A New Chapter

As the years went by, I found myself visiting India less and less. My holidays were usually spent exploring somewhere new: another country, another culture, another adventure.

Then, in 2023, I visited Goa and spent time with my brother.

It was unlike any part of India I had experienced before. For the first time, my visits weren't centred around family gatherings or familiar routines. Instead, I found myself exploring beaches, cafés, Portuguese architecture and a slower pace of life. India began to feel different, not just as the place where I was born, but as somewhere I could genuinely imagine building a future.

Around the same time, my brother decided he wanted to start a business in Goa. After fourteen years of running my own technology consultancy, I found myself standing at another crossroads. It felt like an opportunity to begin again.

England had been home for over three decades. It was where I'd grown up, built my career, learned to fly, discovered hiking, travelled the world, and made lifelong friends. Leaving wasn't a decision I took lightly.

But when I looked back, I realised that many of the defining moments in my life had started with a simple decision to say yes to something new.

So I packed up my life into a shipping container and set off for India.

Inside that container wasn't just furniture. It held the bicycle I'd taught myself to ride as an adult, the desktop computer that had evolved through years of upgrades, my 3D printer, flight simulator, gadgets, workshop tools, washing machine, dryer, television, lamps, and hundreds of little things that had quietly become part of everyday life. Piece by piece, it represented more than possessions. It represented thirty years of building a life in England, all carefully packed into a steel box and shipped halfway around the world.

Kiki, of course, had absolutely no idea what was happening.

One day she was happily exploring English parks and forests. The next, she found herself in tropical Goa, where the weather was hotter, the smells were different, the roads were busier, and cows wandering down the street somehow seemed perfectly normal.

To be fair, the culture shock wasn't just hers. We've both had moments of wondering what on earth we'd got ourselves into. Fortunately, we've also discovered that every new adventure comes with a learning curve... and occasionally a few extra grey hairs.

Today, I'm helping build an art gallery and home furnishings studio with my family. It's a completely different challenge from anything I've done before.

Starting a business is never easy. Starting one with family simply means the meetings don't always end when you leave the office. Thankfully, neither does the support.

Looking Ahead

Looking back, it's easy to see how each chapter of my life led to the next, even when it didn't feel that way at the time.

Technology taught me how to solve problems. Aviation taught me preparation and discipline. Travel taught me to embrace the unfamiliar. Art taught me to appreciate stories and craftsmanship. Every experience has shaped the person I am today.

I don't know exactly where the next chapter will lead, and that's part of the excitement. There's still plenty to learn, places to explore, projects to build and stories waiting to be discovered.

LOG ENTRY 09

Coming Home

After more than thirty years in England, I packed my life into a shipping container and returned to India to begin an entirely new chapter with my family.