PREPARATIONS !!!!

Being the virgin foreign traveller that I am - I have found the whole process of making the arrangements to travel to be slow, sometimes confusing, tedious, frustrating, and..... EXPENSIVE!

Going to Wales was never like this.

At the earlier stage of having the germ of the idea when talk was easy - I considered that the length of a visit would more or less cost the same however long I went for (obviously apart from living expenses) and it seemed pointless to go for 2 weeks. I thought that if I did turn out to be useful, it would make sense to stay for a reasonable time and initially 3 months seemed sensible. However, my nearest and dearest thought that a month might be too long (for me or the orphanage???) - so WE compromised on the chosen 2 months. When to go? That was easy - it's coldest in England during January and February - decision made. 
 It was almost a year away at this stage so the easy talk continued on and off. It came to a fairly abrupt halt though as the time moved on and it was getting close to putting my money where my mouth was!

I now had to make some sort of arrangements and I realised that before booking a flight - I needed to be sure that the Indian Government would allow me into their country and that it was proper to sort out a visa first. The choice was a 3 month, 6 month or 12 month one. 
The 3 and 6 month ones were the same cost and the 12 month one much more expensive. It seemed more practical to apply for a 6 month one I though in case I became so indispensable that Sarah begged me to stay on longer as they couldn't possibly survive without me. That was a relief as I therefore needed to wait until nearer the end of the year in order to apply for a visa in order to fit the time frame. 
I could start the easy talk again.

Unfortunately, November came earlier this year it seemed and I knew that I would have to stir myself into action. After some research, I discovered that I could apply for an Indian visa online - Great.
Not so great actually - it took me hours to do it. The process of saving information and going back to complete the application using a 'password' failed EVERY time - so I must hold the world record for the number of times an application has been started from the beginning. Nothing seemed to be straightforward with it and so I had to call in the services of SUPER SON.
My boy Jon is pretty hot with computers and stuff - he'd soon sort it.
Thanks Jon for the hours you spent wrestling with the application and taking my photo and adjusting it to their peculiar size requirements to be copied onto the form. 
Then just when we thought that we had cracked it - we discovered that they wanted an actual hard copy of my photo clipped to the application!!!? How on earth do you clip a real printed photo onto a virtual form and submit it for process?
Answer: You print the form off, clip the actual photo to it and post it to the Indian Embassy.
How on earth that equates to an online application still puzzles me.
Anyway, payment made (online!!), form POSTED by Special Delivery and surprise, surprise - in less than a week, an approved visa arrived through my letterbox.

Around the same time I explored my innoculation needs - Japanese Encephalitis (What's that !???) - £170 !!!, a few lesser ones and Malaria treatment. (Fortunately I'd had a necessary Hepatitis B jab some years before because of my policing exploits otherwise that would have been an extra £180!). The only painful part of these was the payment and that task was soon sorted.
Next was the flight arrangements. There are so many choices. Cheap airlines

Crowded planes

Which airlines might be most appropriate? Indian Airlines? 

Actually, booking the flight was relatively easy and for the princely sum of £460, Emirates Airline has the privilege of my custom leaving from Birmingham Airport at the civilized time of around 1.15 pm to arrive in Hyderabad at 8.40 am the next morning, taking in a 3 hour visit to Dubai Airport en route. 
And no worry when I do arrive at Hyderabad, Sarah has arranged for me to be picked up.

She's indicated to me where my seat has been reserved on here.

Please take a quick look at this video of Christmas 2013 at Sarah's Covenant Homes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTIUJDb21LE&feature=youtu.be

As for me - all necessary arrangements made and my winter job is done.

It's been a matter of getting through the holiday period before sorting out the packing.
So a well earned rest before the off:

I thought that I'd explain the reasons for creating a blog for my epic adventure - I want to make it absolutely clear that in no way is it about me in the sense that I want it to appear that I'm doing something wonderful for humanity (although Saint Dave does have rather a nice ring to it).I stand in awe of people like Sarah and the people who work sacrificially with her and the thousands of others who are in similar positions - people who devote the whole or large parts of their lives to helping others and personally I feel somewhat guilty that my life has been more self-centred in its 'normality'. It's easy to send money occasionally to help - but these people live the life and 'walk the walk' and I feel privileged to be allowed to walk in the footsteps of some of these Giants.

