The Grand Itinerary

Now that we've discussed my predilection for detailed itineraries, I will get back to our regularly scheduled programming, and outline our overarching itinerary for our trip. It was incredibly difficult to decide where to go in India. I have to admit that I initially thought that I'd be able to hop, skip and jump all around the country to hit the "highlights" including tea plantations in Darjeeling (in the foothills of the Himalaya mountains), the Taj Mahal (in the northern central part of the country), the backwaters of Kerala (the southwestern tip of the country), the laid back beaches of Goa (on the western coast), the bustling metropolis of Mumbai...then when I started doing real research, I realized how incredibly unrealistic I was being. As in, I was delusional.  

It didn't LOOK that big on a world map....

So I had to focus on some geographic region that we could handle in two weeks. After doing even more research, J and I had it narrowed down to either the "Golden Triangle" tour (the most popular and stereotypical route most people take in India) through Rajasthan with a short detour to the Taj Mahal, or a south-western India tour (Kerala, Goa, Mumbai, with some tea plantation pit stops). Ultimately, the Golden Triangle won out, since it is more unlike the tropical environment in which J and I grew up. We've decided that we may just have to return one day and do another trip in a different part of the country. 

Without further ado, our Grand Itinerary:

Days 1-3: Delhi

We fly in to Delhi and will be staying in the "backpackers paradise" located in the central part of the city. I've heard its very touristy, but I'm hopeful that we may be able to meet other backpackers and travelers who can give us more tips. J and I stayed in a hostel like environment on previous trips and have found it to be a great experience, so we wanted to start that way and jump right in. On our third evening, we are taking a 2 hour train ride to....

Days 4-5: Agra

We will wake up *very* early the next morning and make sure we get in line to get to the Taj Mahal so we can watch the sun rise. It's my understanding that the crowds can get quite large by mid-morning, so we're going to try and hit as many of the highlights at the complex as we can earlier in the day, then spend more of the morning just simply taking in the splendor and walking in the garden areas. While we are in Agra, we will also visit the Red Fort, and possibly go see some of the other gardens and tombs in the area. 

Days 6-8: Ranthambore National Park

Early in the morning on Day 6, we will take a train from Agra to Sawai Madhopur, a small town located near Ranthambore National Park, which is one of the largest tiger sanctuaries in the world. Overall, J and I are going to be staying in fairly "budget" accommodations on this trip and doing things in an "authentic" and "rustic" manner but I unilaterally decided that I wanted a little bit of luxury on this trip, and have arranged for us to go "glamping" (glamorous camping) in Ranthambore. We are staying in tents!!! Just....these tents.

We will spend two and a half days at this lovely encampment, going on safari drives into the park with the hopes of spotting a tiger in its natural habitat. This should be a fairly relaxing part of our trip, as in between safari drives, we get to relax at the camp. The resort allows us to come in for a cooking lesson with the camp chefs, go for nature walks, read in its library, and enjoy a nightly campfire with other guests. 

Days 8-10: Jaipur

Jaipur, also known as the "pink city." There is SO MUCH TO DO/SEE in Jaipur, this is where my planning bug must be kept under control. We will get into Jaipur via train in the late afternoon on Day 8 after leaving Ranthambore, and are staying at another backpacker travel hostel located close to the city center. The picture above shows the pink city from the Hawa Mahal. 

I've got several monuments on my list, but the only scheduled activity we have is a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the city and several of its forts. Several of my friends who have taken exciting trips of their own this year have done hot air balloon rights in other countries, and after hearing about their experiences, it immediately went on my bucket list. J agreed that it sounded very fun, so if the weather cooperates, we will get this experience too!

Days 11-12: Jodhpur

We will arrive in Jodhpur in the morning on Day 11, and will stay in the oldest guest house in the city. Jodhpur is known as the "blue city" for all of the buildings painted blue. Also, as you can see above, it has an enormous fort sitting on the mountain overlooking the entire city. For those of you who are Christian Bale aficionados, you may recognize the fort from his Batman days:

Apart from visiting the fort and visiting a large palace nearby, I have no other big plans so far for Jodhpur. We'll see what happens.

Days 13-15: Delhi (again)

We will take an overnight train from Jodhpur back to Delhi (which I think will be an experience in and of itself). I'm still deciding what part of Delhi we will stay in when we return. We'll finish up some sightseeing in the capital, take it easy, and start our return trek to Florida. 

Itineraries: My Fear of Missing Out

Confession: I am a type A personality. Not THE most type A of all type As, but still pretty type A. As an attorney, I am also predisposed/trained to identify all potential negative outcomes of a situation and to try and avoid those outcomes. Some call me a "pessimist," but I tend to consider myself a realist about what things are most likely to go wrong. Which leads me to research. And planning. And planning. If I have a plan, I try to have a back up plan. And research on the back up plan. 

Conversely, J is the world's biggest optimist. He's not naive, but he chooses to believe and/or hope that things will work out for the best. And if they don't, he deals with the situation when it occurs.  He does some background investigation, but does not have tripadvisor/yelp/lonely planet on his "top ten websites" the way I do. He's probably  definitely the happier and calmer of the two of us. 

The "no vehicular traffic" road I accidentally instructed J to drive
down in Jerusalem. Excellent travel planning on my part.

