Incredible India

K: Why India, you might ask? Well, I have always been intrigued by the tremendous diversity that this country of more than 1.2 billion people offers. Of course, it could also be the steady stream of TV commercials promoting "Incredible India."

Whatever the case, I couldn't be more excited about this next adventure. The wildly crowded cities, high-tech corridors, remote villages, the dazzle of Bollywood, ancient temples, beautiful beaches and inland waterways, eclectic ethnic groups, the vestiges of the British Raj, jungles, wildlife... .

And then there is the food, ranging from the spicy curries of the north, tandoori, vegetable thalis, lassis, fresh fish and seafood, wonderful bread and the spices--cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, clove, garlic, chilis, coriander, nutmeg--YUM!

I always try to provide a bit of historical context about our travel. So here are a few tidbits for those of you who are interested.

• 2nd most populous country in the world



• Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is the 2nd most populous city in the world



• India has the largest concentration of poor people in the world



• One of the fastest growing economies in the world



• Originated four of the world's religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism



• Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in India in the first millenium



• Annexed by the British East India Tea Company from the early 18th century and colonised by the Brits until the mid-1900's



• Became an independent state only in 1947

Click on this Map of India link and scroll down and resize it as needed to follow our journey!

V: Wow, we are heading to India. It shall prove to be amazing and awe-inspiring, I am certain!

First of all, I am looking forward to being on my absolute favorite airline, from NYC through Dubai to Mumbai--Emirates!!!! (Great cuisine de la aeroplane, and I'm sure I'll watch at least 8 movies.)

We arrive in Mumbai, in the Maharashtra territory, then down to Goa (party town) where we will celebrate Christmas, then through the Karnataka/Kerala regions to Mysore, the Nagarhole National Park, the southern hill station of Ooty, on to Alleppey where we will tour the the waterways and canals via houseboat, and finally, to the southern tip of India, the beach town of Varkala. On the way home we will stopover in Dubai for 2 days.

We have the shots, the malaria pills, bug dope and our own homemade Delhi Belly Kit. Now it is time to organize the gear, pack and plot our discoveries! We will be blogging on the trip, so stay tuned.