Just over 5 weeks to go: Status Update

Welcome to the blog - being neither daily/weekly bloggers I expect the entries here will be less refined than what most of you are used to, but we're not here to 'blog'. I also expect that these entries will be more interactive and aesthetically pleasing going forward as we discover what all the icons on this blog machine actually do!

In exactly 5 weeks I will be boarding a China Eastern flight, direct from Shanghai to Delhi en route to Jaisalmer for the official kick off of the 'Rickshaw Run 2012'. Having done the trip earlier this year (I was in Delhi for a week with work), I'm not sure what I'm looking least forward to; the on-board entertainment, the comfort levels or the in-flight gastronomic experiment. That said, seen as the first step of the proceeding 3 weeks travelling through India in a tuk-tuk, finding food and beer where I can, and hopefully sleeping for a couple of hours a night in peoples front/back gardens, it may well be the best flight I ever take!

But this is not just about me and my travelling preferences, it's about charity. And nor will I be lonely on this endeavor... Republican Ali Gray, a hellraising fashionista, and Republican Nicholas 'Shad' Rogers, a dear friend from university will be by my side the whole way. Dodgy vindaloo's and port-a-loo's, squatting and relic spotting, tears and fears, good times and hairy times, will all be shared equally, down the to the 1/3.

What am I talking about?? - It's going to be the most incredible journey any of us have ever been on, and will no doubt be life changing whatever side of positive we end up on come the end of the race! The fact that we get to raise money for needy charities in both India and our native South Africa at the same time is the ultimate reward. I've never been more excited to be honest!

To date we've had an excellent response regarding fundraising for charities, more than either of us expected I think (well maybe not Shad - he's a little in the clouds). As it stands we've raised nearly 700 GBP overall, spread pretty evenly between the two, with many more verbal commitments to donating over the next couple of days.

Some of the more entertaining donations have been based on kilograms lost by each team member over the duration of the race and kilometers covered as we get ourselves lost attempting to reach our final destination approximately 3000km from the start!

Either way the response has been brilliant, and we're looking forward to getting even more interest leading up to, and during the event!

Until next time!