Saturday, July 18, 2009

voyage to india

accra, ghana

i never thought too much about it. it made for a decent setting for 'indiana jones and the temple of doom' and i witnessed firsthand the stereotype of its people as working in convenience stores and talking a little funny. one of the characters in mike tyson's punchout was from there and they had that weird religion where one of the gods was an elephant, though i wasn't completely sure. at the end of the day, it didn't really matter too much to me.

but at some point, india became more than a place that was too hot and where there may or may not be snake charmers on every corner. towards the end of my first year of serious travel, in southern africa, i noticed that all the travelers who had been there pronounced it a little differently. it was as if the mere mention of the sub-continent sent their eyes swiveling and forced them to take a deeper breath. india. five letters, three syllables, and not one single adjective could describe it other than indescribable, according to sources. i knew i had to go. there was something about the way that there seemed to be some secret fraternity for people who have endured the train rides, witnessed the unparalleled poverty, or seen veranasi at dawn. it may sound trite or even ridiculous, but after meeting enough returned travelers i sensed that i would regret it for all the days that remained if i never went.

africa and south america have had my attention for the past six years and they each hold a certain piece of my heart, always will. but nothing has loomed so large on my horizon as the trip i start tomorrow. i'm going to india. saying it evokes a smile that rises from within and makes me have to burn copious amounts of nervous energy. i cannot wait for the food, the vivid colors, the stunning palaces, the teeming streets, the bizarre, the tragic, the serene, and the trip through the cerebral spin cycle that only india can provide, as i'm led to believe.

and so i bid adieu to an amazing tour through west africa and हैलो to india. i believe myself already slightly old and a bit seasoned to label the upcoming trek as life-altering; i feel i'm doing pretty alright as is, thank you. but to call it dream-fulfilling would not be an overstatement. ready or not, here i come.

good night and good luck.

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