Welcome to the official blog for Raleigh India 12I | July - August 2012



Welcome to the Official Blog for Raleigh India 12J September - December 2012.



Friday 30 November 2012

Tango Five - Still Alive (And Kicking)


Ruth and I paid a quick visit to Tango Five and Charlie Two this week, while David and Simon each spent a couple of days digging with Echo Three.

So here’s the first of three blogs covering our visits.

Ruth and I joined Tango Five late last Sunday afternoon towards the end of their survival day. They’d spent the day building themselves a shelter for the night (tents having been temporarily confiscated), preparing a meal from locally sourced ingredients and – joy of joys – listening to Radio Raleigh.

Their campsite was certainly bijou, but, following an application of salt along the ground around the shelter, almost leech-free.

Just to be on the safe side - Carline in leech socks
As tends to be the case on trek, the night was an early one, which meant that we were up nice and early on Monday morning for a hearty breakfast of (fill in the gaps) p……e.

Preparing breakfast and packing at the bijou campsite
Monday was a fun and easy day. An hour spent building a bamboo raft was rewarded with a 2km raft trip along a river, followed by the rest of the day spent in kayaks and a dinghy completing a 10 km stretch, with stops for refreshments along the bank. (Sorry but I didn't take any pictures for fear of my camera drowning!)

The new campsite was a field in the middle of a rubber plantation. Dinner was fairly late in trek terms, as we awaited the arrival of the supply drop to replenish the supplies consumed during previous days.

Late dinner and sorting out the supply drop. Joris looking 'smooth'  after his recent haircut

The next morning brought the arrival of a man in a balaclava wielding a machete. Happily he’d only come to empty the rubber cups and re-strip the trees!

Man clad in  balaclava tending the rubber trees Who said it was hot in India?

We left the team on Tuesday morning just after breakfast. They were all in great spirits and looking forward – albeit some with a little trepidation - to their 40 km cycle adventure.

Before we left, Carline and Joris kindly provided the following guest blog:

Tuesday morning, 27 November 2012

From the first moment we left the bus after a five-hour drive it was hot and our bags were already too heavy. The first 700 metres were the most challenging, but step by step we became more and more used to walking with twenty kilogrammes on our backs. As soon as we arrived at our first campsite three and a half hours later, we all forgot how tough our first walk had been when we saw the beautiful view of mountains and a waterfall in the distance.

After taking advantage of an unexpectedly good shower facility, we cooked our first group meal and then all enjoyed a good night’s sleep.

The next morning we left our first campsite. Day 2 was an incredible day, on which we walked 8 km with backpacks and 4 km without. These 4 kms were straight uphill and we had to climb over two peaks. After this extremely hard walk we arrived at a lovely cooling lake, where we all sat down and relaxed. Overnight we slept on top of a water tower with the most amazing view.

On the next trekking days the walking distances became longer (12 and 14 kms), but our bags became slightly lighter as we ate all the meals we were carrying. Even on the hardest moments of trekking we kept our spirits up because of the beautiful views we had. We walked through tea plantations, jungle, high grasslands and over mountains.

But … it wasn’t only sunny! On day 4 the rain suddenly came pouring down for an hour and a half. We were forced to wear our ponchos over our backpacks and we got soaking wet! And if that wasn’t enough… Arriving at our wet new campsite, we were eaten alive by leeches, our biggest enemies on this trek (after our backpacks and some blisters!)

Day 5 was all about surviving. We ate local chicken, which was lovely, and we slept under a self-made shelter.

All things considered, these first five days have been absolutely fantastic, and we are all looking forward to everything which is coming. We are laughing, sweating, walking, struggling and chilling – enjoying everything at the same time!

Big kisses to all our loved ones at home!

Last but not least, here’s a short video of your loved ones saying hello from the rubber plantation.



News from Charlie Two will follow very soon …

15 comments:

  1. Hi Hinesh
    Good to see your video clip. You seem to be in good spirits. Not long to go know and everyone is asking when you will be back.

    Here, Managalaba is in hospital with Meningitis. God knows where she picked this up from. She is recovering well now that they found out what is wrong.

    Lots going on at work. Been very busy and with some charity dinners, time is really flying. We are all looking forward to Xmas and I want a break in a sunny place - no surprises.

    all the best.

    Love DAD

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  2. Hi Hinesh

    PS - You seem to be very innovative and trendy with your headgear! Make sure you take some photos of yourself!!

