There are only 4 days until we leave for India and there is still SO much to do! As my friends have probably noticed, I am extremely stressed as there are so many last minute changes and things that could potentially go wrong on this big adventure. I think it's probably best if I share with you what it is I'm dealing with here, and what I still have to do before Wednesday: -Last minute permit changes mean we have to change the route...AGAIN! -Finish building the chairpack (ba

It's hard to train for walking in the Himalayas when you live in London. Once you've done the big hill in Richmond Park twice you're kind of done with it. I decided that the best way to train for this challenge whilst being able to fit it into my busy life, would probably be to walk everywhere I go. So that's what I've done, walked walked walked walked walked. But there's a twist. An evil twist. During the trek, I'll be carrying all my old equipment on my back, and I've heard

In My Journey to Lhasa, Alexandra David-Néel only mentions "cotton undergarments" as an indication of what she wore under her long cotton shirt. To keep my clothes as authentic as I can, I will be finding the early 1900s equivalent to anything like this that isn't fully explained in her books. This means sports bra's are out the window for this trek... I've been doing lots of research on many things from the early 1900s, especially women's underwear. The interesting thing is

I'm really pleased to announce that the charity I will be raising money for is Freedom Kit Bags! Many girls and women from rural and low-income areas of Nepal don’t have access to disposable sanitary products, and even if they did the amount of rubbish pollution produced would be a huge weight on the environment, especially in countries which already have serious rubbish pollution problems. What's more, due to cultural practises that go back centuries, women and girls are see

The last time I went to India I was only 16, which is around the same time I first read My Journey to Lhasa by Alexandra David-Néel. It was a hugely eye opening place to visit when you're that age, especially if you've grown up in Colchester... Most of it's a big blur, now but some of the things I saw and experienced there have stayed with me forever. I've managed to dig out some photographs from that trip - I can't believe how young I look!