Hello again, friends,

Long time no see!

As most of you know, we have just returned from an unbelievably awesome holiday in northern India. The chaos of Delhi  was juxtaposed with the serenity of  the idyllic haven of Chhatra Sagar, the beauty of the Taj Mahal with the filth of the streets in small villages, the noise of the hooters with the quiet of our camp in Ranthambore, the idyllic sunrises with the awful state of most of the street dogs, the deliciousness of the local food that we ate compared with the foul smell of rotting waste and excrement and finally the pristine condition of the tiger reserve compared to the piles of plastic and debris in dry river beds.

We planned our trip ages ago but had to put it on hold for a year dur to unforeseen circumstances. We had a superb travel organiser and a detailed itinerary thanks to dear friends who had done the trip before us.

So much excitement and preparation and we were ready to go. Armed with every conceivable medicine that we could legally buy, ranging from rehydrate, Imodium, crampeze for our Delhi Belly,  together with kilograms of rehydrate for when we were recovering from said Delhi belly, to headache pills, eye and ear drops, sinus meds, antibiotics plasters and our daily multivits and antioxidants. The Corona virus was definitely on our minds and we had consulted with our travel organiser who assured us that it was all under control. There were no cases in South Africa when we left and just three in India. We were told and read that there were certain precautions we should take and that we would do. We had loads of sanitizer sprays and gels and we packed masks into our take-on luggage.

We transited through Dubai and used face masks for the duration of our time there. We were vigilant in the use of our masks (having read loads of literature about the proper way to use them) and took them off once we boarded the plane bound for India.

On arrival at Delhi airport we filled in details of our present health and countries to which we had travelled and were screened twice. Thus, began our holiday. We quickly adopted a new routine in hygiene and health care. We have always thought that we did take care of ourselves and our health but with the advent and subsequent advance of the covid-19 virus, staying healthy took on a new meaning.

We became very aware of the importance of a proper good night’s rest and managed this a lot of the time. Travelling is harsh on your body and lack of sleep lowers your ability to fight off infections and illness, which we did not need.

We always like to see, do and experience as much as we can when travelling abroad, but this time we slowed down our pace a bit. We wanted to keep ourselves healthy and strong and this certainly worked, and we enjoyed quality sightseeing more than quantity. We tried to be in the moment as much as we could whilst experiencing this unbelievable country.

We were walking quite a lot, but also drove between places a great deal too. We felt that for our wellbeing we should do formal exercise when we were able. This we did and felt so good for it, as well as making sure we got our steps and our points for our Apple watches!! Also, outdoor runs are a great way to get to know at least a little of the cities even better.

At stages during the holiday, I did get quite stressed and anxious, mainly when we read the news on News 24 or chatted to other travellers about the escalating covid-19.  It seemed wrong for this to start messing up our holiday, so I needed to make a plan. After some thought, I decided to do my deep breathing exercises, and once I got into this, it really helped. During the journeys from city to city were great times to do this.

Our eating patterns and regime definitely changed. I have started to sometimes skip breakfast at home as this would make me hungrier. However, whilst travelling, this changed, and we ate breakfast ninety percent of the time. Firstly, since it was included in the price and secondly, we weren’t sure where we might be for lunch. In fact, we ended up often skipping lunch as we were still full from breakfast. Eating breakfast definitely helped set us up for the day over this time, so this was very beneficial.

We hydrated, hydrated and hydrated. Our driver had loads of bottled water on board and we made the most of this. I was super proud of myself that during the twelve days we were away, I only had fizzy drinks three times, compared to before when whilst travelling I would have at least two cans per day, often three. It was hot in places, so drinking water consistently was necessary.

Most of the food that we ate was vegetarian. Even Richard, who does enjoy his chicken and mince, ate a lot of the deliciously tasty veggie options. We had been advised not to touch the street food or salads, but we were privileged to be staying in really special hotels and lodges, and two of the lodges had their own veggie gardens with strict washing and hygienic protocols which they described to us at length, so we had tasty different salads there. Fresh fruit was available at breakfast so that was an added bonus. Eating this way most definitely maintained our energy levels.

Probably the most important habit and regime that we started from the time that we left our home in South Africa was to sanitize, sanitize and then sanitize some more. We are lucky to have a friend whose family own a business supplying sanitation product nationwide, and she generously gave me heaps of sani sprays and sani gels. We used them both constantly throughout our trip. When we were forced to touch a surface, we sprayed it first or I used a scarf of my tee-shirt to hold onto it. We greeted probably only two people using our hands initially and thereafter used the Namaste greeting. Namaste is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest. Recently, the Indian Prime minister has promoted this form of greeting, saying that the world is increasingly adopting the no-contact way of greeting. This may become a worldwide thing. There was also the odd leg shake and elbow pump. I quickly learnt that I touch my face all the time, my mouth, my nose, my eyes, pushing my hair from my face. I learnt that I touch surfaces all the time. I learnt that whilst travelling one is often very close to fellow travellers. I learnt that one cannot clean one’s hands enough. We washed and sanitized our hands about thirty to fifty times a day. I became aware of anyone coughing, sneezing or looking unwell and tried to distance myself from as much as I could.

I did become paranoiac about how I was feeling, and how Rich was feeling. My big dread was that we would spike a fever and end up in quarantine in India or in hospital. As our trip continued, the number of people infected by the virus increased and the thermal screening increased. The number of tourists also decreased. This was a double advantage, one it made for super and easy sightseeing and two there were fewer people with whom we were coming into contact with.

We have now returned home safely. We cut our trip by two days and were lucky to be able to make the flight and hotel and transport changes with great ease. We are in self-quarantine for the next while as we have been exposed to many different people during our travels. India is not a high-risk country, but Dubai has thousands of tourists transiting through it.

So, we know these are difficult times for so many people worldwide and we all need to be extra careful. We realize now that we were so lucky to be able to enjoy and experience this beyond wonderful trip for so many reasons. We have learnt and experienced so many fantastic things. We understand now more than ever before how important good and consistent hygiene, sanitation, and healthy habits are. The precious privilege of our health is one that we can not ever take for granted.

Wishing you all good health. Stay safe and take care of yourselves.

My fifteenth tip.

Make the most of every moment, be conscious, aware and in the present. See, smell, taste, hear and touch (with care in these times) everything that is around you. It’s today that matters.