Dublin To Delhi

24/12/2019

The wheelchair accessible bus has finally arrived and all the hard work has finally paid off! This was only possible because of the generous donations given by all of YOU lovely people. If we all do our small part, big things CAN happen 😉

Thank you to everyone who supported the fundraiser and especially to those of you donated 🤗

Do you remember Damien Middleton cycled from Dublin to Delhi to raise money for a bus for Grangemore Local Centre ? Well he DID IT ! Thank you Damien Middleton The guys gratefully accepted …

01/08/2019

After all of the hard work, pushing myself to extremes, battling through intense heat and over arduous mountain climbs, it has finally paid off. I had a great day at the Grangemore Local Centre recently where they threw a party for me and I handed over a massive cheque with a whopping sum of money written on it thanks to the donations of all you wonderful people. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped in any way, but especially if you took the time to go to the fundraising page and donate.

The local newspaper even published a story about my journey and the charity work involved to help promote it. Although a lot of money was raised, it isn't quite enough to pay for the bus the centre needs. We're not giving up though! We're going to continue fundraising here in Dublin and get that bus! If you want to help us, you can still donate at the link in my bio. Much love to you if you do🤗

27/03/2019

I'm on my way home! I seriously can't wait to get there and to see all of my amazing family and friends. You guys have supported me so much through my cycling adventures and I'm going to give you all a massive hug when I get home 😀

Thanks to everyone else along the way who helped me in some way, whether that was giving me a place to sleep for the night, giving encouragement through social media, or serving up a delicious breakfast like and his wife Pooja did on Monday. That's them in picture 2 with their crazy little shih tzu Olly.

I will leave the charity page open for a few more weeks just in case people still want to donate. For those who have already done so, you are the people I want to thank the most. You've made a massive difference to the cause and made me a very happy man 😊

I'm raising awareness and money for the Grangemore Local Centre of St Michael's House in Dublin. If you'd like to support the cause, please donate by clicking the link in my bio and following the instructions there 😉🤗 @ Delhi, India

26/03/2019

I was so excited to take one last trip with before I go home and especially so because I was heading back to the Himalayas to the beautiful town of Manali.

The people in this town are the most chilled out I've met in India to date and the natural beauty of the surroundings is incredible. After only an hour of walking you find yourself by a tall waterfall, looking out over the surrounding mountains. Walk in the other direction and you'll pass through apple orchards, along streams and up into snow-covered hills.

While here, I joined some people for a quick ski trip and managed to make it down a 300m slope without falling on my ass 😂 The area has many other fun activities like zorbing, snowmobiling and paragliding too! This place is well worth a visit if you're in India, but if you go in winter season, make sure to bring some layers!

I'm raising awareness and money for the Grangemore Local Centre of St Michael's House. If you'd like to support the cause, please donate by clicking the link in my bio and following the instructions there 😉🤗 @ Manali, Himachal Pradesh

16/03/2019

I just want to give a shout out to Why HR Is A Traveler, Delhi By Cycle, Manjeet and Firefox Bikes for all of the help they have given me over the past 4 months.

When I arrived in Delhi Himanshu and his team greeted me with open arms. He took care of Cadence for me while I travelled around India and his lovely mother made a delicious dinner for us a few nights ago when I picked up Cadence. Thank you so much to them!

Manjeet from Firefox Bikes was also there for me in so many ways. When I arrived in Delhi, Cadence had a broken spoke on her back wheel. That's no problem though when Manjeet invites you to a Firefox bike shop to get it repaired for free! I dropped by one of their other stores yesterday since they also offered to pack Cadence away for me at no charge and threw in a great pair of Firefox gloves for me. What amazing people they are to help me out without hesitation 🤗

I'm raising awareness and money for the Grangemore Local Centre of St Michael's House. If you'd like to support the cause, please donate by clicking the link in my bio and following the instructions there 😉🤗 @ Delhi, India

15/03/2019

4 nights in Chennai and Puducherry with a quick stop at Auroville...

I was glad to find Raj Raj Dhunna Illustration and Jay, whom I met in Bangalore, had arrived at Chennai before me. We decided to spend the first day heading out of town to the Crocodile park (crocodiles are creepy) and to the old town of Mahabalipuram to check out some ancient temples and ruins.

