My last day at home for some time’s been occupied with prepping for my round Britain trip and having quality time with Dawn. The pair of us were trying to work out just how many nights away I might have had this year and neither of us can think of any! We didn’t have our usual winter holiday, all my jobs were day trips and the only trip we had planned (a few days in Berlin with friends) was cancelled due to Covid. So, this is my ‘big escape’ – which is really weird and totally unique! My packing list reflects this. Once upon a time it’d be focused on the electronics that I need for work, plus track atlases and timetables. Now it has masks and hand sanitisers high up on the list.

To say I’m looking forward to it is an understatement. I’ve never had my wings so clipped before. I’ll blog when I can and each day the picture of the day will be of somewhere from my next 8 days of travelling. I won’t be doing any rolling blogs as my writing’s commissioned by RAIL magazine and you’ll be able to read about my trip in three editions starting in October. Even so, I’ll try and give you a few teasers…

Meanwhile, here’s the last old picture of the day – which isn’t something I’ll be seeing on this trip! This is the amazing Buddhist temple at Borobudur, in Java, Indonesia. I took this photo in November 1998.

In the background is one of the many active volcanos that dominate this part of the world. Although Indonesia is now the worlds most populous Muslim country it has a rich history of religions and religious sites. Borobudur is just one of the most spectacular.

I’m looking forward to 2021 when I’m determined to het out to Indonesia again. In the meantime – I hope you enjoy my next week’s meanderings. If you’re on Twitter you’ll be able to find regular updates by following me at @PaulMBigland….

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