Our travel/life philosophies never seem more divergent than when we are getting ready to take a trip.  Particularly when we are headed to a destination that has so! much! to! see! I feel an overwhelming urge to allot every moment and make sure I am getting my time and money's worth out of an experience, and that I'm not missing something very cool that I would have known about if I had just bothered to google my destination. However, as you may expect, this has led me on several occasions to become very frustrated when things don't go exactly according to plan. And, probably, it has led me to miss out on some spontaneous, cool adventures.

These people definitely have an itinerary. 

In doing my research (sigh sigh, I know) on our trip to India, I've read a lot of horror stories about people who found it completely overwhelming to prepare their own itineraries, who say NOTHING goes according to plan there, and to throw all expectations out the window. You can imagine this is my personal version of hell when it comes to vacation planning. So in an effort to avoid the inevitable frustration of having my plans go awry, I have tried to take a much more "relaxed" approach to planning this trip. For each destination we have, I have booked accommodations because I have irrational fears of ending up homeless on the streets. I have booked transportation from city to city. And for a few activities we have planned (e.g. a hot air balloon ride), I have made reservations (tip: never on travel days). And other than that? I've made lists of big attractions in each of the cities we are visiting and have "graded" them in terms of 1) must sees; 2) would be cool to see; and 3) if we happen to be passing by and feel like stopping. I've grouped them geographically to try and use our time most efficiently. And that's about it. I am trying to "under" plan the trip to make sure that I leave time for side trips and unanticipated events without losing my mind. It's not perfect, and it's not the most type B way to travel, but I think it's progress!

My idea of what a Type "B" traveler looks like.

So here I ask my readers: When you travel, how detailed are your itineraries? Are you a "plane ticket and go" kind of person? Or do you need to sync your watches with other members of your travel party to ensure everyone's on schedule? Any tips?

*Note: This blog post inspired by this post authored by a much better blogger than me--and I'm proud to count her as a colleague and friend too!

Why India?

When we tell our friends, family and co-workers about our plans for our upcoming trip, the first question we are asked is always, "Why India?" J and I are both obviously very Caucasian, and neither one of us look like the type to run off to an ashram for a mid-life crisis a la Elizabeth Gilbert. 

Not me.

So I decided that answering this question here would be a good way to start things off. I have wanted to go to India for a very long time. First, I am a big fan of a lot of literature and movies set in India (but not Eat, Pray, Love). Think The Jungle Book, A Little Princess, A Suitable Boy, The Namesake, etc. All great stories with amazing scenery, and amazing characters. 

Shere Khan lives in India.

But mostly, I want to go to India because it's exotic. It's out of my comfort zone. When I go to new places, I'm much more interested in seeing a different culture, a different way of life, a different history. If I went to Europe (not that there is anything wrong with Europe), it would be a shared ancestry up until 275 years ago. But India? That's a different, older, and more exciting story. Binary numbers were invented in India. Tremendous works of art were created there. Some of the world's greatest monuments to major religions are there. On one of the most important shipping routes in history, India has been touched by, and has touched so many cultures. In one day, you can see a Victorian-inspired government building, an Islamic mosque, a Baha'i temple, and a militarized fort. This is not a homogenous society. We're going to have the opportunity to see the Taj Mahal, huge Mughal forts, rolling desert hills, and huge cosmopolitan cities. 

Lotus Temple, in Delhi

People ask us, "Aren't you worried about terrorism? Crime? Catching some terrible disease?" And the answer to those questions is, "No more than I am in any other part of the world." I think that the recent events in the world demonstrate that terrorism can strike anywhere--from San Bernadino, CA, to a hotel in Mumbai. I lived in Israel for several years during the Second Intifada, so the idea of terrorism being in my face on a daily basis is nothing new for me. Regular old crime? Sure. I'm sure I'll be a target there just based on my physical appearance. I'm also a target for carjackings and thievery when I go to some of the less-than-ideal places in Jacksonville to visit clients. Just like I am here at home, I can be a smart traveller, and reduce the risk. 

And as for the disease? Let's just say I lived through Montezuma's revenge when J and I went to the Riviera de Maya and stayed at a luxurious resort for our honeymoon. If that's not a good bonding experience for newlyweds, I am sure whatever I contract in India will help keep our marriage going for at least another five years. Plus, I'm smart, and I've made appointments for us with our primary care physician to make sure our immunizations are up to date and perhaps coax him into giving me prophylactic prescriptions for antibiotics and the like. I also have started buying the tiny little bottles of hand sanitizer whenever they go on sale at the dollar store. 

Do I really need to tell you what this is? 

J and I decided we wanted to take a trip that would give us the opportunity to try a ton of new things. So, we're going to be backpacking, we're going to be staying primarily in travel hostels, and traveling by train to all of our destinations. Our itinerary will be a separate post, but suffice it to say we're going to some diverse places...mostly the big hits because we're only taking two weeks, but I am trying to make sure we have a good, "off-the-beaten path" authenticity to some of the activities we plan.

So off we go in about two months!!! We're starting to buy some of our gear and read up on India's history, politics, art, and of course, sample lots of Indian food to prepare ourselves for the trip. I cannot wait!