    DAD

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  3. Hi joortje!! Inderdaad aan de pina colada over 3 weken.. wouw wat moet dat heerlijk zijn zeg! Broer en zus weer herenigd na 10 weken!!! Kan niet wachten om je weer te zien en alle verhalen te horen van je, want dat zullen er wel heel veel zijn. Wij zijn eergister terug gekomen uit Curacao en het is echt een paradijsje! We hebben een big momma gekocht van ongeveer 1.5 meter groot om aan het plafon te hangen (een beeld met dikke tieten en dikke billen) hahahah. Ben heel benieuwd hoe je het trekken ervaart. Ik hoop niet dat je al te veel stinkt, maar dat deed ik ook hoor.. ik mis het zo erg! Ben heel erg jaloers dat je daar nog bent, dus geniet er nog maar even goed van want voor je het weet is het alweer afgelopen. Nou heb je wel een heerlijk vooruitzicht --> Curacao!! Robin is er ook helemaal klaar voor en die is ook heel blij om straks zijn maatje weer te zien. Je groep ziet er trouwens gezellig uit!! Ik kan niet wachten om al je verhaaltjes te horen en je straks weer te zien. Ahhh joorgij... ohja en groetjes van Andre! Was heel fijn om bij hem langs te gaan. Ik spreek je joorknor xxxxxx liefs van je zus! Ik hou van je

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  4. Hi Rory! Good to see you on the video - and to see your faithful and well travelled leech shirt is still doing good service! By now I guess the bike ride should be over. Hope you enjoy the rest of the trek. It took me a few days to adjust to 'real life' after the desert and I'm still finding sand everywhere. Its cold here - yesterday there was a sprinkle of snow on the car.But then its only three weeks to Christmas! Really looking forward to seeing you and hearing all about it. Mum

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  5. To Kanahaya Alam 12J/Tango-5

    Hawaw Kinoy,

    Great video for an update..! We believe you're enjoying your adventure trip very well although not really as much as in Bear Gryll style like you want :-D

    It's getting colder and colder every day here. Luckily we're just staying and working from home, no traveling schedule in December.

    Ondee and family with have their Christmas and year end holiday in Bali at our place which will be be good for Kakam. Manin will be moving to her new house soon in the next 2 weeks.

    Take a lot of pictures and enjoy the sun...!!

    Love, hugs and kisses,
    Mum, Andrew and Kakam
    yuyun.ismawati@gmail.com

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  6. Hi Hinesh,
    Hope you are having a lot of fun and adventure on your trek. Make the most of it. Saw photos from your previous project. Always nice to see them. Sorry haven't written earlier. Been busy with uni, work an Ba an revision. YES, I have an exam ,happens to be on the day you fly back, So not looking forward to the exams but certainly looking forward to you coming back. Mangalaba is doing a lot better. She is eating and mobile. We will find out tomorrow how long she will be in hospital. We celebrated Rohan's birthday at Ba's house today. He was very excited to blow the candle.
    Take care an enjoy
    Lots of love mumxx

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  7. Julia van Moorsel3 December 2012 at 14:14

    to Frederique de Laat and Carline Mohr, Tango Five

    heeee halloo daar!!! vind het echt leuk dat jullie bij elkaar in de groep zitten! Carl wat heb je een goed t shirt aan (I LOVE STAPPENPLAN) wat een goeie foto's weer. ik zit nu op de ub... moet eigenlijk keihard aan de bak maar jullie een berichtje sturen is toch veel leuker?! Jill is inmiddels alweer terug van salamanca en vertrokken naar stanton (kga daar met de kerst heen!!!) en jullie komen bijna weer terug!! zo veel zin in. tot snel weer popjes!!! xxxxx jul

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  8. Gilles Hagen Echo 3 12J3 December 2012 at 14:33

    Lieve Gilles,
    Er staan foto's van je laatste project op de site, heerlijk om je weer te zien!!! Kan met dat mutsje op niet zien hoe het met je haar gesteld is..... groeit het al een beetje? Verslag over jullie verblijf klinkt zeer goed, alleen maar aardige mensen om jullie heen en de jongens worden volgepropt met lokaal eten, als dat maar goed gaat! (hoop stilletjes dat er ook nog een video van jullie groepje komt) Gisteren kwam Ernst even thuis en bracht jouw facebook bericht mee. Je klinkt zo enthousiast! Hier beginnen we langzaam aan de dagen af te tellen tot de 19de. Pap en ik allebei hard aan het werk, dus de tijd vliegt om. Vandaag de eerste sneeuw, zo net voor Sinterklaas brengt dat de winter weer dichtbij. Zaterdag vieren we Sint; heb precies één cadeautje in huis en dat is voor jou (voor onder de boom). Praktisch gezien heb ik dus nog niets in huis. Afgelopen donderdag ging ik even met Rut in Utrecht eten en kwamen daar Marèse tegen. Zeer gezellig met haar een borrel gedronken. Maarten heeft het erg naar zijn zin, komt as vrijdag alweer terug. M vertelde dat het boeken van de hostels in China nog minder makkelijk was dan gedacht: het Chinees Nieuwjaar met name zorgde voor veel volgeboekte locaties. Ze hebben zelf alternatieven gezocht en gevonden, dus je eerste maand onderdak is geregeld. Lieverd, verheug me op je terugkomst, zal de groeps-app met Simone en Talitha wel missen, we hebben af en toe echt zó'n plezier met elkaar. Hoop dat jij deze laatste weken ook nog volop geniet van je belevenissen daar, de mensen, de omgeving en natuurlijk je weekje Goa. Volgende week weer een telefoontje van je, kijk er naar uit!! kus, kus

