If you’re on the hill you may see Bob Whitham on the road walking Lily and Buddy.  Bob will be staying at the house taking care of the menagerie and they will be taking care of him. He dropped by today to get any final instructions and took the pups for a walk.

It’s now one week before departure and I think we’re well prepared.  After all I’ve been working on this trip since May.  When traveling to India there are a few items to consider that were not an issue for Europe.  In addition to updating our passports we had to apply to the Indian Consulate for a Tourist Visa.

I checked with the CDC and there are no shots required for India but when I spoke with the travel nurse at Kaiser she was insistent on several including polio, hep A, typhoid, and tetanus.  They also encouraged pills to safeguard against malaria, and deet to keep those mosquitos and dengue fever away.  Plus pills for the potential Delhi Belly.

Then there is the hardware.  I’ve bought a new camera with each trip since the technology advances so quickly.  After much research I chose the Canon SX260HS which will work as a point and shoot but also allows me a lot of control if needed.  It will shoot 13Meg photos, full 1080p video, and has built in GPS so all of my photos will be geo tagged.

I also got an Acer Aspire One Netbook which will be small enough to carry about but, with its full keyboard, make it easy to maintain the blog.  Most of the hotels have wifi either complimentary or for a charge.  This post was done on the netbook.

If you know me you know I’m not going to take a trip like this without studying the subject well in advance.  In addition to a few travel guides (Fodor’s, Lonely Planet, and DK) I’ve bought or borrowed a mess of books to prepare us for the experience.  I have read some thoroughly, and just scanned others.  Those that I couldn’t get to I hope to finish when I return.

I’ve focused on a subset of the 20 or so books that I’ve bought including:

India: A Sacred Geography by Diana Eck.  I’ve also listened to Eck’s lecture series on the religions of India.

City of Djinns by William Dalrymple.

Nine Lives by William Dalrymple.

I’ve bought other books on religion, history, and architecture but the most fun is the fiction.

The Case of the Missing Servant (A Vish Puri Mystery) by Tarquin Hall

Shantaram: A Novel by Gregory David Roberts

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

Malgudi Days by R.K.Narayan

Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

Video:

I’ve watched Michael Wood’s six part PBS series, India.

I’ve rewatched Monsoon Wedding, A Passage to India, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and a few Bollywood movies.

Actually I haven’t finished Shantaram which is over 900 pages.  Maybe I’ll get that done on the plane.

I have to confess, after all this talk of adventure, we’re not exactly backpacking.  The idea of traveling in India independently is somewhat daunting.  In all of our previous trips I’ve spent months on the Internet making preparations.  I’ve arranged for all of the transportation and lodging.  We have stayed at hotels and B&Bs.  We have traveled by rental car and train.  The trips were totally constructed by me with no travel agents involved.

But I was less brave on this trip.  I have bought the package complete from Spirit of India/Original World, an agent with a lot of experience and connections in India.   We were directed to them by the Flying Dutchmen Travel Agency in Santa Rosa and they had good reviews in ITN (International Travel News.)   They offer small group tours.

We will be well cared for.  We will travel with another couple and will have an escort throughout.  They have arranged all of the hotels with an emphasis on Heritage properties.  All of the hotels are first rate.  They have arranged all of the intra-India flights, personal drivers for the land trips, and even one train (the Taj Express) for one leg where the roads are so bad they would take hours to drive.  They have arranged all of the local tours, even handling the guide’s tips.  They will provide all breakfasts and dinners and a few lunches.

They promise:

Enlightenment: a new found understanding of another culture, another way of life, art, architecture, religion and food

Community:  a connection to new cultures through authentic and meaningful interaction with local people

Wonder:  the awe inspired by uncommon beauty, sights, sounds, smells and tastes; ancient traditions still practiced today, so different from our own modern lives

Accomplishment:  the satisfaction from having pushed your comfort zone to experience a part of the world that is both fascinating and challenging

Uniqueness:  the knowledge that you have had an incredible cultural experience that few others on the outside will ever share

So, with a package like this, we could probably take this trip in our eighties too.

Why India? This is the most common question I get when I tell people of our planned trip.  Some people tell me of their friend who didn’t like it.  Others just think a trip to Paris would be much less stressful and more pleasant.  And one friend was concerned because she saw a show on TV about a temple with snakes.  But we’ve spoken to others who have visited India and have loved it.  They’ve advised us not to think of it as a vacation but as an adventure.  They’ve cautioned that we should not expect everything to go smoothly.  But they wish they were going with us.

I’ve always considered myself a world traveler.  I suppose this came from my years as a military brat.  My family followed my dad half way around the world and by the time I was 10, I had lived in Japan, Germany, and England.  I was born in Alaska before it was a state and graduated high school in Hawaii.  When I worked my travel opportunities were limited by time.  I went to Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean plus domestic trips including New Orleans and New York.  When we retired Betty and I took extended trips to Europe visiting the UK, France, and Italy.  A couple years ago we took AMTRAK to Chicago, then flew to DC, then up to Montreal and Quebec and took Canada Rail west to Vancouver.  We’ve had fun but we realize we aren’t getting any younger and we should step up the adventure.  We’ll be able to visit Paris and Rome when we’re in our 80s.  If we’re going to see India and Africa, we should do it while we’re relatively young.

There are many exotic destinations to choose from, but what is more exotic that India?  Because of it’s isolation by oceans and mountains, it’s closer to its ancient roots than other ancient civilizations like the Fertile Crescent or Egypt.  And, maybe more importantly, modernization and growth of the New India may soon erase much that is exotic today.  Michael Wood said in the introduction to his book India, “We may be the last generation to see many of these things still alive.  But it seems to me that nowhere on Earth can you find all human histories from the Stone Age to the global village, still thriving, as you can in India.”

Our range of travels will be about 1000 miles from west to east and 2000 miles from north to south.  In that space we will see Hindu ceremonies and temples, Mughal forts and palaces, Kathakali performances, bazaars, and wildlife.  We will visit the large cities of Mumbai and Delhi, as well as smaller cities, towns and villages. We will see sunrise on the Ganges and sunset in the desert.

I hope that answers the question why India?

On Valentines Day 2013 Betty and I will be setting out on what we expect to be the trip of a lifetime.  We’ll be flying Lufthansa to Frankfurt and then on to Delhi India.  We will spend the next 21 days traveling throughout the subcontinent and this is where you will get your news about our trip.  Stay tuned.

I’m a little concerned that I’m setting myself up by starting this blog.  During past trips I’ve found the time to send emails describing the events of the day — most days.  I hope to be able to communicate this time via this blog.  But a little warning, I don’t know how often I’ll be able to have internet access and I can’t anticipate how many days I will be too busy or choose to relax rather than post.  I don’t intend to let the blog interfere with our general enjoyment.  So I’ll do my best and hopefully you’ll get some news.

Ted and Betty