Bangalore to SEDS
I just realised I made a grammatical error in my last post. I used ‘to’ when I should have used ‘too’. I probably should not have started with that and instead gone in and edited it so nobody would ever know. I am clearly a disgrace to the English language (fun fact: I got told today that my English was very good and I speak it very well…. Uh… thanks?)
I last let off at our imminent departure from our guest house in Bengaluru. We got up Thursday morning (19/07/18) and finished packing the last little things we needed. At some stage since Wednesday afternoon I had started feeling extremely sick. No it was not Delhi Belly (at least I don’t think it was), it was a combination of what I think was severe hayfever and my cough returning with a vengeance. Ever coughed so much you threw up? I’m sure you all really wanted to know that :D
So my breakfast consisted of 3 cold jackfruit seeds (I discovered fresh jackfruit while in Bengaluru and it is delicious! And you can boil the seeds and they become somewhat potato like in texture and are much better hot than cold) because I could not handle eating anything else. Then it was a trip to the shop to stock up on toilet paper (because its basically just Westerners who use toilet paper here) and a few other things, and an ATM run to get some more cash (at which point I came across the largest swarm of mosquitos I have seen all trip… all nicely flying around in the room that the ATM was in. Why mosquitos why? Can you not find some other place to haunt?). Then Augustine decided we should put our bags into the car (he has a 7 seater SUV) which was at the point he realised the extent of our luggage. He had been planning to drop Dominic off somewhere 1km away on our way but it ended up being a 5 seater vehicle, which considering we also had a driver, left not enough space for Dominic. So Alex, Debbie and I were left at the house while Dominic was dropped off and then it was all aboard for Andhra Pradesh!
I spent the 2.5 hour trip half dozing and reminiscing about how terrified I had been in that first taxi ride just over a week earlier. Indian highways amuse me. They have 2 lanes going each direction and I am unsure of what the speed limit actually is… but then they randomly have intersections and these tiny little speed bumps in a row that I imagine could be somewhat damaging driving over at full speed…. And as best as I can tell – there is no real warning about the bumps approaching.
At last we turn off the highway and Augustine announces that we’re entering Pennukonda village. The others were under the impression that SEDS (where Alex and Debbie are doing their placement - Social Education and Development Society) was in Pennukonda so we were all a little surprised when we kept driving for another 10-15 minutes. Turns out that is the closest “big” village and there are a few other closer “small” villages. After initially missing the road for SEDS (I say “road” but its more like a driveway in rural Australia) we got our first glimpse of SEDS – a lovely red gate.
Upon arrival at SEDS we met Manil and Rajen (the couple behind SEDS) and Ronny (a Belgian man who worked for SEDS in the past and now does twice annual visits back to SEDS to assist with their school) and were shown to our rooms (Alex and Debbie to their rooms for the next few months and me for an overnight stay). We also met the dogs – Manil and Rajen have adopted many rescue dogs over the years. Then it was lunch time and then a tour of the compound with Ronny. It was quite a nice place and lots of roofs more easily accessible (i.e. stairs) than the one in Bengaluru. The remainder of the afternoon/evening was spent talking and getting to know people and when they decided to have dinner at 21.00 I decided to go to my room because I did not feel like eating.
Friday morning, it was repacking (I had been smart and packed what I needed overnight into my backpack to avoid having to cart in my suitcase until I arrived at my final destination (Timbaktu)) and then breakfast before saying goodbye to Debbie and Alex and continuing on with Augustine to Timbaktu...
P.S. If anyone is interested in learning more about SEDS and what they do - http://www.sedsngo.org/home.html
I last let off at our imminent departure from our guest house in Bengaluru. We got up Thursday morning (19/07/18) and finished packing the last little things we needed. At some stage since Wednesday afternoon I had started feeling extremely sick. No it was not Delhi Belly (at least I don’t think it was), it was a combination of what I think was severe hayfever and my cough returning with a vengeance. Ever coughed so much you threw up? I’m sure you all really wanted to know that :D
So my breakfast consisted of 3 cold jackfruit seeds (I discovered fresh jackfruit while in Bengaluru and it is delicious! And you can boil the seeds and they become somewhat potato like in texture and are much better hot than cold) because I could not handle eating anything else. Then it was a trip to the shop to stock up on toilet paper (because its basically just Westerners who use toilet paper here) and a few other things, and an ATM run to get some more cash (at which point I came across the largest swarm of mosquitos I have seen all trip… all nicely flying around in the room that the ATM was in. Why mosquitos why? Can you not find some other place to haunt?). Then Augustine decided we should put our bags into the car (he has a 7 seater SUV) which was at the point he realised the extent of our luggage. He had been planning to drop Dominic off somewhere 1km away on our way but it ended up being a 5 seater vehicle, which considering we also had a driver, left not enough space for Dominic. So Alex, Debbie and I were left at the house while Dominic was dropped off and then it was all aboard for Andhra Pradesh!
I spent the 2.5 hour trip half dozing and reminiscing about how terrified I had been in that first taxi ride just over a week earlier. Indian highways amuse me. They have 2 lanes going each direction and I am unsure of what the speed limit actually is… but then they randomly have intersections and these tiny little speed bumps in a row that I imagine could be somewhat damaging driving over at full speed…. And as best as I can tell – there is no real warning about the bumps approaching.
At last we turn off the highway and Augustine announces that we’re entering Pennukonda village. The others were under the impression that SEDS (where Alex and Debbie are doing their placement - Social Education and Development Society) was in Pennukonda so we were all a little surprised when we kept driving for another 10-15 minutes. Turns out that is the closest “big” village and there are a few other closer “small” villages. After initially missing the road for SEDS (I say “road” but its more like a driveway in rural Australia) we got our first glimpse of SEDS – a lovely red gate.
Upon arrival at SEDS we met Manil and Rajen (the couple behind SEDS) and Ronny (a Belgian man who worked for SEDS in the past and now does twice annual visits back to SEDS to assist with their school) and were shown to our rooms (Alex and Debbie to their rooms for the next few months and me for an overnight stay). We also met the dogs – Manil and Rajen have adopted many rescue dogs over the years. Then it was lunch time and then a tour of the compound with Ronny. It was quite a nice place and lots of roofs more easily accessible (i.e. stairs) than the one in Bengaluru. The remainder of the afternoon/evening was spent talking and getting to know people and when they decided to have dinner at 21.00 I decided to go to my room because I did not feel like eating.
Friday morning, it was repacking (I had been smart and packed what I needed overnight into my backpack to avoid having to cart in my suitcase until I arrived at my final destination (Timbaktu)) and then breakfast before saying goodbye to Debbie and Alex and continuing on with Augustine to Timbaktu...
P.S. If anyone is interested in learning more about SEDS and what they do - http://www.sedsngo.org/home.html
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