Nearly on our way...

In just over 12 hours we will begin our trip to India. Right now we're both pretty tired from working long, long days trying to get everything done that we would otherwise be doing in the next five weeks. Slowly, the items on my to-do list are being checked off and fewer are being added. We're also cycling between excited and nervous as the weeks stretch out in front of us with no real plan to fill them.

India is such an enormous and varied country that it feels as if no amount of research can prepare you. Neither of us are big "schedulers" when it comes to vacations, so we'll just jump in the deep end and hope our swimming skills are up to scratch. Thanks to the kindness of folks like Mridula and Emma, and the excellent travel forum India Mike's, I think our chances are pretty good.

The plan is to keep a handwritten journal during the trip and use the entries to create the posts here. If you look to the right, I've bumped my Flickr badge to the top of the links list and it's set to take you directly to the India photo album. I'll try to upload as much as possible, but efforts may be restricted by connectivity and upload speeds. I expect to take thousands of picture because that's just the way I am, so at the very least I'll have plenty to share when I get back.

To the family and friends who are visiting this blog for the first time, feel free to leave comments. I've set them up so you can comment without being a member of Blogger, although it would be nice if you left some sort of identifier rather than stay anonymous. I'm already looking forward to reading everyone's comments and I'll reply as often as possible. If you'd like a postcard, email me your address and I'll do my best to send one, although if I've never heard of you, don't hold your breath.

Well, it's time to go pack. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to find out if everything will fit in my backpack.