The Plan
India has become an obsession to me. Ask any of my friends who are already to get rid of me, albeit 6 weeks out. I am living and breathing my trip and I'm not even there yet. I have always felt like an adventure begins much before the plane takes off. It starts the moment you start dreaming. And continues with each small decision to make a plan happen. So while my journey is taking me through some emotional destinations, I am also making progress everyday with the physical trip. Last week I received my 10 year visa (wow!) and bought my final plane ticket to Delhi.
DEN----->MZT
My first leg of the trip is from Denver to Mazatlan via Phoenix. Arrive Saturday, October 27th. My mother will be joining me (or I shall be joining her) to this place we have visited many times before. A stay at her and my father's timeshare will keep this trip's cost to a minimum and hopefully stay that way as I plan to keep things cheap and easy. Probably hit the market and get easy stuff like sandwich ingredients for lunches, quesadillas for dinner, that sort of thing. Being to Mazatlan so many times before and the city not being the tourist attraction it was years ago, there aren't a lot of things I have on my list to do there. Mostly relax and spend some quality time with my mom before I leave. I know she is worried about me but hopefully this will ease her mind a bit.
Last night I realized we will be there for (our) Halloween but will be there just in time for Mexico's Dia de Los Muertos celebrations which I have always been interested in which is on November 1st. Looking forward to seeing it firsthand.
MZT----->RSW
From Maztalan I will fly to Fort Myers, Florida to visit my my mom's sister, Aunt Loni. Will be good to spend some time with her as I have not gotten to know her a lot throughout my life. I will actually be there during the 2012 presidential election (so I will vote absentee). Interested to see how that goes, as I'm probably considered a flaming liberal to these Republicans But I am not too political and I am actually looking forward to seeing their points of view, as Loni mentioned she will be holding some Republican parties, whatever that means. Don't know much about Florida and am just going to spend some time with relatives, and again relax (I think there's a pattern...) by the pool. Budget shouldn't be hurt too bad by this side trip as I will be staying at my aunt's house and don't plan to do anything extravagant.
MIA----->DEL
After 10 days I will finally fly out of Miami on Monday, November 12th, to arrive in Delhi two days later (due to the time change) at about 4 in the morning. I change planes in Paris and in Bahrain and total trip is 24 hours. There were longer flights and shorter ones, but decided this fit my schedule and my budget at just under $900 for a one-way ticket. Luckily for me, airfare is the most expensive part of this trip and should be able to be a bit more frugal once arriving.
DEL----->?????
My route after Delhi is in the works, but I do have a general idea of where I will go. Being in India before I realize that my plan can change hourly. Click here to see route on a map: Travel Route. Depending on how I like Delhi this time around, I will stay there anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. I really wanted to head to Kashmir directly but it will be December by then and I don't think weather would allow. I will be leaving the harsh Wyoming winters behind, but like the idea of four seasons and want to experience the reason why India and Pakistan are fighting over this sacred place. With fear of severe snowfall not allowing admittance/exit during that time of year, I think I will wait until the spring or summer.
So first destination after Delhi should be Amritsar. Home of the Golden Temple and headquarters for the Sikh religion. Not knowing about the religion myself, I am interested in learning more about it. As the Golden Temple is a pilgrimage, they offer a free place to stay and eat, as space allows. A friend has eaten there before but not stayed as it was much too crowded. I am definitely a person who needs my own space, but will see where the experience takes me.
From Amritsar, short stop in Bikaner, then I will travel to Jaisalmer. An Indian friend I met earlier this spring, Ricky, I hope to be able to spend some time with. He will be busy working but will be good to see a familiar face. Then Jodhpur, Udaipur, Pushkar, Jaipur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Darjeeling. There shall be many other stops along the way, but I am expecting this part of my journey to take about 6 months.
In just enough time for me to go east to leave the country for 2 months to fulfill my visa requirements. Maybe Nepal, maybe Thailand. Perhaps a country I have never even heard of.
And after my 2 month leave, will return to India until my money runs out. Probably a few more months. Because contrary to popular belief, this is a self-funded trip that I have saved for and I do not have unlimited funds. I have absolutely no idea of my route at this point. Maybe want to revisit some northern cities, otherwise I will head south to places like Goa, Mumbai, maybe Hyderabad.
