Saturday, November 9, 2013

Day #11- (in hushed, wondrous tones) India!!

I am so excited:  India!!  It has been on my travel bucket list forever!  My man has been invited to speak at a conference in India next June.  I, of course, will be tagging along.  New Delhi!  It is supposed to have one of the greatest concentrations of Art Deco buildings!  (Art Deco being one of my passions)

I was, however, startled to realize that one of the first places my mind went was travel and alcohol.  Long haul flights have always meant a free pass to me to drink as much wine as I wanted soas to fall asleep and pass the time.  I don't think I want to do this anymore (even though that will be after my 100 day challenge, this facing the world 'raw' stuff is beginning to grow on me!)

And travel/vacations have always meant another free pass:  Wine at 10 in the morning?  Sure.  Wine at 2 in the afternoon?  Sure, have as much as you can drink!!  And I think by doing this I've probably missed half the unique-ness of each place, and half the fun of being there.

Wait, did I just say that wine DIMINISHED my fun?  Wow, I guess in a way it did.  What a sobering (no pun really intended) realization.

And I realize how much time I spent making sure I had a reliable supply of wine.  Where was there a wine store?  Where is the hotel bar?  Is there a mini-bar in the room?  I don't think I want to do that anymore.

One other thing that has changed international travel for me:  my Kindle.  I read avidly and fast, so more than half my suitcase weight 10 years ago would always be books.  Especially if the destination was a non-English-speaking country, I had to assure a adequate supply.  Now I can just load my kindle with a delectable selection of books and magazines, and contain my entire travel library in this slender device.

So this will be a trip to plan and think about.  Traveling light without physical books, and not wasting time drinking or thinking about drinking-  will be an entirely new experience.  I think I will travel extra light, so I can fill by suitcase for the return trip with delicious bright silks and cottons!!

1 comment:

  1. Hi Carrie,
    I'm curious as I read through your days - which you started at 6 I think, smart so you knew how you were doing - but I don't see any real 'difficult' complaining type of words. Given your drinking history sounds similar to mine in recent years, didn't you have a physical affect for a few days? And how about the mind games each day coming home from work etc....in 'wine now'? All that said, not getting hangovers is amazing, I always have and do; and being able to work out so much despite this habit...that's amazing. Well done by the way...I'm trying myself.
    Pinky

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear about your journey, and hear your take on my journey. Comments are very welcome!!