Some Sights

Just some photos from the day. I will mention them in my next post no doubt.

India (Or at least an Indian airport)

Well I was wrong it was more like 9 hours to Amsterdam and then something like 8 to Bombay. So my mom and I have been waiting in the Bombay domestic airport since 11:30 pm on Dec. 29. It is currently 4:45 am or at least close to that time. Our plane leaves in an hour. I'm not sure how long that flight is, I believe it will be at least three hours. Ah well. My body has no sense of time or anything. Between not having a watch, (I forgot to bring one) and being thrown from one time zone to another, I'm thoroughly confused.The energy in India is amazing. We took a cab from the international airport to the domestic. I saw such a mix of cultures. Western advertisements right next to terrible poverty. It's so wild. It's hard to grasp. I feel like a camera that has been overexposed. A lot of my memories are all melded together. My mom and I are waiting in the lobby for our plane. There are tons of people here. Mostly Indian, but other foreigners too.

An interesting thing that I've noticed is the nearly continual presence of armed guards. Soldiers really. They carry large guns that are highly visible. I can only imagine that it is in response to the Bombay attacks. Yet, the security is nothing like American airports. It is pretty casual feeling.

There is so much noise all the time. For the last 20 or so minutes these airport workers have been trying to fit this large escalator type machine through this very narrow entry way. The machine is constantly beeping and every so often there is a bang as it hits something. This wouldn't happen in America. They would give up or do something else. Another thing. All the noise is meaningless, at least to me. Different languages all blend together into back ground noise.

Update on the workers. They are removing part of the handrail to make the machine fit.

Well, no more for now. We're still waiting for our flight. We don't know which gate it will leave from as that kind of thing isn't decided until the last minute. So far I love the Indian feeling.

Oh and one last update. As of right now we can't get on the Internet. Our computer is somehow messed up. So, if you are reading this you know that we somehow managed to make it work.

Departure

It's 9:47 am and I'm sitting in the Seattle Airport. We left my house at 5:30 am this morning. This morning is a blur of last minute preparation and packing. Overall we did pretty good I think. We have four bags between the two of us.

I said goodbye to my dad and brother. I won't see either of them for about five months. My mom and I are traveling to India. We will stay in India for a little less than two months. After that I will go and live in Holland for almost four months.

It's pretty amazing to realize that I will get out of a plane and be in India. I will step off the plane and it will be 80ish degrees. Meanwhile in Post Falls, Idaho it is cold and wet. The middle of winter.

To get to the international section of the Seattle airport we took a subway. Once in the train the feeling of things began to change. The automated directions were given in English and other languages. We got off the train and arrived in the lobby. It wasn't a huge shift or anything. It didn't overwhelm me with foreignness. However, people were speaking other languages. Directions over the PA system were given in English, Spanish and other languages I can't even name.

So, right now we're waiting at the Northwest Airlines terminal. Our plane leaves at 12:45 pm. It is 10:03 am right now. It feels like I should be thrust forward into my travels without a break. But the truth is there are a lot of breaks. Many, many breaks where I will just sit waiting for the next thing. It isn't a movie. There aren't any sped up scenes of airplanes cruising over the Pacific. I have to live every minute. There isn't a soundtrack either, however, if there was it would be "One more cup of coffee" by Bob Dylan. That is because I'm really tired.

The Pack

Hey. I got this pack online. So far I absolutely adore it. It's amazing. It's called the MEI Voyaguer. A company called Genuine Travel Gear makes them.

Packing

The day has finally come. I'm packing for my trip to India. I'll be gone for five months. What do you pack for a trip of that length? How do you manage to pack enough, but not pack too much? Luckilly that wasn't left up to me. http://www.onebag.com/ tells you what you should, and what you shouldn't, pack. It's a great resource. Anyways here is what I ended up packing:

underwear (2)
journal(2)
pencil case
ties
reporters notebook
extra passport photos
garbage bag for shoes
USB cord/headphones/Ipod
splitter
watch (except I forgot it)
pillow case
shorts (tech)
board shorts
socks (four pair)
shirts (3)
button shirt
pants (2) yoga mat
viscose towel
sun glasses
bandanas (2)
shoes (3)
travel wallet
belt
MEI Voyaguer bag

sinus rinse
sinus rinse packets
water purifer
duffel
floss
soap
toothbrush
cable locks
bungies
mosquito net

Altogether it weighed about 20 lbs. I also took some books and other miscellanious stuff in a messenger bag. Hopefully it will all prove to be usefull. However, I bet there is much room for improvement. We will see.

We leave in less than a month

We leave in less than a month. Yes, it's true. I can't believe it. I'm very nervous. I'm also very, very excited. We've purchased tickets and our itinerary is becoming clear. The last major thing we need to work out is what backpack I'm going to take and the immunization stuff.

Walking around Coeur d' Alene I can hardly imagine being in India. CDA is so safe and familiar to me. Soon I will be on the other side of the globe in a foreign country, where I'm the minority.

Wow.

After India I'm going to Holland for sure. I'll get to Holland in late February (I forgot the actual day). I'll return to the states on May 18 (I believe). I'm really excited to see Freek. I think that after India Holland will be much easier to navigate. But we'll see.