This will be news to some of you…

The girls and I are not coming home in January.  There were reasons to come back and there were reasons to keep circling our planet.  Ultimately, though we miss our family, friends and colleagues at work, the girls and I are going to see northern India and visit friends in Sri Lanka.  Andy will rejoin us in February.

Right about now you are questioning the wisdom of three women traveling alone in India (especially in light of recent treatment of the Indian diplomat posted to New York).  I tossed and turned several nights on this myself.  Then, an expat family we met in Chiang Mai told us they had toured the area through Oberoi Hotels with drivers and guides to escort us between properties and sites.  And, after lots of research and sleepless nights, we decided to take their advice. From January 2-15, the Oberoi team will help be our guides in New Delhi, Agra, Ranthambhore (Tiger Sanctuary) and Jaipur – India’s Golden Triangle. No, we won’t be going out at night or taking public transportation.  Yes, it’s a sheltered way to see India, but see it we shall.

The featured picture above is the great circle map for part two of our RTW trip, with a few of our European flights still to be determined.  Based on the preliminary itinerary, we will cover 31,282 miles by air with more overland travel by car, ferry, train, etc.  In the first half of our trip we’ve been on 32 boats and at least 50 subways, trams, and trains! (Yes, we counted them.)

And then below, for those interested, my updated wardrobe/packing list. If this doesn’t apply to you, please exit now or you will be bored to tears.  You have been warned.

I even gave you extra space to click away…

Packing:
Packing and gearing up for this part of the trip will be more difficult.  Instead of enjoying a constant of 70 degrees and sunny, we will have cooler temperatures and more variations in rain and sun. Weather in India’s Golden Triangle will be in the 50s;  Sri Lanka,Tanzania and South Africa in the 80s.  By April and May we will be in northern Europe and making our way to St. Petersburg by way of Amsterdam and Copenhagen with temperatures ranging anywhere from 30 to 60.

In addition to the temperature changes, we will have an even higher risk of malaria and GI issues.  The suitcase now has more supplies than clothes!

The following list eats up about a quarter of the space in my suitcase:
Malaria Pills/Yellow Fever Cards (copy)
DEET lotion and spray
Mosquito Net
First Aid Kit/Syringe Kit
Water Sterilizers: Immersion boiler & Steripen & batteries
Utility cord and padlock
Sunscreen
REI Towel

OK so now here are my clothes laid out without overlapping on a queen sized bed (for scale).

All of this gets packed into the suitcase based on our itinerary so I don’t have to dig around at the bottom for clothes I need right away. There is an art to packing one’s suitcase and I’m determined to master it!

Accessories: Raincoat, Wide-brimmed hat Scarf Swimsuit & Goggles PJs (2) Underclothes and 3 pair shoes.  These are all shown above except the shoes.  Here is what I’m down to on shoes:

India (Cold and covered, our first stop so it gets packed last)
Pants (3)
Jackets (3) (blazers in white and black plus the raincoat)
Long sleeve shirts (white, multicolored, and new! merino in black, lavender and brick red)

 

Sri Lanka and South Africa (warm and humid) 

Dresses (5) Leggings (2) Pants (same 3) Tank tops and shell shirts (4 patterned, 3 solid)

For Tanzania Safari: Hiking pants with zip off legs Drawstring Quik Dry pants Merino (new!) short sleeve (2) Insect Shield Long sleeve (new!) (2)  All of these are basic enough that I can wear them other places except maybe the hiking pants.

If you are really studying…you will see that several sundresses are gone (sent home) and there are new woolens.  In New Zealand we stocked up on Merino for the Milford Track and the fabric is my new fave.  Keeps you warm when it’s cold or wet, and cool when it’s hot.  They will be useful over the next several months.  By April/May, I think I will be quite sick of my clothes; especially the pants and dresses. I have factored into the budget some serious shopping!

CARRYING ON:

I have also whittled down the technology bag/backpack.  I am no longer going to carry around a second set of chargers or cords because every airport seems to have what we need.  I still carry around the extra phone (Pixi) for global SIM cards which I use for local calls; my regular phone to be reachable back home (no data) and then my mini with a Data SIM card. I almost sent the Toshiba home with Andy because the mini has been my primary tool but I decided to keep it with me; I’m not ready to work entirely in the cloud.  Photos, fine; but not contracts or spreadsheets.

So there remains a lot of gear in the carry on bag:

Computer. Scanner for kids schoolwork. Two phones.  iPad Mini (in my hand). Olympus Tough Camera. Canon. Adapters, chargers, headsets and cords.  Umbrella.  Sunglasses. Extra Pair of Prescription Glasses.  Hand sanitizer and wipes. Erica’s fan. Fold away daypack. And then, of course, the essentials:  Wallet; Passports; ETA Visas; Yellow Cards and Anomia.

OK that’s enough.  If you’ve gotten this far, special points are awarded.  We’ll raise a glass in July.