James' World Challenge to India 2014

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Update #7 - The Final Update!

It's the last update of the expedition, and it means that it's almost time to leave for India! Just 3 more days to go! (the timeline on MyWorldChallenge has an error on it)

Last week has been fairly uneventful with the final preparations. All my toiletries have been bought as well as few t-shirts and shorts to take with me - and I'm ready to go, all I need to do is pack!

After I've finished typing this I'm going to do some car washing, which will finally mark the end of fundraising for the trip and altogether I've washed hundreds of cars for it. 

Anyway, now I'm going to give you the low-down of what is going on this week

On Monday and Tuesday, I'm just going to be at home; relaxing, packing, re-packing and mentally preparing for what is ahead! Then at 10:00 on Wednesday I'm going to leave home for my school for 'Build-Up Day'. This is for our kit to be checked, our team to get to know the leaders, prepare all the admin tasks before we leave.

Then at 4:00 on Wednesday afternoon, we'll be leaving for Heathrow after 18 months of preparations to fly to India. Our flight is 9W121 and it leaves just before 9pm, then it'll arrive in Delhi at around 10am (their time). 

While in India, I will be recording videos and taking many photos of what we see! I can't guarantee getting internet - but if I can, I will try and post something!

It really is exciting to think about what's ahead and nerves are starting to build up, but they'll soon settle down after 'Build-Up Day'. 

I've created another page on this blog which has a list of all the people who have contributed in any way to the expedition. Let me know if you're not on it, if you should be! http://indiauttarakhand2014.tumblr.com/listofawesome

So I guess that's it! I'll post a generic picture of my bags all packed up just before I leave on Wednesday with a message on it too. See you in 3 days!

Thanks, James :)

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We've had a change on our itinerary!

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Update #6

It's ten days to go! I seriously can't believe how soon it is now, it feels like only last month we had a presentation from World Challenge on that cold February evening. But it's been nearly 500 days since that, and in that time I've done so, so, much. 

This week has been uneventful, with only a couple of things happening. On Tuesday I had my final India meeting before build-up day on the 16th and we talked about kit, packing and other boring stuff. It was really helpful though to have a few questions answered. 

On Friday, I said goodbye to my sister as she is helping out at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) for two weeks and I won't be seeing her until I get back! Even though 99% of the time we hate each other, it was a bit sad to say goodbye ahead of the amazing adventures but I'll have extraordinary stories to tell her when I get back!

Yesterday, I attempted to pack to see if everything fitted in my two rucksacks and after 2 hours - it all went in with room for souvenirs, group kit and other bits! I need a lot more practise though otherwise I'm going to get shouted at a lot!

Next week, nothing much is going to happen - but I'm sure there will be something to talk about! It will also be the final 'build-up update' which just shows how quickly time is going!

Just 10 more days to go, and it'll be the start of my biggest adventure yet! Thank you to everyone who had supported me on this journey, and the stories, pictures, videos and souvenirs will hopefully repay you. 

Thanks, James :)

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Nainital, Uttarakhand | India (by sir_watkyn)

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               Elephant Safari tour in Jim Corbett National Park

Take a tour here for more detail:

http://india-wildlife-tour.blogspot.in/2014/01/elephant-safari-corbett-tour-of-oldest_13.html

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The Taj Mahal at Sunrise by Debashis Talukdar

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Update #5

So it's a Sunday, and you know what that means! India build-up update! 

As time gets closer to the 16th of July, there are less and less things to talk about because most things would've been completed at this stage. However this week saw me getting the last few bits of kit - the bowl and waterproof trousers!

It now means that I have basically completed the build-up to my expedition and I'm finally ready to go! 

Also this week, I heard news from one of my best friends (who is in the same group) might not be travelling with us because he might not get his visa in time. We fundraised so much together and completed the Challenger Run back in April, at Beale Park, and this trip really strengthened our friendship. I really do hope he does get it in time because he has worked so hard, and just to see it being destroyed all because of a piece of paper would be devastating. 

Anyway, back to the expedition. 

With 16 days to go, although technically 17, the expedition is fast approaching and both nerves and excitement are increasing. It's weird to think that this time next month, I'll be spending my last day in India and the expedition that I've been looking forward to for so long will be almost over. 

Next week is looking pretty quiet, however I have got the final meeting at school where we're going to be getting our final briefing before build-up day on the 16th (also departure day). I might also do some car washing to raise some kit money. 

Thanks again for supporting me in anyway that you have (either by donating/sponsoring/organising) and I can't wait to share some amazing stories, videos and souvenirs! 

2 weeks to go on Wednesday!

Thanks, James :)

[indiauttarakhand2014-blog]

Update #4

There is no real update this week because I am really tired from my DofE expedition this weekend, which gave me an opportunity to test out all my kit and get a taste of what India will be like! I also have mocks this week, so I'm a bit busy at the moment. 

There's 23 days to go which is really, really, soon. This week, I may get my last item of kit delivered (the bowl) but that's about it. I may write about my DofE expedition and kit reviews (maybe) next Sunday.

