Just about a week before departure...

You know, it’s really hard to find out news in the parts of the world where I will be traveling. I haven’t been able to get any follow-up information on the strike in Darjeeling or the earthquake damage in Yunnan. I wrote to the tea estate where I will be doing a home stay. They told me there is nothing to worry about. Life is “normal”. This is somewhat different than what I have read. In both cases, I am still sticking to my original plans. Once I get there, if I don’t feel comfortable, I will get out of town! Lots of people have been giving me little tips on places to visit along the way and I really appreciate it. Sometimes it leads you to different areas or towns, than where you had originally planned.

I arranged a fabulous 19 day private tour in the Yunnan province. I used the same travel coordinator that I used in 2005 for my China trip. I have a lot of free days mixed in this time, but also arranged to have drivers and translators take me to the places I didn’t want to miss. I figured since I have a limited amount of time, I didn’t want to spend a day or more in each town figuring out bus/train schedules or wasting time trying to communicate what I wanted to do. I know very little Chinese except “nǐ hǎo” (hello) and “xiè​xie” (thank you) and of course how to say all the types of tea I like to drink. That doesn’t get you very far, unfortunately.

I have assembled quite the array of items in my medicine chest. I decided on malaria pills, have 2 prescriptions for stomach flu, and 2 other “womanly” prescriptions. I also have plenty of deet, antiseptic wipes and gel, and suntan lotion (as malaria pills make you more sensitive to sunlight). I bought a mosquito net, emergency solar blanket, and permethrin spray for my clothes. I already have the electrical converter for China, and bought one for India. I bought the katadyne water filtration system. Also I’m still toying with the idea of buying a solar converter which would be a pure luxury item. I know all this must sound like overkill, but I can definitely re-use everything for backpacking after my trip.

Work is definitely winding down. But I must say it’s the weirdest feeling….