Dance of preparing for travel

My itinerary

Facing a BIG birthday – yes, I will admit 60 – and the very recent and raw loss of my mother, I embark on a new beginning that, I pray, will transform some loose and lost ends.

This adventure began with my oldest studying away for a semester in London, my coinciding January birthday and my accompanying her. My as in I had not yet consulted her. It was rolling out in my head, soon spilling online as I obsessively played on skyscanner.com just to see how much a bucket-list trip would cost. 

Previous London exploration

Beyond London, I was fueled by the reunion five years ago of my husband's siblings and their beloved Indian exchange student, Prabhash. He and his wife generously invited any of us Barneys to visit them anytime in Delhi. I silently raised and waived my hand.

As I explored skyscanner and an impossibly expensive itinerary ($6,000 at first crack), I began looking at flight patterns from London to India. Most routed me through the United Arab Emirates or Kuwait. Some, however, trailed over Istanbul, the crossroads of civilization, spice, religion and art. I could taste and smell the winding streets as I adjusted my searches. Turkish Air offered sone darn-good pricing, especially if I pieced my ticket together as one-way segments.

On the domestic front, I was searching for both a roundtrip ticket and a student-budget-friendly one-way ticket to London. Lufthansa had a great deal out of CVG, my hometown airport in Cincinnati (in reality, it's across the river in Kentucky), at about $625 roundtrip with one stop in Newark. The catch was, a one-way ticket cost $2,500. Insane. I kept scouring and landed on Norwegian out of Chicago, which was only slightly higher than Lufthansa, including a ticket between Cincinnati and O'Hare. I had pegged some hope on Iceland Air's no-frills WOW, but it was not serving the international market from CVG during our timeframe. It still isn't, though they claim to be a presence.

I borrowed my dad's Delta Skymiles card to buy our CVG-ORD tickets to ensure we each got a free checked bag.  

With London now booked and almost three weeks between my arrival and departure, I had some figuring to do. I over obsessed, yes I know that's redundant, but that's what it was. I finally bit the bullet as prices began to edge up. I was checking multiple times a day. One particular day, my conscience insisted this was THE day to purchase. It's true fares are generally lower on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in my experience, so it must have been one of those. I was on Turkish Air booking all my segments, as I had practiced so many times, but when I hit purchase, I was told the flights were not available. I freaked. I had looked so many times. I turned to Travelocity and got my flights. Too hastily. I am never hasty with booking flights, but I did not want this opportunity to pass. I knew it wouldn't come again. I had booked a late-night flight to Istanbul from London and realized for a women alone that wasn't smart. I immediately called and got the earlier flight. I haven't been brave enough to see if Turkish Air billed me a change fee. Then I breathed a sigh of relief.

Until I discovered I returned to London via Healthrow, not Gatwick, where I would depart London for home. I wasn't willing to pay more and decided because I arrived one afternoon and left midday the next, it would be fine.

All told, 10 segments cost just about $1500, including India Air to Kathmandu and back. I really wanted to fly Yeti Air for obvious reasons (my goal to spot a yeti) and tried to navigate Nepal Airlines, but, sometimes, booking internationally is difficult and not always because of crack credit-card oversight.

Prabhash and my brother-in-law John during a 1969 visit

Next came accommodations. London was easy, Camden was the perfect spot to be close to my daughter's new university, Regent's, work in her love of '60s Brit pop/music culture and a new perspective of London. I booked an airbandb in the home of a food writer who offers guests honey and eggs from his urban farm. In India, I'll stay with Prabhash and his family. When he asked me what I wanted to do and I mentioned yoga, he said he'd have a teacher come to the house. He also helped me find a reputable ayurvedic clinic for some fibromyalgia treatment, has planned a day trip to the Taj Mahal and another to tour local sacred and historic sights, will have family escort me to spice markets and bazaars, and booked tickets to a popular parade. I want to soak in as much local as possible. I don't want to see a hundred things.

