The Macdonald files

Final pictures from India, and our arrival home 

Hello all…I am writing this from my parents house in Plymouth..feeling rested..well fed and glad to be home again!We spent our last night in Delhi in a revolving restaurant which was lovely..and made it to the airport on time.We said our tearful goodbyes to Javid and Kirsty..awful to leave them..but very grateful for them coming to Delhi with us..they have to travel all the way back now..its quite a trek to Goa.We had a problem getting onto our flights they said we needed to pay them 50 pounds each because we had changed our date!!it was thier mistake and after lots of phonecalls to virgin..we were ushered onto the plane(jumped lots of ques!!great)at 1.15 the time it was supposed to take off!!it took off at nearly 2 and we had a great flight which landed early!Watched lots of films and the kids behaved really well..had roast chicken and mash on the flight..lovely!!So thankfull to land safely!We were met by my sister Esther and Dave..she ran straight through the no entry barrier and screamed her head off when she saw us..fantastic welcome home!!!!they drove us down to Cornwall..where we were greeted by my parents and welcome home stickers and balloons!!!lovely to see them..but felt like a dream!England looks so green and is so quiet compared to India..everything is so clean..and enjoying the cool air and light evenings.We are soon travelling to see Hamish`s parents in stroud..cant wait to see them..then up to Southport so the kids can start school Friday!!mad week!We cant quite believe this amazing year is over..but thankful for the time we have had..its been great for us as a couple, as a family ,to do something adventurous..I hope everyone wont be too bored in a couple of weeks!WE are thankful to God for keeping everyone safe and well it has been like Veronica said at the start..A year of favour!!its been great and we have learnt so much!!We are excited to be back and get stuck back in to life here..church..songwriting(dying to play the piano again)and see what presents to us……cant wait to see friends soon..thanks to all who have emailed us and prayed for us..we appreciate it… it has kept us going on the days where nothing went to plan or made sense!Hope you enjoy the re union photos and the last fw ons of Delhi..Love to you all Rachel Hamish and children.XXXXXXXX

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More pics of journey.

Well we survived the 36 hour journey to Delhi..the train was an hour late but arrived 2 hours early..tell me how that works!

Delhi has lovely green parks grand buildings and feels very different to Mumbai…but the general traffic chaos is the same. We saw some interesting sights on the train…people living in all sorts of imaginable…and at times unimaginable places..along the tracks are communities who collect rubbish t hat has been thrown off the train…mainly plastic bottles that people collect and recycle for money…food and allsorts.

It felt so awful to do it but apparently we will be helping people. Every available space is lived in..

and people can sleep anywhere!!in the middle of the central reservation on the main highway!!the noise and pollution is amazing!!we all have blocked noses from awful air quality ,apparently breathing air in every major Indian city is equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. We all piled in a taxi..but the boot space was taken up with massive state of the art speakers..so luggage was held on knees and the roof..I have come to the conclusion there are many DJ`s trapped inside taxi drivers bodies here!!the bass was ace ..could feel it pounding in your chest(or was that the luggage?)then he started dancing with his head..what a mover! Everything is so entertaining here..anything goes!!Beggars are everywhere..some are ok ,but some are crippled or look extremely unwell..and always sad seeing very young toddlers on the streets..its horrible but you do get used to it..and almost put it on a sliding scale..the problem is..it is on mass..like nowhere I have seen…where does the help start? it is very daunting. That said..people seem happy and contented and there is amazing community and human spirit which is something the west has lost to a certain extent..they can live on the streets and be happy with it..because they have a strong community network..yet us westerners have more than we ever need and are depressed and lonely(gross generalizations there..but you get my drift).We went to the Taj Mahal yesterday in a taxi!!it was 4 hours there..the roads are hilarious and terrifying!!camels and cows pulling things..rickshaws..human and animal..things coming down the wrong way..across..people crossing with herds of animals(this is a major motorway!)no lights…on many of the cars..and even though it was 2 lanes the Indians manage to make it 4!!lots of bumps happen and no one gets cross..they just carry on..apparently someone dies on India’s roads every 6 seconds!!I am surprised its not more!!I am thankful our driver was very good….and we were safe! The Taj was utterly beautiful..loved it..so romantic….stunning place..it is a love memorial….had a wonderful time. The children and I got constantly asked to pose with Indian families..which was weird..Flora got fed up of new found fame and flatly refused after the 15^th photo shoot..cant say I blame her!!Hope you enjoy the photos of the sights and sounds(sorry I cant send some smells!)that are India. India is a place that has left me wanting to see more even though I don’t know why..a unique country!!and a great one to take young children to..there is something interesting to see everywhere you look….it can make you laugh and cry in the space of a few short minutes. And now back to England..what a contrast it will be!!will write when we get there..just one more plane ride to get through! pray for our safe travels..love Rachel Hamish and children!

More Taj Mahal

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Hello all..Here are some of Seth’s photos he has taken along the way..Mostly animals..hope you like them. Well…soon we get a train in the middle of the night to Delhi..It is 36hours..Providing there are no delays (very unlikely in India!).Once in Delhi we will have a 4hour drive to the Taj Mahal..and 4hours back in one day..Will be good to see it !then we fly back!!To a land of cool weather and organization..it will be a shock to us all I think. We are spending most of the first week in Cornwall Plymouth and Stroud then hope to get back at the end of that week to let the kids go to school..so we will be in church in Southport the 2^nd wk end of May. We are all looking forward to seeing you and cant believe this amazing year of adventure is nearly over..but thankful Hamish has some part time work when we get back..so that will help pay the bills. I don’t know whether we will post another blog in Delhi or when we get home..We will see! Please pray for safe travels for us all over this coming couple of weeks..That we all get back safely! thankyou!love to you all excited to see you all soon! love and God bless Rachel ,Hamish and familyxxxxxxxxx

Seths Pics

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