Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Preparing for India

I'm not even in India yet and I've encountered trouble. Last night when I went to check on my Kingfisher ticket - the reservation had disappeared! Luckily, my friend and host in India were able to call the office and get some more information. Unfortunately, they just said it hadn't been confirmed and was on the verge of being canceled. This despite the fact that it was confirmed when I bought it! After a lot of hassle, I finally gave up on them and bought a new ticket with Jet Airways. It's more expensive, but hopefully will offer higher quality service.

Travel Note: Jet Airways currently can't book online with a Visa. Use Mastercard.

So I am almost done packing, quite nervous and also quite excited. I have no idea what is ahead of me, but we'll see what happens. Subsequent blogging will likely be delayed, but the camera is charging now and I'll make an effort to take a few pictures. My int'l flight is to Mumbai, and then I have a flight to Chennai.

Thanks to Shaykat, Kiran, Dave, Peggy, Karla and Mia for the last words of support on chat. It's helped to calm my nerves. Kiran advised me to get Bisleri mineral water, being higher quality than others.

What I'm taking to India...22 poundsThe 20 pounds I'm leaving behind


I welcome all advice - for my immediate travel in India, and future travel in Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, and in general. So please comment if you have anything useful. I've just finished packing, with 2 bags weighing in at 10.1 kg (22 pounds). This is just about as much as Hugh weighs - he must have known and purposefully gained weight to help me prepare for my travels. Thanks Hugh!

I'm off to have some lunch with my family, and then head off to the airport. Wish me luck!

[post edit]

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lin:

My friend Steve goes to Malaysia, Singpore, or Cambodia every year over xmas. He suggested the following places:

Cambodia: go to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. Use USD. You'll need cash for many places.

Malaysia/Sing: go to bank machine and get local currency. Visa and
mastercard widely accepted.

Malaysia has some nice beaches and great food.

Everywhere in Singapore is great for shopping. Santosa Island is not bad. Food's great too.

So, that's his input. Happy travels!

puppy chang said...

Hi Lin,

Just got back from Worlds in Perth.

I hope you are having an awesome time in India!

Let's talk about doing Australia in Jan soon!