Just thought id give this a quick test to get the ball rolling.

skfj idhg owihf ndo; wluhv bdjb bbv uibvuidbsv buiubvusd usdhv osd duhv sohd vouwhg vsonhv owuh vosjdvn jwehv uhsodn vosduhv uor ouhs vuohsoduhv uovhs uohsv hsodh vuohs vouhs douhv uwnr vbos duv ouh osidh vosudh gvuohsodhv oushd vosdhv osduh voushdouvhurghv isugdu vh ousdy voushduvg sgdov osdovh osodyvisduvyosy ovysdouvy suyv souvty isyv suyd uvusdyvo sodivhoisyd vovhweouv whjdhv owhdv ksgjdgcisvudhgvo sudgvojuhjhvojs dyuvgsiuv sgougdouhov sougv ousgcugvoudgvosdiugviugsg vgsvgo sugvos dgv ousgdv sogdgovgsodgv ous dg vosboud vgsu duov sug iusdg ougvougoudg vougsogoduv gousgd ouv gsudgvousdg voug soduvg os gugdvgousdgvou gbns gviw.

Seems to be working just fine.