It’s time to say Namaste and introduce
ourselves, your crew for what will no doubt be another epic Odyssey
expedition. We are Helen and Rogan, also
known as Hels and Rogs. We’ll be lucky enough or brave enough (some say) to be
joining you guys on a 20,000km blast through some amazing parts of the world
from high mountain passes, snowy vistas to sea crossings, bring it on!
Preparations should be nearing their
crescendo as bags are trial packed, hands thrown up in despair, agony at having
to ditch that extra pair of jeans or shoes.
Or maybe joy on realising you have a little extra space and can squeeze
that jar of Vegemite or Marmite, depending which side of the world you come
from. Just remember if you unpack half the contents of you bag now you’ll
probably still have brought too much.
It’s not such a bad idea, if there is
something that makes you happy, edible or non-edible, and it doesn’t tip the
scales then pop it in. Not forgetting a
bottle of something Duty Free on the way to break the ice getting to know your
fellow travellers. Kathmandu is a good
place to pick up a lot of items, especially warm clothing, so it’s not the end
of the world if you arrive and discover you’ve forgotten your toothbrush, all
you really need is your passport.
We’ve been doing a bit of shopping
ourselves, new knives and peelers to make cook group even more fun, as well as Googling
“Can you buy cheese in Kathmandu” (the answer is yes!). Attempting to get back into the spirit of
overlanding and camping we’ve attended a few festivals and cooked up some of
the local food we’ll find along the way, particularly successful was the Georgian
style grilled aubergine with walnut topping, delicious.
 |
| Camping in England... fortunately a bit more space where we're going! |
We’ll be
boarding a plane bound for Kolkata on Monday to reunite with Calypso, our home
for the next few months, and then wending our way, dodging holy cows on our
week long drive up to Kathmandu. The hotel in Kolkata emailed to say they are expecting us and ended
with “Welcome you to city of joy!!”. Welcome us, thank you very much!
Bon Voyage
and safe travels wherever you might be travelling from. The earth moved for
us last year, in the form of an earthquake in China. Who knows what this expedition will
bring. We look forward to seeing you in Nepal, the
start of our adventure, and sharing all (well maybe not all) the stories here
along the way with those that aren’t so fortunate to be with us in person for
the ride. See you soon!