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  9. To Kanahaya Alam, Tango 5

    Hawaw Kinoy! (yes I copied what your mum wrote...so what :P)

    So happy to finally see how you've been getting on in Tango 5! Hope you're loving the trek, and not hating the leeches too much. I wish I was there with you. The other night I had a dream where I was back in India and you'd made your own personal shelter and invited me inside. Weird much? :p
    I have sent you a letter to Fieldbase but I'm not sure that you'll get it now before the end :( Oh well, fingers crossed!!
    I'm missing you and Caroline lots and lots. The UK is sooooo cold (it took me a few days before my joints stopped seizing up!) but at least now it's stopped raining and is just nice and frosty instead :) Been very busy here since I got back, with various things, but I miss India a lot.
    Look after yourself sweetie and say hi to Kavya for me!
    Lots of love,
    Adele

    xxx

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  10. Hi Hinesh (bhai)

    Wasn't planning on posting, but I couldn't resist after that wonderful video message... Such a brilliant public speaker, the camera clearly brings out the best in you(!)

    Looking forward to hearing all your stories :)

    Purvi et al

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  11. To Carline Mohr: Tango 5
    Ha lieverd! wat sta je stralend op de foto... Geweldig die sokken met die jezusslippers, echt leuk hoor ;-)!! Wat hebben jullie toch een gave tocht! Afgelopen zaterdag de verjaardag van Ellemijn gevierd, ze is alweer 6 jaar geworden, zo schattig! Gisterenavond vierden we Sinterklaas met Papoes en Mamoes. Super gezellig en geslaagd! Vandaag sneeuwt het... en kijken we vanuit de zitkamer naar de lichtjes die de overburen in hun boom hebben gehangen. Ziet er zo gezellig uit! Donderdag gaan Mar en ik samen naar een klassiek concert van Beethoven in het concert gebouw in A'dam. Eerst samen uiteten en dan naar het concert. Verheug me er nu al op! Lieverd, ik hou het kort, eind van deze week weer meer. HVJ XXX ( nog 6 of 7 dagen en dan spreek ik je alweer, heerlijk!!) Mam

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  12. To Hannah Tango 5
    Hey Hannah....the adventure phase looks exactly like that. How exciting! At least you are used to sleeping in random places...mattresses on the floor and the backs of vans so no tent should not phase you. The cycling looks like a killer though, but at least you will get the thighs to show off in those short shorts when you can eventaully wear them again! Christmas shopping nearly done and party dress bought for the festive season. Last bit of late night shopping with my sister tomorrow. Two weeks, two days and counting till we finish school. Will send you an email as it looks like you will be back at fieldbase soon. Rachel x

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  13. To Kanahaya Alam 12J/Tango-5

    Hi Kana :) I have missed you and I can't wait for your stories about what you are doing now. How are you? I'm good here in Adelaide and it's still cold here. I'm waiting for summer so I can feel the sun.

    I'm happy and enjoying my life here and I hope you enjoy your days as well there. See you soon! :)

    Cheers,

    Putu Edith

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  14. Jo, Rachael etc @ Flatford7 December 2012 at 18:32

    Emma Whitlock, India 12J Tango 5.
    Hello! We haven't forgotten about you, just been very, very, very busy! We hope you're having an amazing time. Have you decided whether to do any travelling? If so, have a wonderful time. Please come and see us when you're back, we want to hear your stories.

    Love Jo and Rachael xxx

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  15. Hi Hannah,
    Looks like you are having a fantastic time! It's -5 here today...lots of car scraping going on! Enjoy the rest of your time. We are all looking forward to hearing about your adventures.
    take care,
    Bevx

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