Tom Bradley International Terminal, LAX
Shannon and Catalina just dropped me off at the airport for my flight to Delhi. My emotions spilled over as I said goodbye to my kiddo. I'm more apprehensive about this trip than any I can remember since I first drove into Mexico with Dan Gunter back in 1994. This, however, is a completely different kind of anxiety. Back then I feared, among other things, embarrassment because I couldn't speak Spanish and the seemingly real possibility of violence or robbery. Today I sit here concerned about being away from my beautiful little girl for so very long. This trip will take me away for three weeks, twice as long as I've ever been away from her. I am now so attached to her that even a few days apart makes me long for her silly playfullness. This central concern has allowed me to dwell on other negatives. It is the end of the summer monsoon in northern India. There have been deadly floods in Uttar Pradesh and, although I'm obviously not going to drown, the mosquitoes that carry malaria and Dengue fever will thrive in all of that water. Diseases that are rare or unheard of in the West are still endemic in India: cholera, polio, encephalitis, hepatitis. While I've been immunized against some of these, there's nothing to do for Dengue and no malaria prophylaxis is 100% effective. Then there are the numerous negative reports I read on various online travel forums. Most argue that guidebooks stress the magical and spiritual side of India and downplay the poverty and chaos. People talk about being immediately overwhelmed by northern India, of being proud that "they were able to handle it." Add to all of this the 22 hours of flying just to get there and I have to say that right now this trip seems truly like work.
9-25-2008, 9:39 AM
Hong Kong International Airport, en route to Delhi on Cathay Pacific Airlines
The cleanest, most pleasantly sterile airport I've visited in a long time. How ironic that I'm flying to one of the world's more polluted regions on a airline that treats customers like royalty and takes me through such a clean, well-lighted place to eat sushi and noodles. It's also stran
ge to note that I'm technically in China, though this doesn't feel anything like Beijing or Shanghai. Reading the Hong Kong paper is a surreal experience, blending as it does Western sensibilities with Asian entrepreneurial energy and Chinese governmentalism. Clearly Hong Kong would be an easy place in Asia to visit. Boat tours to other islands and to mainland China are close by and inexpensive. English is spoken by many. Signs are in English and Chinese.
The fourteen hour flight from LAX to Hong Kong wasn't as painful as I feared, though jet lag is going to be a real issue this time. The final leg is a little over five hours more. When I arrive time will be offset by 12 1/2 hours. India uses one time zone for the whole country. Thus, if it's 7 AM in India it will be 6:30 PM in California. Onward to India.