Hopefully through reading these entries, it will raise the profile of the work of Sarah's Covenant Homes, India (http://www.schindia.com) and maybe even prompt some of you to pray for them and occasionally offer some practical support.

I intend in my next entry to relate the trials and tribulations of this geriatric's attempts to prepare the way for the trip - which certainly wasn't easy or straightforward.
Meanwhile, I've been practicing for when I arrive in India - I was sick 4 times and had Diahorrea on Christmas Day although it was a 5 minute wonder - a sort of sprint rather than a marathon - but from all of the warnings I've been given, it seemed like a worthwhile exercise..

IN THE BEGINNING

Hmmmmm - where to start ?
Although I title this as a virgin traveller abroad - this is not strictly true.
I have actually been to foreign parts - mostly Wales -  but in recent years I have actually ventured to Brittany in France but this was really only to do work for my sister who bought a converted farm for holiday lets - and this was whilst being chaperoned through the airports by my Aunt Ev who was in her mid-80s at the time! So I don't count any of that - especially in view of my forthcoming solo adventure to India. I went up to Newcastle a year ago to collect a car that I'd bought and I boarded the wrong train at Leeds, heading towards Scarborough before an understanding Ticket Collector threw me off to remedy my error (I was 3 hours late in arriving!).

So - hopefully you can see my trepidation at trying to navigate the globe - changing planes at Dubai airport all on my own is surely more difficult than changing trains ????

Anyway - what has brought me to this perilous position you ask? Well I'll start at the beginning......

I was born at an early age - in the days when everything was in black and white - even before Coronation Street was first broadcast.
Times was hard - we had an outside toilet and no hot water - not even a bath unless you count the old tin one that hung in the outside coal house. That came into use once a year whether we needed a bath or not! I travelled on my little bike everywhere - miles and miles to go train spotting, fishing, watch football, school and even work when I was older - this is why I have such skinny legs!.
Times was hard.

Then I got married and times was still hard! It was worth it though, endowing me now with a wonderful wife (Ann) and two fabulous children (Helen and Jonathan)

. But money was still fairly scarce, as it was for many people, and we made do with old cars

and rainy holidays in North Wales (usually) - never feeling the need to consider going abroad.

Fast forward to present times and I'm retired, under my wife's feet with a load of work to do on the house, old cars (still) to fix, 5 grandchildren in London and 3 (plus 1 imminent) around the corner - I needed an escape plan and fast!

About 3 /4 years ago, I discovered, via Facebook, an organisation called 'Sarah's Covenant Homes, India' (http://www.schindia.com/) - I'd encourage - nay, implore you to take a look at the website. This is a fantastic, selfless work where somewhere in the region of 120 or so abandoned children with quite often major physical, mental, and emotional difficulties are cared for in such a loving way that I stand in awe of those involved in the organisation. There is no major charity that this is a branch of - they survive by faith and help from people who feel led to do so.
Sarah has humoured me since I first became her Facebook 'friend' and in a small way I feel that I have a link with them. I regularly share the updates and needs of the children on my  Facebook page and as I am now in a position to try to do something practical - have now bought the ticket, got the visa, had the injections and am in countdown to January 14th, 2014 when (provided I get on the right planes), I will be flying out of Birmingham Airport, arriving in Hyderabad the following morning (sounds easy when you just say it like that doesn't it?). All things then being equal - unless I am deported earlier, the plan is that they are relieved of me on March 15th, 2014.
Sarah knows that I know nothing about everything and will have an attempt at anything and already she has 'wonderful plans' brewing for me as I type. Their list asked questions of qualifications and skills - well I have GCE 'O' levels in French, English Language, Maths, and Technical Drawing - with regards to Medical, Teaching, Ministry &c &c skills I unfortunately had to put 'No - but I'll have a go', so I wait with bated breath.

This is the start of my big adventure - you may never see me again so I write this for posterity and in the hope that I will be remembered sympathetically and kindly.  The next entry will tell you of the difficulties and dilemmas of this early senility candidate actually arranging the journey.