Some how I managed to circumvent the globe twice in less than a year. But before you label me a jet-setter, let's put all this in perspective.
Last April, by way of my job, I traveled west from Atlanta via Tokyo (airport only) to Manila, Singapore and various cities in India. Flew back through London and arrived back in Atlanta 19 days later.
This trip (again for business) was almost the same deal but longer, harder and with way more airplanes involved. Here are the numbers:
19 airplanes
16 individual cities - but I visited some via flight changes more than once
11 hotels including 1 houseboat
28,414 miles which beats my last record by ~2000
1 as yet, unidentified, virus/parasite/crud courtesy of India (Seeing how it was my third visit and I had never felt anything but love for the local cuisine - I figure I was due.)
I love to travel more than anything. So, it isn't like my boss had to put a gun to my head to get me to take this gig for a second time in nine months.
But I came to a conclusion on this trip. Quite simply - the honeymoon between me and India is over. We have reached the point that comes in most relationships - we see each others faults and we don't try to sugar-coat reality.
For me, India has become the overweight, out-of-shape husband who sits on the sofa with his hand stuck in the waistband of his sweatpants watching anything that involves guns and explosions with his other hand caressing a bag of Cheetos.
Of course you still love that guy and you can dress him up in nice clothes and parade him in front of your friends, family and co-workers - but the comfort level has removed any semblance of romance.
(For the record - Eddie and I never reached this point in our relationship. Weight, sweatpants & junk food aside - I still found him irresistible.)
But I digress -
On long business trips like this, we are able to spend our weekends relaxing and soaking up the culture. We spent two days floating along the backwaters of Kerala on a houseboat that is built on a rice barge and held together by bamboo and palm leaves. There are hundreds of these boats and all of them are unique. It was truly the most unusual experience of my life. And one of the most relaxing.
Another weekend was spent at a beach resort in Goa. I found a lounge chair by the pool and didn't move for about 8 hours. It was heaven.
In both cases we were able to see true Indian life. Not from the lobby of "westernized" business hotels and "tax free zone" office parks that cater to American companies - everyone from Microsoft to IBM to the lessor-known company I work for. We saw everything from over-the-top, wedding extravaganzas to horrific poverty.
Without sounding condescending - Traveling outside of the US should be required of every American. Nothing will open your mind and your senses more than watching people wash their clothes by beating them against a rock in the backwaters of Kerala to Hyderabad commuters risking life and limb clinging to the side or roof of a bus in clogged traffic in effort to reach their jobs making less a day than most in our country spend on a cup of coffee at Starbucks. You think your commute is rough?
By the time I got home I was sick, tired, REALLY cranky and quite impatient with India. You just can't help but ask the obvious question - How can a country with such a high rate of education be so dysfunctional?
But I'm feeling better. My energy is returning. I'm sleeping again. I've had time to recharge and reflect.
And just like any good relationship, India has helped to ground me and regain perspective.
Simply through the good fortune of having been born in the USA - my laundry is doing itself while I sit in my lovely, comfortable home writing this blog. My commute to work tomorrow will be short and mostly uneventful as I make my way the 2.5 miles to the office in a car with only one passenger - me.
After the noise, dirt, trash, colors, smells and beauty of India - I don't want to be anywhere but here. No matter how exotic the view was from there.
Last April, by way of my job, I traveled west from Atlanta via Tokyo (airport only) to Manila, Singapore and various cities in India. Flew back through London and arrived back in Atlanta 19 days later.
This trip (again for business) was almost the same deal but longer, harder and with way more airplanes involved. Here are the numbers:
19 airplanes
16 individual cities - but I visited some via flight changes more than once
11 hotels including 1 houseboat
28,414 miles which beats my last record by ~2000
1 as yet, unidentified, virus/parasite/crud courtesy of India (Seeing how it was my third visit and I had never felt anything but love for the local cuisine - I figure I was due.)
I love to travel more than anything. So, it isn't like my boss had to put a gun to my head to get me to take this gig for a second time in nine months.
But I came to a conclusion on this trip. Quite simply - the honeymoon between me and India is over. We have reached the point that comes in most relationships - we see each others faults and we don't try to sugar-coat reality.
For me, India has become the overweight, out-of-shape husband who sits on the sofa with his hand stuck in the waistband of his sweatpants watching anything that involves guns and explosions with his other hand caressing a bag of Cheetos.
Of course you still love that guy and you can dress him up in nice clothes and parade him in front of your friends, family and co-workers - but the comfort level has removed any semblance of romance.
(For the record - Eddie and I never reached this point in our relationship. Weight, sweatpants & junk food aside - I still found him irresistible.)
But I digress -
On long business trips like this, we are able to spend our weekends relaxing and soaking up the culture. We spent two days floating along the backwaters of Kerala on a houseboat that is built on a rice barge and held together by bamboo and palm leaves. There are hundreds of these boats and all of them are unique. It was truly the most unusual experience of my life. And one of the most relaxing.
Another weekend was spent at a beach resort in Goa. I found a lounge chair by the pool and didn't move for about 8 hours. It was heaven.
In both cases we were able to see true Indian life. Not from the lobby of "westernized" business hotels and "tax free zone" office parks that cater to American companies - everyone from Microsoft to IBM to the lessor-known company I work for. We saw everything from over-the-top, wedding extravaganzas to horrific poverty.
Without sounding condescending - Traveling outside of the US should be required of every American. Nothing will open your mind and your senses more than watching people wash their clothes by beating them against a rock in the backwaters of Kerala to Hyderabad commuters risking life and limb clinging to the side or roof of a bus in clogged traffic in effort to reach their jobs making less a day than most in our country spend on a cup of coffee at Starbucks. You think your commute is rough? By the time I got home I was sick, tired, REALLY cranky and quite impatient with India. You just can't help but ask the obvious question - How can a country with such a high rate of education be so dysfunctional?
But I'm feeling better. My energy is returning. I'm sleeping again. I've had time to recharge and reflect.
And just like any good relationship, India has helped to ground me and regain perspective.
Simply through the good fortune of having been born in the USA - my laundry is doing itself while I sit in my lovely, comfortable home writing this blog. My commute to work tomorrow will be short and mostly uneventful as I make my way the 2.5 miles to the office in a car with only one passenger - me.
After the noise, dirt, trash, colors, smells and beauty of India - I don't want to be anywhere but here. No matter how exotic the view was from there.
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