The next day we picked up Manish , whom I met at Teja's wedding) and drove to Puducherry, stopping by Auroville along the way. Auroville, for those who never heard of it, is a small community of international people who set up in Tamil Nadu to live a life of harmony and without prejudice of any kind. The cool looking golden spherical building in my picture is the Matrimandir, which was designed as a place to meditate. The whole area is beautifully designed by people who really care about everything they do.

The others headed back to Chennai at the end of the day while I stayed in Pondicherry. This city used to be a French colony and although I could see some French effects on the buildings and there were some French style cafes around town, I have to admit that it really didn't feel French at all! It is very much an Indian city with a few droplets of French thrown in here and there.

I'm raising awareness and money for the Grangemore Local Centre of St Michael's House. If you'd like to support the cause, please donate by clicking the link in my bio and following the instructions there 😉🤗 @ Pondichéry, Puducherry, India

09/03/2019

So many people have been telling me that I have to visit Hampi in Karnataka that I decided to make the effort of getting there by night buses and stop by Bangalore on my way.

It was great to visit Ashis Kumar and his family in the first photo. He's an avid cyclist and plans to beat a Guinness world record by cycling 30,000km in India!!!! Follow him now to keep up with it!

I also bumped I to Raj and Jay in my hostel and took a trip to a wildlife safari near the city. It was amazing to see some of the animals like lions and tigers and elephants, though I had a much different idea in my head when I imagined a safari...there was room for the animals, but not quite as much as I'd hoped.

The nightlife in Bangalore was also the best I've experienced in India. I joined a group for some drinks and dancing in a few top spots in the city. It's been a long time since I've had a good night out like that.

Hampi, in the end, wasn't as exciting as I'd expected from all of the hype. I had a good time, especially with the company of Marky_travels, roaming around the old temples and ruins and just scouting out the area on a scooter to see what we could find. When you climb up the rocky hills you see some amazing views over the countryside 👌

Unfortunately I came down with a cold while there and spent a good chunk of my time chilling out on my room (that may have affected my opinion of the place) but I also really disliked the river mafia there who control passage over the river. When coming back to my room at about 8pm I was told that the boat was finished at 5.30pm and that I would have to pay 450 rupees! For a 50m crossing!!! I managed to bargain them down to 250 rupees and decided I would make it back by 5.30pm in future. Lesson learned!

I'm raising awareness and money for the Grangemore Local Centre of St Michael's House. If you'd like to support the cause, please donate by clicking the link in my bio and following the instructions there 😉🤗 @ Karnataka

28/02/2019

I've just spent 7 nights in Alleppey, Kochi and Munnar in Kerala. Three places to visit for different reasons...

In Alleppey, I spent my time on the beaches and in the backwaters in a canoe. The beaches were often strewn with rubbish, but if you sat down and looked at the sunset you quickly forgot all about it. The canoe ride was long and slow, but with good company and shade above our heads, it was a relaxing time away from the hustle and bustle of normal Indian life, watching the locals go about their lives washing their clothes and taking baths in the seemingly dirty water.

With one night in Kochi, I didn't see much of the city, but witnessed another amazing sunset off India's west coast. The sunsets there are really beautiful...something you don't get back home in Dublin.

My final leg was for 3 nights in Munnar, a hill station inland with tea plantations as far as the eye can see. I joined some others for hikes through the plantations, the tops of mountains and to a beautiful clean river where we jumped in and nearly got swept away down the rapids! It's hard to resist the call of cold waters on a sunny day in the middle of such scenic surroundings.

I'm raising awareness and money for the Grangemore Local Centre of St Michael's House. If you'd like to support the cause, please donate by clicking the link in my bio and following the instructions there 😉🤗 @ Kerela

24/02/2019

Mumbai was completely unlike what I was expecting. In the photos you can see the effect the British had on the area, especially with all of the grand stone buildings, not too dissimilar to some of the buildings you would find in Dublin.

This city is called the gateway to India and even has a gate at a port in the bay which was built to welcome King George V to the city over 100 years ago. It's nestled right beside the fancy and expensive Taj Mahal Palace hotel where you can pay 200 rupees just to have the pleasure of sitting down to order tea!

It's not all high class and posh hotels though. I took a tour of the city with some people from my hostel to see some famous parts including the largest laundrette in the world! People there use small square troughs in the ground full of water to hand wash clothes and then strong them up above them to dry in the sun.

