With some extra money and spare time coming up in September, I have been diligently researching where to go for my next trip abroad. Travel is a bit like crack. Once you get a taste of it, you can't imagining spending the rest of your life with out it. You can see it in the eyes of the young, spaced out backpackers who wander the streets because they can't afford to actually do anything once they get there. You can see it in the eyes of the older, "Abercrombie and Kent" travelers, with their brand spanking new cargo pants and sun hats. Although these groups are worlds apart, they share the common love of leaving everything you own at home for some far-flung destination, never to return home the same.
My first thought was to go back to South East Asia. I truly love Asia... the masses of people and motor bikes, the food, the scenery, and the history all combine in a slurry of exotic perfection. I initially set my sights to Thailand, since the cheapest plane tickets are to Bangkok, but where to go then?
Burma. A couple of years ago, I was searching through travel photos at
PBase.com, a common passtime of mine, and I stumbled upon a photo of Bagan at sunset. If you've never seen or heard of Bagan, please do a search. You will be rewarded kindly. This particular photo showed an ethereal, misty landscape dotted with hundreds of conical-shaped golden temples. It's the type of image that will be burned in my memory forever.
Unfortunately, shortly after I started researching the moral and physical logistics of traveling to such a country, they were struck by the devastating force of Cyclone Nargis. My heart just breaks for the people of Myanmar.
The next destination I decided to research was Cambodia and Laos, which are also very accessible from Bangkok. These are two countries that I very much want to visit. Luang Prabang, in Northern Laos, gets rave reviews from fellow travelers and is still relatively undiscovered (although that is quickly changing). And of course, in Cambodia, there is the famous Angkor Wat. My plan was to go to Laos to do some trekking to some of the more remote hill tribes in the northern mountains, and then fly down to Siem Reap and spend some time at Angkor Wat and on the beaches of Kep, Cambodia. The problem with this plan was that September is the height of the rainy season over there, which normally wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for that trekking part. Hiking through the tropical jungles of Laos with all of my camera equipment, in the middle of the rainy season, is a little too adventurous... even for me. I will go there though. And soon.
I toyed briefly with the idea of taking a group photography tour to China. I was lured in by the promise of being able to hug a Panda Bear at the reasonable rate of $150 per minute. I just couldn't get past the idea of doing a group tour. Not. Fun.
So, all of this is a really long away of saying that I finally decided upon India for my next destination. Because it is the end of the monsoon season there, I chose the northern desert state of Rajasthan. I will be flying in to Delhi on September 11th, and spend the next 17 days in the cities and villages of the area, ending it with a visit to iconic Taj Mahal. As the dates near, I will post more information about my itinerary and the places to which I will be traveling.
