I've decided to pop in at work today for a couple of hours - just to see that the place isn't falling apart without me.
And of course it is not: in the grand scheme of things I am just as dispensable as the guy in the next cube. Which is not to say that I won't be missed, or that there will be a bit of a scramble to move my tasks across to others, or even that they fulfill it at the same level at which I did.
But they would manage.
::
We have been doing some more planning for our trip to India that is coming up at the end of the year. I have been saving up my leave since I started working here to gather a big block that I can take all at once. I bemused my manager by asking him in January for leave in December, but I really did not want anything to jeopardize our plans. And spending such a long time in the travel between the two countries, I thought it foolish to try and go to India with only two weeks of leave: once you subtract the travel time, you have barely a week to spend there.
So this time it will be a solid stretch from Thanksgiving to New Year. Neither of us has done the touristy thing in India, the travel from point to point to see the sights, and so this time we decided to dedicate some time to that.
Home base would be Hyderabad of course, but we'll start in the north, in Delhi. Late November/early December should be ideal weather-wise to visit some places of interest (and to get some shopping done). We're thinking of adding trips to Jaipur and Agra while we are there, before going east to Kolkatta.
Some Bengali friends have been generous with advice on things to do and see until we descend with the Coromandel Express to Vizag to visit the family. From there the train will take us to Secunderabad about two weeks after we had landed in India.
The second excursion will most likely take us via Bangalore to Kochi, perhaps Madurai and then Chennai for a few days, Tirupatti and back home to Secunderabad.
Right now just about every available surface is covered by maps, atlases, railway timetables, guidebooks, lists and calendars. I often think that the planning is more fun than the event itself.
Comments (5)
Hopefully we will see you in Vizag/Secunderabad/Godavari exp
Posted by Ratna | April 19, 2005 9:12 PM
Posted on April 19, 2005 21:12
Is there a chance you will post to us while you are on your trip? That would be a wonderful treat.
Posted by Mary | April 20, 2005 5:02 AM
Posted on April 20, 2005 05:02
Ratna, we certainly will have to make plans to meet up :-) Are any of you planning to be in India in December?
Mary, the laptop will of course accompany us, because we have been truly assimilated into the Internet era. If I have to look that far in advance I would say there would be short thoughts and updates every few days, and then a lot of long rehashing once we get back :-)
Posted by Sivani | April 20, 2005 10:08 AM
Posted on April 20, 2005 10:08
We do, but not concrete on dates etc.. Once we buy tickets (December) we should plan to meet sometime. My parents are from Vizag and In-laws @ HYD Before that don't forget about the 'Tyagaraja' Festival here at Tri-cities on April 30th.
Posted by Ratna | April 20, 2005 10:37 AM
Posted on April 20, 2005 10:37
Sivani, Han just gave Meg the beautiful pair of ankle bracelets from Chennai- you know, those ones with tiny bells. All I could think of was that you have to get Angel face a set.
Like Meg, she will probably find the whole idea bizarre, but they are just. so. beautiful.
Hope that you are feeling better-
sue
Posted by sue | April 22, 2005 10:36 AM
Posted on April 22, 2005 10:36