How many times do I proclaim my pleasure in travel preparation, in finding the right tickets (cheap), tights (warm), toothpaste (small), and texts (non-profound)? Many times. Now, with lift-off for the next big one less than a month away, all of these small decisions are looming large and, in some cases, demand corrective action.

For example: With much guessing and groping and griping, I have learned to navigate the official website of the Indian Railway system. Trust me…this is no small accomplishment. However one booking seems to have resulted in a top bunk for me in a three-tiered bunking system. I probably need to get that changed to a lower bunk OR take a quick climbing course between now and then OR check into booking a bedpan along with the on-board supper service.

Then there’s the pricey passage from Yangon to Kathmandu. I had booked a cheap ticket on an obscure airline that since appears to have gone bankrupt. No low-cost alternatives so I am now in possession of a $600 ticket that puts me into the Bangkok airport for a 12-hour nighttime layover. In order to make this a happy passage I’ve purchased a new kindle and five volumes of a Norwegian detective series, and I’m counting on both Starbucks and Cinnabon at the airport—because we all know an airport  is no place to try out new exotic foods—this airport can serve as a respite between Burmese food and Nepalese food, both of which may well be delicious but which I will probably hate.

We’re having a cold rainy spell in Albuquerque which makes me happy in addition to giving me the chance to try out different combinations of jackets and caps and tights to brave the cold rains of Wellington, New Zealand for the first week of the trip.

Excitement is building…must work my way through the relentless horrors of The Vietnam War and the murderous pleasures of the last season of Vera this week so I can move on to two final books about Vietnam and then begin a new Indian novel.

Found this on FB awhile back and it feels like Annie Lackey, whom I believe is the creator, has captured my soul. I’ll probably post it a few more times before the trip begins.