My Brother and I never did the whole gap year travelling thing. Growing up in Spain the thing the two of us wanted most in the world was to come back to England and the best way we could see of doing that was to go to University. Which when we finished with school we both did.
It did mean though that we didn't go off with our backpacks and wander the world for a year. In fact none of our cousins did either. However, it seems that is all about to change. My Cousin is off to follow the Inca Trail with her Boyfriend. She is packing her bags and heading out for pastures new in March. A little belatedly at twenty seven and certainly not as a gap year student. I think it takes a certain amount of courage to give up your job and a life you've built to follow a wandering star. Something at times I wish I had the courage to do, but then the thought of functioning without proper plumbing occurs to me and I realise it isn't something I really want to do.
The photo at the top of this post is of my Brother. He is in India at the moment on a work trip. He's been out there for three weeks so far and is due back next week. For a family who never did this sort of travelling it has been a real eye opener to see some of his pictures and hear the stories he has to tell. He is out there for work and so he isn't travelling but he is working with and living each day with the Indian people. The picture above was taken his first full day there. His work colleagues packed him and his English work colleague up and took them away for the three day weekend. Bro said it was amazing, food incredible, scenery amazing, plumbing and sleeping arrangements left something to be desired!If he returns large amounts of toilet paper will be packed with his swimming trunks! He is loving it though, says it is an experience he is glad to have had but can't wait to get home. He has a craving for peanut butter on white plastic flappy toast!
(He probably won't thank me for putting this picture up and will no doubt want me to point out that due to his interesting personal internal plumbing arrangements he is now a great deal thinner!)
