No turning back now!

It’s less than a week to go and unfortunately I’ve spent the last 2 days the way I think I’ll be spending most of my time while in India - on the toilet.

Even so, I've tried to stay focussed on the positives:
1) I can eat more food and it passes right through (let’s be honest, the best part of a meal is the eating, not the digesting)
2) I have more time for surfing the internet!

In fact, I found some really useful information today:

Here are the 3 most crucial commodities you won’t be able to find in India (so it’s best to bring them with you):
1. Underwear (especially well fitting bras)
2. Feminine hygiene products
3. Sanity (No one in India is sane?! I’ll fit right in then!)

When I have managed to leave the bathroom, I've been mournfully looking at all the clothes I have to leave behind. Josiah gets one (half of a) bag, and I get the rest. Still, I have to be mindful of not packing too much so I did a google search for tips on packing lightly. Here’s one piece of advice that stood out from the rest:

“One shirt, one pair of shorts, and one pair of undies will last you for months!”

That’s just gross! And no doubt written by a man.

Moving on, over the weekend we held our garage sale!
It was such a huge success that now our whole house is empty except for our bed, an esky and a microwave. Living without a fridge has been rather challenging, but I try to remind myself that people pay good money for this sort of experience and consider it a holiday (I think they call it 'camping').

Josiah did a great job as the salesman at the garage sale.

"Yes, come and buy stuff you don't actually want!"

Josiah was on such a roll, he went looking for more things to sell.
"Anyone want to buy a half eaten sandwich? You know you want to!"

A big shout out to Josiah's dad for taming our jungle-garden
before our final inspection!

T minus 8 days

Isn’t it wonderful when your husband sells your washing machine without telling you? What a lovely surprise it is to walk into your laundry with a huge basket of dirty clothes, only to find your beloved and ever faithful helper (the washing machine, not the husband) has disappeared!!

Since our laundry is outside, I assumed that we had been robbed. At that stage I didn’t stop to wonder why anyone would want to steal my washer, or for that matter, why they didn’t take the dryer with them. 

I rushed back inside in hysterics, not stopping for the undies falling on the ground or the towels wrapping around my legs.

“It... it’s... it’s GONE!” I said to Josiah.
“What’s gone?!” He stood up.
“MY WASHING MACHINE!”
He sat back down.
“Oh, yeah I sold it. I told you that.”
“No you didn't!” 

Actually he had, but let's not dwell on it. 

I've decided that I'll just pop over to visit my dear sister a lot more often than I used to (and I'll just happen to bring my laundry when I visit...)

T minus 10 days and counting!

In only 10 days my husband and I will be leaving Australia for a grand, impulsive worldwide adventure!

Our first stop is India. I’m excited, anxious, nervous, overwhelmed...but mostly impatient. I just want to be there already (I hate packing).

Our visas have been finalised which is a huge relief. We both got business visas (which cost us almost $850). The man at the consulate tried to convince my husband that I should only get the tourist visa (which is only $100) but I was insistent, and won out in the end. With the business visa I can star in all the Bollywood soapies and movies that will have me! So it's worth it. I've already started practising the famous "changing-the-light-bulb" dance step. I have to say, I'm pretty good at it.

I have made it my mission to do as much research on an expat’s life in Mumbai as I can before heading over. It has been fascinating!

I've read about how marvellous everything is, how horrifying everything is, how bad the author's diarrhea was... (some people share WAY too much detail). 

Actually I'm guilty of that too so be warned!

My conclusion from all that study - it is very important to always know where the nearest toilet is. And when an Indian man gropes your bottom while standing on a crowded train, a "swift elbow jab in the direction of the offender" should be your first reaction before they can scurry away. I'm practising this movement while I think of the next paragraph.


Anyway, my task list today:

- learn another 2 Hindi phrases (I have “Namaste” well and truly under my belt so it really is time to move on)
- continue packing (probably not going to happen)
- come to terms with the $550 I had to fork out for vaccinations (also unlikely to happen).
- finalise my photography portfolio
- cook something yummy (I just made this one up but I think it’s pretty important)
- day dream about my new life in Mumbai! The fabulous parties, the delicious food, the sarees, etc etc.

I'll leave you with a picture of me indulging in one of the last non-curry meals I'll be having for a while.


Yes, it's really that big. 


And no, I don't have any make up on so be kind!