Ready to hit the road….so to speak

Well, here we sit in the Atlanta airport, ready to board our flight to Amsterdam in a few hours. 

Michael and I were talking about the fact that this trip has been a long time coming and that there were so many times that we didn’t think that it was going to happen at all.

But then last night I had the sudden revelation that we are spending 5 weeks in India and two weeks in Nepal….WOW!!!!  I feel like I have lived with my head down getting ready to travel and hadn’t stopped to think about the trip itself!!  We are so excited about spending a longer time in Bangalore and then are cautiously excited about the Trek in October. 

Getting ready for the trip has been an exercise (and sometimes frustration)  in planning as we have had to pack for two completely different types of trips.

The Trek has required a lot of extra gear, including sleeping bags, snow gear, trekking poles and a myriad of other interesting items.  We have also had to take into account the fact that our flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara (where we start the trek) only allows 35 pounds of luggage each so bags have had to be carefully planned.  We finally solved part of this problem by organizing for most of our bags to be stored in Bangalore while we are in Nepal and then picking them up again after the Trek is over.

There have been a few funny moments, like me standing in the aisle holding two different paperback books and deciding which to buy based on how heavy they were……

Or looking at our stack of stuff to get into the suitcases and wondering exactly how it is all going to fit…..

In the end, we have four checked bags….two normal suitcases and two duffel bags…..

In addition we are each carrying a backpack and Michael is also carrying a computer satchel.  AND, we have another duffel bag packed away to help us get to the Trek and then get home with whatever we buy, and we KNOW that we will be buying stuff!!!!

Once our flight leaves Atlanta, we fly to Amsterdam, then to Delhi and then Bangalore, with a total travel time (door to door) of about 40 hours!!  We arrive in  Bangalore at 9:00am on Sunday morning and the biggest hurdle will be staying awake on Sunday until a respectable hour.  We are hoping to stay upright until at least 6:00pm!!!

Hold on to your hat……