"The Night Before"

Now that me and Lindsay are back from our India trek I had to write about our experience getting ready for this trip. A lot goes into planning a trip to a place like India. You have vaccinations to get, trains to reserve, hotels to find, money to figure out, dog sitters to find, etc. For some reason getting ready for this last trip was the most stressed I had ever been in my life! It was 2:00 am the night before our early morning flight and I was just laying in bed not able to sleep a wink. Here are just a few of the thoughts/stresses running through my mind:

1. India is going through elections...how is the violence this year?
2. Will the anti-malaria pills interfere with our Typhoid shots?
3. Will all of the 3 connecting flights from SLC to Mumbai leave on time?
4. What is it like arriving in Mumbai,India at midnight?...how do I get into the city?
5. Will the Taj Mahal be open on election day?
6. Will the swine flu pandemic affect our traveling...will I be singled out...do I have a fever?
7. Nepal's Prime Minister just stepped down..how will this affect travel to that country?
8. Will our flight from Kathmandu arrive before I have to catch the train to Varanasi?
9. Do I have all the visa's?
10. Will my wait-listed train ticket get cleared so I can go from Mumbai to Delhi?
11. How do I get a taxi from Agra to Delhi if violence shuts down the train system?
12. Etc, Etc, Etc.

Needless to say it was very intimidating. However, the morning came and Lindsay and I took off with nothing but our small backpacks, LonelyPlanet guides, Passports and sense of adventure for exploring the unknown. It is always easy to reminisce about trips once they are over but for once I had to write about the stresses of getting ready to go...it takes a lot of planning to backpack halfway around the world and back!