Hello peeps!
I have been back in Maidenhead since beginning of February and plans have changed a fair bit during that time!
India had already been off the table for a while, but now Maldives has also been put aside :(
That is because the volunteering role I was trying to finalize fell through a few days ago. Reading through the info pack I got - 4 days ago (!) - from the NGO, it appeared that I need to have a CRB check done as part of the work will be with children! I was a little bit peeved off as this is a piece of information they could have communicated back in January when I first contacted them. The procedure takes 4 weeks to complete so I could have started it as soon as I arrived at the beginning of the month, but now I have no chance of getting it in time for 1st March!
A bit disappointing, but nothing that can't be turned around. I am now heading straight to Indonesia to start the 7 months long South East Asia leg of the trip.
I will be arriving in Bali next Wednesday and I can't wait to get going. Not only because of the trip itself, but because I am really suffering from the cold at the moment. In just the 2 months I was in the Caribbean, my body got completely unused to coping with cold weather. I NEED some warmth big time!!
It was nice to be back in Maidenhead for some time though. I saw a few close friends and I had loads of time to sort out travel and non travel related paperwork, tickets, hotel and read through the Lonely Planet guide a few time :)
Definitely not as rushed as I was before the trip to the Caribbean. It is just the cold buggering me - a lot!
The only thing which I did not do whilst here is the 60 days visa for Indonesia. When I looked into it, it seemed a whole lot easier to just get a 30 days visa on arrival in Bali, then renew when I am there. Much less hassle!
A few more days to go now, then the big jump! Going back to the Caribbean was not such a big stretch. I was going back to a place I know, people I know and a culture I understand. Now though, I am going into the big unknown - places, people, culture, language, all will be alien to me. Scary, but good scary.
Bring it on!
