(2010-12-08: Updated.)
On 27 December I will depart the States for India. On 23 March I will return. The chronologically curious will note: that's 87 days. (Subtract one day in a plane on each end for 85 days.) It's not quite a geologic age, but it is a long time.
For the purposes of this post, I will leave out the why [1]. Instead I will outline the trip, and ask for your advice. Some dates and places, e.g., the Mumbai Marathon, are firmly fixed; those items are noted in bold. However, all other items are quite flexible and represent only a notional itinerary that can be abandoned for better notions.
Like any first draft, there will be a number of mistakes, I'm sure, so don't be bashful about saying that something is stupid. Ready, aim...
Phase 1: Kolkata
- 29-30 Dec: New Delhi
- 31 Dec-3 Jan: Kolkata
Phase 2: Chandigarh
Here I could use some advice on places to stay in Chandigarh or Delhi.
- 4 Jan: Kolkata to Delhi (by plane)
- 5-6 Jan: Haridwar? Or Delhi?
- 7-10 Jan: Chandigarh
- 9 Jan: Panchkula Half Marathon
- 10 Jan: Day trip to Shimla?
Phase 3: Mumbai
The basic idea here: spend some time in Mumbai, then go on a loop through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, then return to Mumbai.
- 11 Jan: Chandigarh to Mumbai (by plane)
- 11-19 Jan: Mumbai
- 16 Jan: Mumbai Marathon
- 20-28 Jan: Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Burhanpur
- 29-31 Jan: Mumbai
Phase 4: Mumbai to Pondicherry
At the least, I want to stop at Hampi, as one of my Kannadiga friends says I must. Anything else via buses and trains on the way to Bangalore is a bonus.
- 31 Jan-9 Feb: Bijapur, Badami, Hampi
- 10 Feb: Bangalore
- 11 Feb: Bangalore to Pondicherry (by train)
- 12 Feb: Pondicherry
- 13 Feb: Auroville Marathon
Phase 5: Tamil Nadu
After the marathon on 13 Feb and until the India vs. Netherlands cricket match on 9 Mar, all plans can be changed. I can go anywhere and can do anything with anyone and anytime. It doesn't have to be in the south,--I could fly to Ahmedabad and cruise around Gujarat, what the hell?--it's just a first go at an itinerary.
- 14-16 Feb: Pondicherry
- 17-23 Feb: Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur, Rameswaram
- 24-26 Feb: Chennai
- 27 Feb-1 Mar: Bangalore
- 1 Mar: Bangalore to Delhi (by plane)
Phase 6: Delhi
- 2-7 Mar: North India?
- 8-11 Mar: Delhi
- 9 Mar: Delhi, Cricket World Cup, India vs. Netherlands
- 12-14 Mar: Khajuraho
- 15-18 Mar: Agra
- 19-22 Mar: Delhi
- 23 Mar: Delhi to Chicago to St. Louis
To get a flavor of what that looks like on a map, go here: India 2011.
I have left out the timing of various bus and train journeys--it made the itinerary above, which is already jumbled, look like something that could only be understood with the help of heavy pharmaceuticals. Let's just say that I know that it will take the better part of a day to travel, for example, from Delhi to Khajuraho, and I have accounted for that in each trip. Probably.
Discussion
When it comes to travel, the best places I've ever visited have been recommended by friends. This takes a variety of forms. For example, in 2006 it led to me going to dinner at [we drank a lot of wine and I don't remember] in Cadaques, Spain, with Alvin and Jorge. And Jorge pointed me to TurronerÃa Sirvent in Barcelona for ice cream. Both were fabulous--the former, especially.
The point is: although I will mention some things below that are interesting to me, my first priority is to meet friends that I know and friends that I don't yet know, and try the things they like. I don't have a bucket list or 1001 things to see before I die; I'm here for the ride.
What would I like to see?
- I like books--especially libraries and secondhand bookstores. (Via email I just received some absolutely and outstandingly thoughtful advice on bookstores to visit in Mumbai.)
- I like sports. When I'm not running one of the two-and-a-half marathons I've signed up for, I'd run with anyone from a Delhi or Bangalore or wherever running club that wants to go for a run. Also, I know nothing about cricket--there is a bat and a ball, but apparently it is different than baseball?--and I'd like to learn to play, or watch a real game, whichever.
- I like music--especially music that isn't popular music. First person to take me to an Indian version of Morphine or the Dismemberment Plan wins.
- I like history--which is to say I could amuse myself for days walking in and around old things. It is no accident that I live in a museum in a National Historical Park.
- I like wandering in hills and mountains--but this is not something I will allow to be rushed, so I'll save it for another trip.
What do you think? Where should I go?
You don't need to suggest something grand. I don't need 85 days of Taj Mahals. Listen: if you came from India to Illinois, I could take you to Chicago to the top of the Sears Tower--I guess they call it the Willis Tower now, don't they? Ridiculous.--but I'd rather take you to Fulton County, to the Cedar Creek. Never heard of it? It's a secret, and it's not great by any absolute measure, but let me tell you: my enthusiasm would infect you, and it would be the best damned stream you've ever seen.
- I am tempted, here, to say something faux-clever as my reason, perhaps I'll lift a line from Kilgore Trout in Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions:
To be
the eyes
and ears
and conscience
of the Creator of the Universe,
you fool.I could pretty much steal lines from Kurt Vonnegut all day long. Bonus points if you can identify the second half of the title. [back to text]