Why go to India?

I think the better question is Why Not. It's been 34 years since I was last in India and I've always been fascinated with the people, food and culture of India. Last fall I made contact with some relatives in India and numerous offers to visit were sent my way that I finally decided "Why Not". The warm invitations from various relatives really helped in my decision to go as did the timing. After telling my mother of my intended trip she and my step father decided that they too wanted to visit India so they'll be joining me for one month shortly after I arrive in Delhi.

Three months may seem like a long time but I suspect that in this large and diverse country three months may not be enough time at all. But it is all the time I have available so I plan on making the best of it. Yes, I could have just gone for a couple weeks but if I'm going to travel to the other side of the world I want to make it a trip worth while. What can one really experience in just a week or two?

Half of my three month trip is planned out while the second half is not. I'll arrive in early November into Delhi where I plan on spending the first week adjusting and visiting some cousins including attending the wedding of one of my cousin's daughter. My mother and her husband Steve will join me a week after I get to India where we'll spend their first week in Delhi as well. Then starting the second week we will be taking a three week south India tour. At the end of the tour mom and Steve will depart India and I'll have six to seven weeks on my own. For this time period I have no agenda, no plan, no idea what I will do. And that's my 'plan', to wing it.

Of course I'll do some of the tourist things and visit some monuments and such but this blog really won't be about that. There's enough blogs on the internet about all the tourist destinations in India. Rather my blog will try to focus on the people of India, it's food and it's culture. Anyone that knows me knows that I like to travel off the beaten path. And that will happen more so during my second half of my stay in India.

Stay tuned, and enjoy.