Backtracking covered our travelling year starting October 2016.

We’re back again for another year of what some people say is ‘swanning around the world doing nowt’. First, we’re heading back to Gloucester before heading back to London. Then we’re off to Spain before flying back to the UK for a wedding, then back to Spain to fly back to India, back via the UK, to go back to Goa before going back to Thailand to get a visa to go back to China from where we fly back to the UK in April 2017. Got that? Perfect, now you have absolutely no excuse not to follow us on Backtracking.

highlights in the summer – Alex & Freddy’s wedding and an epic 3 week canal trip adventure

• Always a Silver Lining November 6, 2016 - Good news bad news.  That was the recurring theme as we set off.  Having finished our chores and getting excited about starting the trip we then had the anguish of having our final return flight cancelled at the last minute.  … Continue reading →
• India Trumps Trump! November 8, 2016 - Never could you imagine how eventful life can get in just a couple of days.  There was nothing eventful about the backtracking flight from Bristol back to Madrid after the wedding.  The Crowne Plaza Hotel at Madrid airport was just … Continue reading →
• Neil’s in the Doghouse December 13, 2016 - What’s on your top ten of things you really should not do?   Now, that’s got you all thinking hasn’t it but, sorry, you’ll just have to read the rest of the blog to find out what this is about! The … Continue reading →
• Merry Christmas December 24, 2016 - We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year wherever you are in the world. Have a great festive season whether it be in the snow, rain, slush or a BBQ on the beach.
• Happy New Year January 6, 2017 - Hey, now don’t we scrub up well when we make an effort?!  We got the pictures taken of us at the recent wedding.  Neil dressed in his suit with collar and tie and Cheryl looking absolutely fabulous – we could … Continue reading →
• Smarty Pants February 7, 2017 - Here we go again, another thing to **** the tourists off – will India never learn?  Please read on about Government edicts, elections, police interpretation, curfews, corruption, rules that are just not enforceable and the public’s ingenuity at getting over … Continue reading →
• Cheers February 14, 2017 - Last days in India, travelling with our friends John and Sue.  Highs and lows, fabulous wines, sightseeing and technology rescued us twice. Plus we all picked up a bug – well this is India…..it’s inevitable. We put together a short trip acting as tour guides … Continue reading →
• Thai-riffic! March 9, 2017 - Thailand makes you realise just how incredibly shitty India really is.  It’s cleaner, the people smile, you’re not greeted in the mornings by the hordes defecating in the fields, people queue nicely, everything works and is maintained, the traffic is … Continue reading →
• Last Night at the Opera March 23, 2017 - Have you ever done a runner from a restaurant?  We have…..twice!        We hadn’t realised how difficult it was going to be to move onto Chiang Khong.  It turned out that there was only one songthaew per day at 11am.  We … Continue reading →
• China Challenge March 28, 2017 - We had no Chinese money, couldn’t speak Mandarin and the ATM at Kunming airport wouldn’t take our card.  Oh ****, looks like we could be leaving China earlier than planned if things didn’t improve! Anyway, things did improve.  We arranged … Continue reading →
• Reflections April 7, 2017 - As soon as we arrived at the Yuanyang rice terraces we were whisked off in shared minivan to see the sunset from one of the viewing points – what a mixture, French, Brits, Canadian and Japanese. Our choice of Timeless … Continue reading →
• Michael Palin Stayed Here April 13, 2017 - Yes, it’s true, we stayed in the same guesthouse as Michael Palin when he was filming his TV series ‘Himalaya’ in 2004.   We were trekking in Tiger Leaping Gorge and happened to choose the same one, Halfway House G H.  … Continue reading →
• Pandamonium April 20, 2017 - Confucius say ‘when man flu become more serious then man get deep husky voice like Keith Richard’.  That’s exactly what happened to Neil when his common cold turned into something more debilitating and his voice turned into a deep gravelly … Continue reading →
• We’re still Breathing June 2, 2017 - We have no news other than we made it home in luxury, visited family and friends, did a few property jobs and now were in glorious Somerset in the caravan enjoying country walks and seaside before heading to Sussex for … Continue reading →
• Mr and Mr Morton June 25, 2017 - An outdoor wedding in the English Summertime – what could possibly go wrong? With two weeks to go before the big day we still had serious shopping to do as Cheryl hadn’t been able to find that special outfit.  The … Continue reading →
• Four Rescues and a Pump out July 27, 2017 - Regular readers will know we have a week each year on a canal boat.  This year we got ambitious and decided to challenge ourselves to complete both the South Pennine Ring and the Cheshire Ring in 3 weeks.  It’s only … Continue reading →
• Life in a Northern Town August 5, 2017 - To recover from the boat trip we spent two weeks in the Lake District to enjoy the spectacular landscape and a Blues Music Festival.  Apologies to our chums from ‘Oop North’ if any of our comments cause offence, but hey, … Continue reading →
• Fringe, Friends and Whisky Galore August 24, 2017 - How do you like your humour?   Stand up, sketches, slapstick, characters, poems, magic, hypnosis or witty songs?  We had a week of varied experiences ranging in size from the huge tent for a BBC recording of ‘Just a Minute’ to … Continue reading →
• Another year gone September 29, 2017 - We started our journey south at the end of August stopping off in Lancashire where we hosted Tony and Brenda in a caravan couch surf.  We had a great weekend which included BBQ’s and a visit to the local Beer … Continue reading →