Planning and packing the pack

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Trip Start Nov 11, 2008 Trip End Jan 13, 2009 Next
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  Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Monday, October 27, 2008

I've wanted to explore India ever since I was very young. Early introductions to Eastern religion such as discovering the beautiful crafted at the pictures of peaceful Shiva, blue-hued Vishnu and the endless sport of reincarnation meant that by the time I was up to reading the story of Dalai Lama's escape from China to the hill stations of Northern India I was very keen to head to the sub-continent to see it all for myself. Preconceptions, misconceptions, hundreds of all types of conceptions have been built up in my imagination for the last 27 years. What we see on the news and hear from the mouths of travellers who return creates vivid and sometimes worrying pictures. A tragic love of Bollywood films may turn out to be my most destructive conception yet. I am beginning to doubt that there is a wind machine on every corner.
When I combined planing to head overseas on a two month sojourn through Northern India and Kolkata with getting a great new job, quitting my unfortunate old job, moving out of my beautiful home, moving to a new city and storing all my possessions in three different houses for the summer, things started to get a bit tricky. All this coincided with the sad fact that I would need to endure 11 vaccinations before I left. This would have been bad enough without considering my mortal fear of anything medical and chemical related. (Thank you flatmates for reassuring me that I wouldn't die from a simple dose of 20 combined chemicals.)
I'm rarely sick, but I've packed enough medicines to preserve me through a long-running Indian-Pakistan nuclear war. I feel I may be the most popular person in my tour group if there is a dysentery outbreak. I should have left room in my pack for souvenirs but I've only planned for certain doom. There may be a few beggars in Kolkata who receive large packages of Imodium (thanks for the tip Tom - your prawns in Morocco story ensures I will keep this in my money belt always) and Norfloxcin before my departure from the city to ensure I have room to pack a few more saris into my luggage. Its 2 weeks out from my departure date, and I'm spending more time packing and repacking my pack (thank you beautiful Jess) then I am reading my Lonely Planet. This may show a large degree of anxiety, or it may just show a refusal to believe I am going to spend 3 weeks carting 10 kilograms worth of medicine around North India and Kolkata.
Everybody has a story to tell about India. I was freaked out by Marina's tale of taking over-the-counter India medicine and being paralysed for a day, enjoyed Nina's attempts to correct my Hindi pronunciation, comforted by Renee's admittance of not actually getting any vaccinations before going to Egypt, loved another friends revelation that she adored India and would go back in a heartbeat, fascinated by the stories from Tess and James' three month tour, and a little worried by a friends daughters' tale of having her luggage stolen while in a semi-comatose state of illness.
I do feel a little safer thinking that the only thing of value in my pack is two months worth of Gastrolyte.

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