Have to remember to save enough money for a return ticket home.....
Those are the big things. There are smaller details I am trying to work out, such as how to pack for anything from extreme cold in the mountains in the winter to the severe heat in the dead of summer. For one year. In one manageable suitcase. Hmmmm.....I just took a suitcase larger than that to Dubois, Wyoming for a small weekend trip in the mountains. This may take some effort. Here is a rough idea of where I plan to go:
My first leg of the trip is from Denver to Mazatlan via Phoenix. Arrive Saturday, October 27th. My mother will be joining me (or I shall be joining her) to this place we have visited many times before. A stay at her and my father's timeshare will keep this trip's cost to a minimum and hopefully stay that way as I plan to keep things cheap and easy. Probably hit the market and get easy stuff like sandwich ingredients for lunches, quesadillas for dinner, that sort of thing. Being to Mazatlan so many times before and the city not being the tourist attraction it was years ago, there aren't a lot of things I have on my list to do there. Mostly relax and spend some quality time with my mom before I leave. I know she is worried about me but hopefully this will ease her mind a bit.
Last night I realized we will be there for (our) Halloween but will be there just in time for Mexico's Dia de Los Muertos celebrations which I have always been interested in which is on November 1st. Looking forward to seeing it firsthand.
MZT----->RSW
From Maztalan I will fly to Fort Myers, Florida to visit my my mom's sister, Aunt Loni. Will be good to spend some time with her as I have not gotten to know her a lot throughout my life. I will actually be there during the 2012 presidential election (so I will vote absentee). Interested to see how that goes, as I'm probably considered a flaming liberal to these Republicans But I am not too political and I am actually looking forward to seeing their points of view, as Loni mentioned she will be holding some Republican parties, whatever that means. Don't know much about Florida and am just going to spend some time with relatives, and again relax (I think there's a pattern...) by the pool. Budget shouldn't be hurt too bad by this side trip as I will be staying at my aunt's house and don't plan to do anything extravagant.
MIA----->DEL
After 10 days I will finally fly out of Miami on Monday, November 12th, to arrive in Delhi two days later (due to the time change) at about 4 in the morning. I change planes in Paris and in Bahrain and total trip is 24 hours. There were longer flights and shorter ones, but decided this fit my schedule and my budget at just under $900 for a one-way ticket. Luckily for me, airfare is the most expensive part of this trip and should be able to be a bit more frugal once arriving.
DEL----->?????
My route after Delhi is in the works, but I do have a general idea of where I will go. Being in India before I realize that my plan can change hourly. Click here to see route on a map: Travel Route. Depending on how I like Delhi this time around, I will stay there anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. I really wanted to head to Kashmir directly but it will be December by then and I don't think weather would allow. I will be leaving the harsh Wyoming winters behind, but like the idea of four seasons and want to experience the reason why India and Pakistan are fighting over this sacred place. With fear of severe snowfall not allowing admittance/exit during that time of year, I think I will wait until the spring or summer.
So first destination after Delhi should be Amritsar. Home of the Golden Temple and headquarters for the Sikh religion. Not knowing about the religion myself, I am interested in learning more about it. As the Golden Temple is a pilgrimage, they offer a free place to stay and eat, as space allows. A friend has eaten there before but not stayed as it was much too crowded. I am definitely a person who needs my own space, but will see where the experience takes me.
From Amritsar, short stop in Bikaner, then I will travel to Jaisalmer. An Indian friend I met earlier this spring, Ricky, I hope to be able to spend some time with. He will be busy working but will be good to see a familiar face. Then Jodhpur, Udaipur, Pushkar, Jaipur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Darjeeling. There shall be many other stops along the way, but I am expecting this part of my journey to take about 6 months.
In just enough time for me to go east to leave the country for 2 months to fulfill my visa requirements. Maybe Nepal, maybe Thailand. Perhaps a country I have never even heard of.
And after my 2 month leave, will return to India until my money runs out. Probably a few more months. Because contrary to popular belief, this is a self-funded trip that I have saved for and I do not have unlimited funds. I have absolutely no idea of my route at this point. Maybe want to revisit some northern cities, otherwise I will head south to places like Goa, Mumbai, maybe Hyderabad.
Have to remember to save enough money for a return ticket home.....
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