I'm OK to go.

Okay, flying to India is a little different than traveling into a worm hole...  Here we are at the JFK international terminal waiting for our flight to Delhi.  We had our send off meal at McDonalds in the terminal.  We walked around a bit, looking at all the people from all over the world gathered in the terminal.  Everyone is very excited and in good spirits. The gate is filling up with people, many families ( I counted five babies) joining us on this fourteen hour flight to Delhi. We enjoyed watching other international flights landing and taking off at JFK. Ours is next.

A Set-back with Gabe today

Today we started the malaria prevention meds. These come in pill form. None of the kids have taken pills before today. We are very lucky to have healthy kids; but the ability to take pills is a handy skill for kids to have as I learned today. None of the boys could swallow the pills. The scene that played out included shouting, tears, unhappy kids, and frustrated parents. We'll get this down over the course of the month that we have to take the medicine. Gabe, who has not been excited about the trip, got very upset (again) about going on this trip. He cried on and off during the day. I hope that he will enjoy the trip once it starts.

Route Map

Here's the route map for our trip to India.

Trip Planning Time Line

Here's a look at the planning process that has brought us to this trip.  Anyone who has done this type of international trip before can skip this post.

August 2010:  we decide that India is our destination
November 2010:  Brian contacts Ashish, the travel agent in India
Email exchange between Brian and Ashish continues for several months, we get the first draft of the itinerary  in March.  After three revisions, we agreed on our trip plans.
March 2011:  apply for passports for everyone
April 2011:  apply for travel visas to India, our new passports are in the application materials
May 2011:  make a deposit on the travel itinerary from Ashish, purchase our plan tickets,  and get our booster shots updated and receive the typhoid vaccination (ouch).
June 2011:  receive helpful travel advice from friends and colleagues, start reading the travel guides
July 2011:  fill prescriptions for malaria prevention meds and antibiotics, compile a list of essential items to take to India (next post), wake up at wee hours of the night hoping that this trip is a good idea, continue to answer the question "Why India?", figure out how to get to and from JFK airport, start a travel blog, enjoy the last few days of pre-India summer.

India, Not Indiana

In one week, my family is leaving for an adventure in India.  The funny thing about traveling to India is that you seem to need a compelling reason to go there.  We have been asked many times "Why India?"  Here's how this trip evolved. 

Brian and I have been saving for an international trip for several years, and waiting for the children to get old enough to be good travelers.  Last summer we decided that the time was upon us, in both categories, so let's go somewhere.  I wanted to go to a country in which we would be the minority and where life is very different than in our home in Pomfret, CT.  As we were discussing the possibilities, Brian's friend from college went to India on a Fulbright in the fall.  His experience there sparked our interest in visiting the country.  He gave us a recommendation for a travel agent in India, and as they say, the rest is history.  We have an exciting three-week itinerary that will give us a taste of the culture, history, and wildlife in India.

The children, in their excitement to tell friends and teachers about the trip, often got the comment "You mean Indiana, not India."  With some insistence, the kids convinced the kind adults at their school that, yes, they were actually going on summer vacation in India.