The next update will be on Sunday, when it'll be 17 days to go! At the rate time's flying by, the 16th of July cannot come sooner. I can almost taste the curry and hear the tuk tuks!

Thanks again for supporting me on this expedition to India, and see you next week!

Thanks, James :)

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Update #3

It's the third update, and this is just proving that time is REALLY going quickly! Tomorrow signals a month before departure and the excitement is slowly building up. This week was very busy with things I did for the trip and also more information has come through about the trip.

The first thing this was going to get my final jab! Hooray! It was the third rabies jab and wasn't painful at all, my arm did ache a bit though. The whole process of getting my jabs was slow, and having to fit it around your life and their schedule is very difficult. However, it means that I should be coming back in one piece. 

   On the Wednesday I got information about the build up day, which is basically: checking through all your kit to make sure it's up to scratch, going over the expedition in huge detail, checking through all the documents, meeting the expedition leaders and getting to know your team. As our flight is in the evening on Wednesday 16th July - the build up day will be on departure day, and we will say goodbye to our parents in the morning when being dropped off. 

The day after I went car washing for my mum's friend and work colleague. It was pretty tough because I had just finished my volunteering for DofE and had been walking between lots of places, although the cars were nice and shiny at the end. I managed to raise £15 which was good.

On Saturday I managed to buy the rest of my kit which felt really good knowing that I'm now ready to go after all this time waiting! There's quite a lot of kit to pack into two bags, so it'll probably be a struggle. All I have to do know is get some toiletries and wait for a couple of things to be delivered in the post because they weren't available in store. Thanks Cotswold Outdoor, Mountain Warehouse and Go Outdoors for suppling me with stuff for the trip!

From 10am until 4pm today, I've been bag packing at Sainsbury's supermarket which was... fun? It was good, we managed to raise £470 and I'm getting £52 of that - which isn't too shabby. But my legs are aching so much for standing around for 6 hours. Not fun. It'll be (hopefully) all worth it once we get on the plane!

So yeah, busy and exciting times now! I honestly can't believe how quickly everything's going now, and the expedition is unbelievably close. With just a month left to go, the final preparations are taking place and before we know it - we'd have arrived in Delhi. 

This week is pretty quiet for India stuff. It will be officially a month to go on the Monday, I'm expecting a delivery of the final few bits of kit and my DofE expedition where I'll be testing almost all of my kit for India. 

Next week's update may be on the Monday because of my DofE expedition and I don't know how tired I will be. But hopefully it will be fun. 

See you next week and thanks for supporting me to go on this trip!

Thanks, James :)

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Update #2

Another week has gone by and I'm the second update for donators/supporters! I aptly had a curry this evening at it was yummy! Although my Wisdom Tooth pain is making eating a chore. 

Because my Dad was in Kenya, he decided to get some US Dollars for me to change into Rupees when I'm India; and they smell like Monopoly money! $150 dollars is around £90 or 9000 rupees. 

I decided not to do car washing because I've got a Spanish speaking exam to revise for and I'm dreading it so much.

So this week wasn't particularly eventful other than the dollars, breaking through 40 days to go and general refreshing of the 'World Challenge' hashtag on Instagram. 

Next week however is full of stuff to do with the expedition! I have my final jab (Rabies) on Tuesday (thank God), car washing maybe on Saturday depending on what I feel like, later on the Saturday I'll be buying my final few bits left on the kit list and to top it all off, on Sunday - it will be the last bag pack for the trip! 

So yeah, pretty exciting and the final preparations are underway now as there is just over a month left to go! I probably won't post until next Sunday, so I hope you'll check back then!

Thanks,

James :)

[indiauttarakhand2014-blog]

Update #1

So here's the first update for my expedition to India! It's 45 days until I go, so pretty much every week there will be something new to find out what's been going on.

Just over a week ago, I had my 2nd rabies jab and my typhoid jab - which REALLY hurt and was in pain for 3 days solid. Thankfully there is only one typhoid though!

On the same day I also got my visa! The ordeal of it was HORRIBLE - the page you had to put every detail about you looked dodgy, and the fact that literally your whole identity was out of your control was terrifying. Thankfully I got it back within a week, and got a multiple entry one. Although that probably won't come in handy.

The May half-term holidays were very productive, with £40 raised from jobs for family and car washing. I also bought a lot of kit during the holidays too, and I've tested a couple of things - although I will test everything on my DofE expedition in a couple of weeks time. 

That's about it for this week. During next week, I hope to sell some old stuff at a car boot sale and raise another £40! So I guess I'll update you next Sunday with any extra news. 

Thanks,

James :)

[indiauttarakhand2014-blog]

Hello!

This is a blog I have set up to share the build up, expedition and post-expedition thoughts. For people who have donated: this is my 'thank you', to you for donating your hard earned money towards this fantastic trip.

Over the coming months you will be able to keep updated with the trip and what is going on. I am not too sure as to whether I will be able to keep this updated during my time in India, however after the expedition - there will be many photos, long posts and videos!

Every Sunday I will post an 'India Update' - to keep updated with the main parts. Although I will post out of Sundays as well.

Thanks,

James :)