A Journey to India

December 25, 2007

Preparing for India is long and involved. It included three weeks of inoculations for hepatitis A and B, typhoid, polio (booster), tetanus, and malaria pills which I take for the duration of the trip. I've had to buy sunscreen, mosquito repellant, a sheet sleeping bag, a flashlight, padlock, sarong (thanks Sarah!) and a host of other supplies I'm not exactly sure when or how will come in handy. But I'm taking it on faith from more experienced travelers than I that they are all necessary.

My itinerary is New York to Moscow, spend 24 hours in Moscow, then fly to New Delhi. Meet up with my friend Jean who is flying in from Singapore where she's working. We'll stay in Delhi for about four days, then take the train to Agra. We'll spend New Year's Eve and Day in Agra before taking the train to Jaipur. We'll hang out in Jaipur for a few days, make it up to Udaipur and parts of Rajasthan. Then Jean will have to fly back and I'll take a plane to Goa where I'll hang out for about five days exploring the coastline before returning to Delhi and then home.

I'm flying into Moscow on a reputedly sketchy Russian airlines called Aeroflot that still brandishes the hammer and sickle on the tail. As I'm flying out on Christmas Day, I expect the flight to be relatively empty and I look forward to trying to bribe my way into business class. I'm a bit nervous about the Muscovite hotel. Because of an intinerary snafu, I've gotten the airline to promise to put me up overnight in Moscow, but have received no written confirmation. They keep telling me in their slightly evil slightly sexy Russian accents that I should just go to the counter and ask them to put me up and it will magically happen. I have my doubts and half expect to spend the next 24 hours sleeping on the floor of the Russian airport. I also don't have a visa which I was told wouldn't be a problem to get to the hotel, but completely expect that it will be.