Those of you who've seen Slumdog Millionaire will habe seen a lot of scenes s**t in the Dharavi slums of Mumbai too. The scenes depict some terrible living conditions and I went with the group to take a visit. I was surprised to find burgeoning industry in recycling many items from plastics to leftover hotel soaps and even a fancy, air conditioned leather shop where they make and sell bags, wallets and belts of high quality. People in the slum have running water, electricity, TV, public and private hospitals and schools and most other things you would look for when moving into a new area. After seeing it for myself, my perception was changed. The people live in tight, cramped houses, but their quality of life is not nearly as bad as I had expected.

I was staying in Colaba, which is the nicer part of town and is famous from the book Shantaram (you should read this!) I took a quick trip to Leopold's cafe, which was disappointing, and walked around the area filled with great cafes and restaurants. If you like visiting cities, Mumbai is a good option for a city with a difference.

I'm raising awareness and money for the Grangemore Local Centre of St Michael's House. If you'd like to support the cause, please donate by clicking the link in my bio and following the instructions there 😉🤗 @ Mumbai, Maharastra

15/02/2019

I had the most amazing time living with Teja and his family for his wedding with Deepika. Over 5 days I watched the ceremonies took part in the celebrations and was blown away by the amount of care and preparation their families put into making it all go off without a hitch.

I was surrounded by wonderful people in beautiful clothes and fully immersed in the culture and traditions of one type of Hindu wedding. Teja writes about the wedding ceremonies and their meanings, as well as many other topics on his blog at ardentdisciple.wordpress.com and I recommend you check that out if you're interested in learning more about many aspects of Indian culture, traditions and philosophy.

At the end of my stay I felt part of the family and must say a massive thank you for their kindness and hospitality while I was there 🤗❤

I'm raising awareness and money for the Grangemore Local Centre of St Michael's House. If you'd like to support the cause, please donate by clicking the link in my bio and following the instructions there 😉🤗 @ Hyderabad

07/02/2019

Goa is completely unlike any other place I've been to in India so far. It is more like a holiday resort in Portugal and that makes some sense as the area was a Portuguese-controlled area once upon a time.

Aside from the beautiful beaches, salty sea and hot Sun every day, I was incredibly lucky to have met the beautiful and adventurous , who made my visit more memorable than I could ever have imagined.

Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end as we both left on separate flights today, but I'm looking forward to more adventures in India and with Nira in the future too 😁

I'm raising awareness and money for the Grangemore Local Centre of St Michael's House. If you'd like to support the cause, please donate by clicking the link in my bio and following the instructions there 😉🤗 @ Goa

14/01/2019

Varanasi, also known as Benaras, is a truly captivating place. I felt at first like I was dropped on another planet. The first day I took a boat that brought me along the multitude of ghats and it was a great way to see the life and death of the city.

I say death because some of the ghats are used specifically for funerals. People bring the bodies of their loved ones down the river while chanting mantras and the first thing they do is take the body I to the water to cleanse the soul of any wrongdoing. They then wait for their turn to place the body on one of the many pyres where they set it alight and wait for 2-3 hours while the body burns. Before the body is totally consumed, they remove a bone from the fire and cast into the holy river Ganga and then set off to another area where each member of the family will bathe themselves too.

The main market just beyond the ghats is thronged with people buying local products like sarees, which Varanasi is famous for, as well as many local street food vendors and tea stalls. Lemon tea is a speciality of the city too and is a great way to wash down the street food before eating some paan to freshen up your mouth afterwards.

To walk back to the hostel from there you can walk among many of the busy streets or snake your way through the quieter alleyways that are lined with homes, cafes and the occasional motorbike, cow or no key climbing above you to keep it all ever more interesting.

The city is walkable through these alleyways and along the ghats and river Ganga and if you've got some great locals like Devansh and Sandeep, they'll bring you to the nearby Sarnath (famous town where Gautama Buddha gave his first speech on the Dharma) the Banaras Hindu university (biggest campus in Asia) and some choice lassi and cold coffee stalls.

It's definitely a must see for anyone who wants to take an in-depth look into Indian culture and religion.

I'm raising awareness and money for the Grangemore Local Centre of St Michael's House. If you'd like to support the cause, please donate by clicking the link in my bio and following the instructions there 😉🤗 @ Varanasi, India