All The Stuff I'm Bringing With Me

What you've all been waiting for, I'm sure: The Packing List

Clothes

1 pair of linen pants

2 calf-length skirts

1 pair of yoga pants or some kind of stretchy sweats which will work as pajamas but be presentable to wear in public if needed (especially on long sleeper trains).

2 t-shirts

3 tank tops (mostly as pajamas/underwear)

1 3/4 sleeve shirt

1 long sleeve shirt

4 pairs of underwear

1 scarf/sarong type thing - these things are so useful, I can use it as a towel, beach cover-up sarong type thing, use it to cover my hair in a temple, or even wear it as a skirt if I have to.

1 zip-up hoodie (yes, folks, it's my "QUEENS" one)

1 down vest - this is mainly to get me to the airport, but will also be good if I end up going to Darjeeling or something (which I still haven't decided about), AND can be used as a pillow on overnight trains.

1 bikini (Goa, baby!) - yes, I've read all the stuff about conservative dress for women in India. Screw that. People are going to stare at white girls on the beach in Goa, even if we show up in one of those victorian 'bathing costumes'. And either way, even here at home I usually have a t-shirt and sarong over it outside the water.

1 pair flip-flops

1 pair light slip-on sneakers - it'll still be the end of winter in North India when I get there

Toiletries

shampoo

cetaphil - this stuff is great because I can use it as a face wash, and also soap. The best part is that it doesn't need to be rinsed with water, which makes it perfect for trains.

deodorant

toothbrush & toothpaste

sunscreen - though I do hope to get a bit of a tan.

bug spray - 30% DEET. Toxic enough for ya?

hand sanitizer

wet wipes

pocket sized kleenex

tampons - sorry, boys

nail clippers

First Aid Kit

neosporin

hydrocortisone - for the inevitable bug bites

immodium - for the inevitable, ummm...

cipro - still on the fence about whether i really want this, about which more later.

malarone - actually, I've pretty much already decided not to do an antimalarial. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

most basic medical stuff can be found easily in Indian pharmacies.

Gadgets

80 Gig iPod Classic - right now I have about 8 gigs of music, and I hope to add a few gigs of audiobooks, videos, etc. for the plane and long stretches of traveling (or waiting, or really anything boring). Which will leave at least 50 gigs for backing up photos and videos. Which is still way more than I'll ever need considering I've never so much as filled up my 1-gig camera memory card before.

iPod headphones, cables, charger, etc.

Olympus Stylus 710 digital point and shoot camera

camera charger, cables, etc. (obviously including battery and memory card)

Indian plug adapters

small maglite flashlight

Media

Slowly Down the Ganges, by Eric Newby - a memoir about a boat trip down the Ganges, from the source at Gangotri all the way down the Hooghly to Calcutta, back in the 60's.

A big thick book of 300 sudoku. God, I'm so addicted to those things. Who would think I'd suck at oh-so-wordy crosswords, but rock at number and logic puzzles?

Lonely Planet India - I know. How cliche can you get? I've gone around and around about whether I like Rough Guide or Lonely Planet best, and since I have both, I've considered bringing both. The nice thing about Lonely Planet is that they provide really good info about logistical stuff like getting from point A to point B, more maps with better detail, etc. The Lonely Planet is also a much newer edition. I'm also going to xerox some key pages from Rough Guide to bring along (they're especially good for background information about historical sites).

Moleskine 2008 diary - mainly for writing down where the heck I'm supposed to be and how I'm supposed to get there. I'll pick up another notebook for journaling upon arrival.

A good pen - something I can't live without, anywhere

A sharpie

Practical Stuff

passport and visa

debit card

emergency cash

money belt - for storage of the above (though some of the cash might go into a sock or something)

copies of the above documents (except the cash of course), as well as printouts of my plane confirmation number and itinerary, hotel confirmation, as well as copies of all my train ticket confirmations.

driver's license - not so much because I want to drive, but because this is the form of ID I specified for my train tickets.

Odds And Ends

Sunglasses

one of those nifty little luggage padlocks

a combination bike lock with attached cable - for locking my pack to stuff.


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I have to say I'm really shocked that all this stuff is going to fit in my pack. But I tried it out, and I'm sure it will.

OK, I'm back!

Sorry about the gap in posting. I went home to Louisiana for Christmas and very little in the way of India prep got done. I did have a very nice Christmas, though, and happened to get a few presents which will be really helpful (especially the new iPod, which is incredibly cool!!).

I also took the pack for a test drive -- definitely going to work out. Actually, I think I'm a backpack convert, even when not traveling off the beaten path. It was easier to schlep around and easier to deal with in the airport than any other luggage I've ever used, hands down. Seriously folks, if your back is in good shape, trade in your rolly thing for a pack.

I was planning on blogging about my new India haircut and the visa getting process, but I basically never got around to it because of Christmas, and I had a hard time taking pictures of myself with the new haircut, and then I wanted to scan my visa and haven't done that yet, etc. etc. etc. Basically I'm lazy, which doesn't bode well for this whole blogging idea, but oh well.

Have I mentioned lately that I leave for India in 10 days??!!?? Well, that's pretty much what's going on here. Lots of really boring things I won't bother to discuss at length have been taken care of (stuff like suspending my cell phone service as of the 10th of next month, for example). I'm putting the finishing touches on my packing list, which I will share very soon.

New Look, Part The First

As you probably notice, I've changed the overall look of this blog. I figured I would use my mad graphic skillz and like 2 seconds of my now-plentiful time to make something that doesn't look exactly like the cookie cutter blogger template. Though if you'll notice, there's definitely still some standard issue blogger template stuff going on. Remember I said "like 2 seconds of my now-plentiful time", right? Maybe if I have a little more time before I leave, I'll make some bigger changes.

Just FYI, no, I obviously didn't take the photo. Nicked from flickr, as is my wont. I'll try to track down the photographer in order to give her or him a little credit.

Coming soon: New Look, Part The Second; or, Somebody Got A Haircut!

School's Out

Well, really, work's out, I guess.

Yesterday was my last day at Criminal Intent. Which is really, really weird. I don't know why it should be; probably because due to the strike, everything's messed up. And I don't know if I'll be back there. Or what's in store for anybody.

It could also be the realization that I will not be working again for 3 months, on purpose. That I'm not headed for a job search, or a couple weeks spazzing on the couch drawing unemployment and waiting to come back from a hiatus.

I'm on a mission, of sorts.

Consider me immune, then!

Today was the big day for my appointment with the travel doctor. The result?

Two shots, one in each arm - Hepatitis A and a Polio booster. I would like to take this moment to thank my parents for forcing me to get all those seemingly extraneous shots as a teenager. You guys totally saved me a couple more $15 co-pays, because now I won't need to go back for an MMR booster, tetanus shot, or a whole series of Hepatitis B jabs. I know I bitched and moaned about my dread of needles back then, but now you can say "I told you so." However, you should also know that I still really hate that you made me take piano lessons and do not have any regrets about quitting.

Prescriptions for:

Oral typhoid vaccine (check!)

Cipro (not really sure about this, but if you say so, Dr. OCD)

Malarone (antimalarial; about which I feel even more conflicted than the Cipro, about which more later).

Shockingly, all of the vaccines are covered by my Health Insurance, which is getting capitalized because Health Insurance is Just That Important, OK. I'm filing it under the grammar rule that says that you have to capitalize God.