No, you are not seeing double, for some reason subscribers had not been sent the link to this post, and I know that lots of you have been waiting to see the update on the renovations!
I am going to try again and also provide a further update at the end!!
Hello friends who are reading this, thank you for sticking with me! It has been about 16 months since I last posted and I am glad to report that I am actually in my own home, although it took until a couple of months ago to get a proper bed. This post is probably going to be all mixed up timelines, but I am just going to get it all down!
When I last posted, I was ‘in between’ builders, I did have one lined up and I had somewhere to stay for a month. Needless to say, there were other issues with the builder (didn’t turn up), I had to go and look for my windows and make sure that they made their way here!
Rajiv, Tayla and I went to India for Christmas and New Year, Tayla had not been before and Rajiv wanted to show her how wonderful the country is. We did the usual nothern Golden Triangle trip but we included Gwalior as that is where Rajiv’s Grandpa Jim taught in the early 1960’s.
It was a whistlestop trip, 1 or 2 nights in each place but we did see and do alot. It was bittersweet being back but I did manage to catch up with some of my oldest friends. I think Tayla enjoyed it, I could see that she found some things beautiful and fascinating, but other things, like being followed around by groups of boys, people just stopping and staring, very uncomfortable. It was a strange experience for me as I had not encountered that kind of behaviour before. New Delhi was just scary, taxi drivers following you around, making conversation just to trick you in to going a certain route etc. I don’t know what has happened or why – maybe it was because there are fewer and fewer tourist so everyone is battling for business, or COVID has changed things for them – but I can say with all confidence that I will not be going to Delhi again.
Not the most flattering of pics but I made it to The Golden Temple – something that I had been wanting to do for years!
The trip was a great success and we all enjoyed it, I even introduced Rajiv and Tayla to Fabindia, on of my favourite places to shop.
I was able to move into the house when I got back from India as all the windows were in. Most things were done upstairs, the only sticking point was my bathroom. My ensuite was going to be where the old kitchen was, no one thought about drainage or the fact that as the house was up a hill, the inside of the house was lower than outside – water cannot flow upwards!!!!! Thankfully, the upstairs guest bathroom was complete so I had time to get it all sorted.
It turned out to be the biggest upheaval, of course… the only solution was to have a pumping station installed, and yes, it is and complex a situation as it sounds. The back yard had to be dug up, which then revealed all the drainage pipes had been broken and crushed by the original builder. I had to have the whole back yard dug out, all the pipes relaid and then a tank installed that has a pump attached to it. All the grey water from the bathroom would then go into the tank, which then pumps it all into the main drain.
Once that was installed, the bathroom could be fitted and it all took about 6 months to complete. At least the master suite is complete!
In October Rajiv and Tayla got married in a small and intimate ceremony, it was a lovely event that we all enjoyed. The civil service was in a small hotel chapel in London and the Vedic ceremony at their home in Wimbledon.
After the wedding, I went to Colombia! I had 10 days on an organised tour with G Adventures, it was fabulous. I had no idea what to expect, people even questionned if I should be going! Yes, it has a reputation of drugs, violence and gangs but it does seem to becoming out the other side. It could be that we could only see the side that we were supposed to but it was fascinating, all the same.
The group that I travelled with were from all over the world and a good bunch of people, our guide was really good and really tried to show us the real Colombia. We were to Bogota, Salento, Armenia, Medellin and then ended in Cartagena. It was a really diverse country with a troubled history. We went to Communa 13 where Escobar was based, learnt how things are still volatile there but everyone tries to make a living – possibly not an honest one though. I did not feel unsafe or concerned, everyone was friendly and seemed to love their country. It is a beautiful place, coffee farms, green spaces and a lot of nature. The only anomoly for me was Cartagena, it was dirty, run down and didn’t live up to the UNESCO hype – very disappointing. I randomly bumped into my cousin’s daughter there – they say the world is small but that was really random!
I then met some USA friends for a few days in Aruba!
Now back to the house…I have spent ages trying to get pairs of pictures, before and after so I can show the changes. It’s strange as I can’t really remember what it was like, I have become so used to it already.
Below is the transition from back bedroom to dining area out to the terrace.
My bedroom to kitchen!
Front bedroom to sitting room.
I know I should have tidied up a bit more before I took the pictures but it is a home, not a show home! One of my favourite projects is my mural.
I wanted to be able to see right through the house from front to back, so I could see the sea from the back terrace. All the walls came down and I vaulted the ceilings in the dining area and lounge and that made such a difference.
I would like to end this post with a picture – taken in Dominican Republic in February 2025 – a picture says a thousand words, all them words of love and happiness.
What the next few months are going to bring, I have no idea. I may not write for another few months – my neighbour and dear friend is very poorly and we are organising a charity auction event in aid of stomach cancer and raising awareness about it. I don’t know if she will be around for it but we will keep going and raise a generous amount in her name.
In another update, using the thought from Ferris above, I have taken a career break!! I am not using the work retirement, as I am thinking of freelance/contracting, but life does move fast and before you know it, your knees give out or health issues get in the way.
I want to make sure that I can do things when I am still fit enough, make the most of living in Cornwall and seeing the world a bit more.
As my first big adventure was scuppered by COVID, I am planning a big trip for about 4/5 months later this year. I want to ultimately get to Australia and NZ, via Malaysia, then get to French Polynesia and then return via possibly Japan, South Korea, Taiwan etc.
I am looking at options at the moment, do I just set off and arrange stuff as I go along? Is it work booking something from UK to start off and then take it from there? Will there be better deals on trips from within the country? I want to make more use of hostels etc, not the traditional backpacker ones but there are more and more 50+ travellers and so things have changed.
If anyone has any words of advice and guidance, where are the best areas to be based or where/what to avoid, I would be really interested in hearing what you think. This will be the big trip, I have to experience what it all has to offer!
And if I can catch up with anyone en route, all the better!!
Looking forward to getting some good plans together 😉
Adventures of Nisha 