Final Preparations for Departure
Earlier this year, after no more than a few weeks back in England, I started to plan my forthcoming trip to India.
I was welcomed as a long-lost son last December, when I returned to the clinic at MattIndia. This time, I shall start my trip there and detox for 10 days on a vegetarian diet, devoid of any caffeine, sugar or alcohol. I shall be pummelled and stretched by my sadistic duo of masseurs - but I know that I shall feel wonderful after they have done their worst.
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Meenakshi Amman Temple - Madurai |
Last year, I went on from the clinic to spend time sight-seeing.
My stay in Madurai was a cultural sauna - a total immersion in a city with a vibrant buzz of Hindu pilgrimage and world tourism, centred around a massive and awe-inspiring temple.
Subsequently, my time at the Ashram was a revelation of a totally different approach to Christianity - or indeed to faith and religion in general.
I knew that this was the perfect venue to continue to work on my book, and by Easter I was starting to watch fluctuations in the airfares, and think about my itinerary.
Since I returning to Lincoln at the end of January, I have made a complete break from writing and have taken the opportunity to do more research and study in areas that I had not previously explored. I am nervous about writing a book for which I have no academic qualifications, but at the same time, I sincerely believe that this gives me the advantage of approaching and investigating my subject without having been immersed and indoctrinated in other people's ideas.
I realise that not all my blog-followers will be interested in my esoteric ramblings so I am going to have two locations covering my blogging on this trip. The one you are now reading will focus on the general travel and tourism, while the other can be found under the title Simply Channelling and will cover my spiritual journey in more detail. If you are on the mailing list, or on Facebook, you'll get regular links to the latest posts.
But it's not all going to be monastic self-denial with the Benedictines at the ashram! For the final month of my 3-month sojourn I shall be the "Writer in Residence" in a studio apartment in the suburbs of Pondicherry (now renamed Puducherry.) Pondicherry was a French enclave until a plebiscite in 1954, when a majority vote decided that Pondicherry should become part of the of the Indian Union. My hunch is that the town will have a hint of the laid-back Graham Green atmosphere that I found when I made business trips to the French colony of Djibouti in North-East Africa in the 60's. The cuisine will be interesting, too.
India has never disappointed me, so I am excited about heading to Heathrow in little more than a fortnight. I'll fly Qatar airways again, because it is so very different from other carriers, with a multi-national mix that is a great way to start a long-haul journey.
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| A 380-800 : A Double-decker Super-jumbo |
To start with, from Heathrow to Doha, the plane is a 500+ seater, double-decker. The cabins are cleverly arranged so that you never appreciate the vast size since the seating is divided into relatively small areas.
Once you find your seat, the next surprise is the diversity of the cabin crew, typically including Kenyan, Egyptian, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Italian, French and Spanish stewards and stewardesses, so I happily practice a few languages (even though they all speak English.)
The seats are wider than the Boeing 747 and there is extra leg room, and the entertainment system is well stocked with a library system that you can pause and rewind.
But I am dreaming already, as I sit in my Lincoln apartment, surrounded by utter chaos as I try to locate plug adapters, cables and chargers, while at the same time endeavouring to clear my desk, balance my bank account and check I have written, signed and stamped 3-months'-worth of children's and grandchildren's birthday cards.
I leave on December 1st . . . - and I can't wait !
I leave on December 1st . . . - and I can't wait !
