Delusions of Grandeur

My faithful travelling companion - Mr. Back Pack

It seems actually trying to put all the things on my packing list into my backpack was a lot harder than I had anticipated. In fact it was totally impossible! I momentarily thought about using a bigger pack, but that wasn’t the right direction to go in. So I listened to Scot and ruthlessly (for me) went through the pile of gear on my bed and selected the critical items. The end result is about 30L of stuff in my pack weighing 15lbs – much better!

Two things that were difficult to give up were all my books (except for my guidebook) and my music. Scot had even suggested I ditch the guidebook, but I just couldn’t. I don’t know enough about Indian history to travel around knowledgably without it. I am not concerned about accommodation or food recommendations, but I think I will really appreciate having some history and cultural context for the places I visit – and should it not prove to be worth its weight I can always give it away enroute.

My first thought was that having music with me was essential, but after a bit of reflection I came to the conclusion that it was not critical and it might be better to let India provide the soundtrack for my travels. It would be quite easy for me to insulate myself from what is going on around me by putting on my head phones and burying my head into a book – which is not what I want to do.

Looking at my small backpack I know that by bringing less stuff I will have more room for India on my travels.