An unexpected start!

Well, this is a weird start to what should have been another epic journey. Now, it feels like I'm taking a very big leap into the unknown! I'm leaving this morning from Bodmin Parkway station on a train to Reading. Three changes after that, I'll arrive at Heathrow Terminal 4. Tonight, I'll fly to Hong Kong, where I will stay for seven nights. After that, it's a large blank! 

Let me explain ...

I drove down to Cornwall on Monday to stay for a couple of nights with my family and to leave Bertha (my campervan) on their drive for the six months I was expecting to be out of the country. I was due to fly from Hong Kong to Gujarat in India on November 12th, take part in a textile tour, and then fly on to Goa on 25th, where I was due to stay until next April. 

All of these plans were thrown into disarray, however, when I stopped at a motorway service station for a comfort break, checked my emails, and discovered that my visa application for India had been refused! No reason was given. I was absolutely devastated! All my plans had come to nothing. My head was spinning. All kinds of scenarios were wizzing around. I went through every possible solution I could think of - on the rest of the drive, once I arrived at my family's place, during a sleepless night, and into yesterday. Every idea I explored hit a brick wall!

So, here I am, on my way to the airport with no definite plans in place beyond next Thursday! I didn't even travel like this when I was backpacking in my youth! With no possibility of changing the India situation, I just have to embrace the unknown and work it out as I go. Having already paid out for flights to India and months of accommodation, whatever I do will be heavily influenced by my severely limited budget. I can't get any refunds because refusal of a visa is not grounds I can claim for on my very expensive insurance!

Come along with me for the ride. It will either be an epic adventure, or I will be back in the UK in a couple of weeks, facing a cold and miserable winter. Fingers crossed, it's the former!

The photos attached to this footprint are of picturesque Bodmin Parkway station this morning, where volunteers were busy tending the flower beds, and GWR staff were moving some very old carriages into the restoration sheds 😊.Read more