We’re busy packing suitcases and gathering stuff and trying to find stuff… In other words, it’s a bit of a zoo around here at the moment. We have to be at the airport about midnight tonight (January 22nd … about 11:30 am on Thursday, January 22nd Salt Lake time). Our flight is scheduled to leave at 3:25 am. I’m sure I’ll be more than a little sleepy when we actually get on the Virgin Atlantic flight from Mumbai to London Heathrow. We’ll have a short layover there before leaving for Atlanta, Georgia where we’re scheduled to land at 2:10 pm on Friday, January 23rd. I’ve reserved a hotel room at the airport where we’ll probably crash, and wake up about 2am wondering why we can’t sleep.

This has been an amazing trip. We’ve just scratched the surface of what it’s like to be in India. We’ve been (literally) run over while walking down the narrow shopping streets, cringed as our driver navigated through traffic (and being absolutely sure that we’ll die in the process), marveled at the traffic and traffic noise, and been pleasantly surprised at the friendliness and helpfulness of the Indian people. We’ve experienced smells that range from “wow” to “oh dear” and experienced close-up the lack of personal space while being out and about. We’ve seen Hindu and Jain temples, Muslim mosques, Catholic churches, a Zoroastrian Thread Ceremony celebration, and most delightfully, visited the Taj Mahal. It’s actually been rather overwhelming. Our daughter has gone above and beyond cramming as much as possible into our short time here.

And, suddenly, it’s time to leave. Just like that, the two weeks are over and we’re leaving. We’ll most likely never be back. But I don’t think we’ve left anything undone that we needed to do, nothing unseen that we needed to see, and nothing unheard that we wanted to hear. I’ve got several hundred pictures to sort through and post in future blog entries. It’ll be fun to relive some of these memories.

But, I’m also looking forward to some good old American fast food….