It has been many moons since I've written here. A little over 3 years, to be exact.
I haven't traveled too much in those 3 years, though. I went on a cruise to the Bahamas, which isn't very travel-blog worthy. I also visited my oma and opa in Germany in February, but that was just 5 days at my grandparents' house. I mean, I could go into details about how I got up and ate lunch and then dinner and hung out in my grandparents' overheated living room, while occasionally helping clean the kitchen. Or I could describe our trip to Limburgh and Montabaur for shopping, but I'm pretty sure I've already written blog posts about those things, so I'll spare you those mundane details.
This blog post is the intro post to my NEXT big trip, debuting in September 2017 -- 2 months away! I'm off to India for this trip, to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Delhi. But the itinerary I've worked out so far doesn't actually feature much time in Delhi.
We talked about possibly going to Sri Lanka, but Wendy (sis-in-law) described Sri Lanka as India-lite and we only have 12 days, so why waste time in India-lite when we can see India proper? Also, we are going during monsoon seasons, so while beaching in Sri Lanka sounds fab, there's a really possibility we'd be beaching in the rain.
Then I thought about going to Nepal, because a flight to Kathmandu is only 1.5 hours and $150! But to be honest with you, the only reason I'd be flying to Kathmandu is to say I've been to Nepal, and Wendy also described Nepal as India-lite. So we're back to, "Why go to India-lite when we can do India proper?"
Then brother Evan said hey, if you want to see the Himalayas, why not see them in India and go to Leh? So I Googled Leh and boom, Leh it is. From Leh we can go to Pangong Tso, a salty lake in the high Himalayas (aren't all the Himalayas high, though?) that borders Tibet! Where the air is so thin they suggest you don't stay too long but we're totally gonna camp there because we are so badass, yo! Where you have to take one of the three highest motorable roads, Chang La Pass, to get there!
Chang La Pass is so high up they advise you not to spend more than 20 minute there. Because, you know, you kind of need oxygen to live. And oxygen is scarce up there.
Then Taylor wants to go to Varanasi, one of the oldest cities in the world, a Hindu sacred city where people go to die, where pilgrims bathe in the Ganges, where corpses burn in the streets. So that will be weird.
So yeah, I'm still working on the itinerary but it goes something like this:
Saturday - Delhi
Sunday - Jaipur
Monday - Agra
Tuesday - Leh
Wednesday - Nubra Valley
Thursday - Pangong Tso
Friday - Leh
Saturday - Varanasi
Sunday - Varanasi
Monday - Doha, Qatar
I'm also working on my MUST PACK list, as I do. I've discovered there are a lot of things people suggest you take to India that I wouldn't necessarily take to Europe.
Such as Lifestraws. Because Delhi belly, obvs. Also, Nuun tabs. For electrolytes. Also, headlamps. Because power goes out? Not sure. Also, toilet paper, because that's not always a thing there.
The best suggestion was lady pee cups, because people pee in the streets. You know I'm totally bringing one.
I'll probably post my whole pack list once it's complete, no worries. I am sure you were worried. Because everyone is as into packing as I am. I love packing. Packing, packing, packing.
I don't know how to end a blog entry anymore because I haven't written one in 3 years, so I'll just end it on this note.
