A New Hobby

Last weekend Andy and I decided to have a go at wakeboarding. Andy had been on a cable-type wakeboard on a stag weekend and was keen to have another go. I was new to wakeboarding, but there is no better way of spending a bank holiday Saturday than on the water, getting stuck in to a new sport. I have to say, though, I hadn't really thought the whole thing through, and got a bit of a shock when I jumped into the icy water and the boat whizzed off, dragging me (literally) behind it... However, I managed to stand up on the 4th attempt, and quickly realised that standing was a lot warmer and more comfortable than being dragged through the wake, able to see nothing. Once you get up its remarkably similar to snowboarding. Although I am not exactly the world's snowboarding expert (due, I believe, mainly to the fact that I bought my snowboarding boots in a fab colour but the wrong size, hence I am completely crippled - though extremely stylish - when I hit the slopes). So the actual turning was quite easy once I was upright behind the boat. Being the only girl was a benefit as all the guys, not least Andy, were cheering me on and really I felt quite good about myself.
Andy also did really well and managed a couple of jumps. Don't worry, I won't mention the fact that you did a headplant into the wake and got a black eye...! It was a fab day, and I have to recommend Jason at Free Radicals in Conwy, who was such a fab teacher and brilliant fun.
Oh, and I feel obliged to point out that the lady in the picture is, unfortunately, not me. I wouldn't be caught dead in that bikini....

Ok ok, this is me. Its not quite California but I bet its just as much fun....


Andy doing his thing...

Flint and Denbigh Show

Today was our local County Show, Flint and Denbigh. It was a really good day, and Claire and I went along to support Homer, Jo and Eve as they entered the Pleasure Driving class in the carriage driving competition. They did extremely well and came 4th. Homer was much the cutest pony in the class (oh, ok I'm biased) and who wants a big shiny expensive looking posh horse anyway? Homey was better than all of them. Jo did very well too, as it was her first competition.
There was lots to see in the main show ring, including an impossibly high showjumping course, a jousting compeition by the Knights of the Damned, a gun dog demonstration and a falconry demonstration. The local hound puppies came out to play and we also managed to watch a few of the showing classes. The working hunter classes had some beautiful horses who bravely jumped over dips and through stiles. The pony showing was quite hilarious, particularly the young foals who were taken into the ring and caused merry hell by neighing, rearing and trying to run off for the whole class.
The rain managed to hold off right until the final winners parade of all the horses and livestock who had won ribbons during the day. They ranged from the biggest bulls you have ever seen in your life, through shires, and right down to knee high miniature shetland ponies. Of course there was havoc in the arena, which only added to the entertainment... A good day was had by all.

Step 2 - Travel Visas

...step one being booking the trip, and step three being going on it. We are now the proud owners of two visas to India, and half a visa each for Vietnam (the passports are at the embassy at the moment, being processed). I've always applied for visas through the post or through visa companies before, so it was quite an experience heading to the embassies myself. The Indian embassy is on Aldwych in central London and is a big, busy building which, despite being just off the Strand, has a distinctly Indian flavour as soon as you step in the door... A fantastically complicated system which is not clearly explained anywhere, involving three separate queuing systems. Only one thing for it - bring a book and enjoy the opportunity to lose yourself in it for a couple of hours while you wait. If you find yourself without reading material, then people watching there is also fascinating. From the Indian people going back for a visit, men dressed smartly and the women wearing wonderfully colourful saris (western women should adopt the sari as a fab way to look beautiful and colourful, whilst covering all unsightly bulges). There were also the obligatory crusties, being forced to interact with the capitalist visa system so they can go and lose themselves (or are they finding themselves?) in the East. The final "queue" where passports could be collected was a rugby scrum free-for-all which provided a useful way to practice sharpening those elbows ready for the actual Indian way of doing things. For those about to go away who were complaining loudly and bitterly about the lack of organistion, I merely say "if you think this is bad, perhaps you ought to shelve the Indian travel plans and head for a week in Marbella"...

Problems in Uzbekistan

I am currently reading up on Uzbekistan so that we are aware of the situation when we are there. There have been problems for some time now...

"EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels Monday, have expressed “profound concern” over the situation in Uzbekistan, Radio Free Europe reported.

In a statement, they deplored the lack of an independent international inquiry into last year’s events in Andizhan.

The statement also condemned the crackdown on human rights activists and the expulsion of the UN High Commission for Refugees last month. It says EU sanctions agreed last November, including a freeze on political contacts, remain in place.

EU measures against Uzbek authorities include suspending a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and enacting a visa ban on some officials.

Tashkent says 187 people — mostly those officials describe as Islamic terrorists or members of the security forces — died when Uzbek forces opened fire to quell an uprising in Andizhan on May 13, 2005. Human rights groups and witnesses say hundreds of mostly unarmed civilians may have been killed."

The Trip

We are beginning the trip in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on the 13th September. From there we are heading south into Tajikistan and travelling down through the mountains to Dushanbe. Then we go back into Uzbekistan to Bukhara, Samarkand and Khiva, among other places. At the beginning of October we fly to Delhi, India and from there we travel through Agra and Varanasi to Calcutta. We will then return to Delhi and fly to Hong Kong, where I get to spend my birthday... from there we head to Bangkok and hot-foot it to the Cambodian border.
Once in South East Asia we will be spending 5 weeks in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos before we fly to Kuala Lumphur. We then spend some time in Malaysia before travelling to Singpore, where we will be for Christmas. After Singapore we fly into Sydney for New Year where we will spend some time before heading overland to Adelaide, through Melbourne. We then fly to Uluru and on to Tasmania.
Our final destination is New Zealand, where we will fly into the south island and out of Auckland. We are considering flying to the South Pacific too....
And then home! Six-and-a-half months in all.