I do like to be beside the Seaside...

So these are courtesy of my sister who is off to Bournemouth next week to start a new lease of life. Looks pretty idyllic to me - runs on the beach, evening barbecues and plenty of fish and chip suppers!

Chilling days

Some pics of my time away and my walk in the country yesterday, thought these would make a nice collection of images (hopefully the beach shots will warm you up on this cold Monday morning!)

Retrospective

   China, Beijing

    America, NY

    Nepal, Lumbini

    Morroco, Marrakech

    Cambodia, Angkor Wat

    India, Varanasi

    Italy, Rome                

    Jordan, Wadi Rum

    Burma, Hsipaw

    Vietnam, Dalat

    Laos, Luang Prabang

       Turkey, Istanbul

       Germany, Berlin

Sun Worship

Wild Child

'Long time no post'  I hear you cry!  Apologies, Apologies but I'm afraid I failed miserably at keeping any sort of blog - I'm giving myself a slap on the wrist as we speak.  But as an apologetic offering I'm posting some of my favourite pictures of my time away - the amazing people I met and the incredible things I saw.  I hope you'll accept this apology and see fit to continue to follow me on wherever this blog may go.

Running away from home...

On Tuesday I'm running away from home! Only this time I intend to take just a bit more then a packet of crisps, a jumper and Hamley (my favourite stuffed toy) and I'll have to go a bit further then the end of the drive to get where I'm headed!  On Wednesday morning at 9am I'll arrive at Beijing airport with only a rucksack brimming with Lonely planet books, Factor 50 suncream and enough Malaria tablets to start a pharmacy to my name, ready to start my 2011 adventure.

I can't quite explain how I feel about this prospect at the moment.  Surreal is the best way to describe it.  To think that I will be 3000 metres above sea level teaching Tibetan orphans English this time next week is slightly hard to digest. Only 10 days ago I had a London flat, a job most girls would kill for and an element of security in my life.  My lifestyle for the next 8 months will hold no resemblance to that of the past 2 years.  What lies ahead is yet unknown and whilst this fills me with dread it also fills me with inexpressible amounts of excitement. 

This blog will be the soundpost for those emotions I am yet to feel, the sights I am yet to see and the experiences that are yet to come.  I cannot predict what these will be though I suspect they'll exhaust, inspire and astonish.  The only thing that I can predict with any certainty will be the shade of my skin -  this pale nomad will remain just that! Only a few welcome freckles will act as the physical evidence of my adventures on my return but this blog will remain as a solid account of my time away.  I hope I do it justice.