The Shifting Sands

Everything you need for a ski trip, a cheap room, ski gear and six Kingfisher Strong beers I was more prepared for this trip to Kashmir than ever before.  I had included legs into my weight routine and had trained in a hypoxic chamber for the month leading up to the trip.When I was last in France I had purchase myself an avalanche airbag pack to help reduce the outcomes associated with avalanche risk.  I was ready. Kashmiri food stalls a the top of Stage 1,  while  the Valley was in cloud it was all sun on the slopes Now with the unpredictable nature of work I only had 5 days away which included two travel  days. My first challenge was getting the compressed air bottle, which was part of my avalanche back pack, on the aircraft in Mumbai.  It is approved for air travel by IATA but it still took 45 minutes of arguing and all the IATA Guidelines in my hands.  It helped escalating it to the Head of Security who finally said that it wasn't

The start of our 4th year in India As we embarked on our 4th year in India, it became obvious to Kate that I hadn't been sightseeing in South Mumbai in a coordinated fashion.  Yes, I had traveled down from the suburbs to see particular sites but I was yet to just lounge around with no particular agenda or timelines.  In an effort to change this, Kate had booked a room at a new boutique hotel in Apollo Bunder called Abode for a NYE night away. Ahhhhh a bath. Lizzie, an expat of 4 years, along with her architect boyfriend, had renovated a grungy hotel located behind the Taj Hotel and near Gordon House.  They gutted the building, removing they layers of false walls and ceilings and rebuilding the facade and opening up a central lounge and reception area.  The result is an attractive loft style space.  The now large rooms were fitted tastefully decorated with just enough Indian flavour but not too much to put off the long term expat who is wary of Indian kitsch.  B

After Christmas and the New Year, there was much internal debate about if the girls should go back to Australia or stay in Mumbai and do something locally.  Ewan and Nicola, friends from Mumbai, had built two "shacks" and were building a large house near Tangalle in southern Sri Lanka and there was a long standing invitation for us to visit.  After much consternation Kate and Ada and I decided that Sri Lanka was the best option. Lucy opted for the long drive to Goa and a holiday with her friends family. In doing my research on Sri Lanka, I was able to identify an adventure outfitter, Borderlands, who were willing to hire a composite sea kayak to me for a number of days at a reasonable rate.  This was amazing as it is often hard to hire this type of equipment.  With a kayak I was able to plan my usual schedule of early morning paddles. Shack 2 The differences between India and Sri Lanka first hit us at the customs desk at the international airport, where we