I labored over Istanbul and a little less so over where to stay in Kathmandu. I knew I wanted to be in the Sultanamhet, the historic European section of the Turkish city, vascillating between authentic and living like a sultan. I opted for authentic in a guest house owned by two local families. I originally found their highly-rated hostel, but decided I need quiet and my own room. After more searching, I uncovered their guest house. Perfect. I booked an extra night since my flight to India doesn't leave until 9 p.m. and, with the multi-night discount, it ended up being free. Their breakfast spread looks to die for. I'll rely on them for Turkisk-bath suggestions (I plan on at least two), the best markets and bazaars and will visit the art and architecture of the many nearby mosques, probably cruise the Bosphorus on a ferry, not the pricey tour. I wisely booked the guesthouse to pick me up and deliver me to the airport.

A monastery outside Kathmanndu originally caught my attention, but by the time I reserved, one of my nights was taken. Realistically, I wasn't sure I could sleep on cement and debated the cultural-appropriateness of a single, Western woman staying in the midst of men and boys. Prabhash suggested a day trip there instead; he also recommended a hotel connected to a friend. It was lovely, too lovely and Western. I found a dream apartment in the Patan, but decided $75 was too high by Napalese standards. I also considered many family stays and eventually found a simple, beautiful Newari (the traditional people of Kathmandu) guesthouse, nestled through gates in the cobbled Patan, that comes with breakfast.

My girls in London; Autumn, right, will studying there a semester

My one night in London, when I will assure myself my daughter is thriving, will be spent in a simple guesthouse close to Victoria station: quick in, quick pub pint and dinner with the kiddo, quick out. All lodging will costs about $500.

NOW, I could begin applying for Visas required for Turkey, India and Nepal. The Indian visa was a bit tricky, but online. Lots of questions and if your credit-card is denied three times, you must begin the process again. That happened using Google Chrome, so I quickly called my bank, switched to another browser and secured the visa, paid my $100 and was successful on the fourth attempt. The Turkish visa took five minutes and cost $20. I am not clear about the Nepal Visa. I applied, but was not billed and the confirmation said I had to be there in person by Jan. 8 to pick it up. It seems you can only apply two weeks ahead, so I'll have to work that one out.

I have a pretty good idea of how to get from airports to lodging in all places, have turned on international data ($10 per 24-hour use on AT&T) on my phone and will, likely pick up local sim cards along the way. Of course, Prabhash has a phone for me! I switched my debit card so I incur no ATM or foreign-transaction fees and acquired a credit card that rewards me with travel points, no foreign fees and waives the $95 annual fee the first year.

With two rounds of Hepatitus A + B (I'll need another in six months), an every-other-day for eight-days oral typhoid vaccine and a round of malaria antibiotics I start two days before I enter India, I am well inoculated. I really debated about the necessity, but, after consulting with a a corporate travel nurse friend my age, took her advice: "You don't want to come home sick." I purchased travel insurance with emergency evacuation, including for health (mine or my family's) reasons, because I worried about my mother's health.

Needless to say, I have not spent much reflective time on my journey – except to pray to be open/ed and know my mother is with me this trip in a manner she never could be before. She was so excited about this adventure and kept calling it my "trip around the world." She loved to travel, but gave that up as her mind and body diminished. Even recently, my parents would sit before dinner with a half-glass of wine and reminisce about their nine trips to Europe. That was a highlight of their lives and my mother's meticulous scrap books of those holidays gave her great joy as her memory faded.

I am madly packing and scaling back, checking things off my list and adding others in the dance of preparation.Yikes, Autumn and I leave Friday.

...

I had hoped to visit the Friends Center Library in London as I had last trip to show Autumn the 1661 single book penned by our Quaker ancestor Dorothea Gotherson Scott. My mother viewed it before me and I wanted to be with Autumn when she saw it for the first time as an homage to my mother's passing. Not meant to be. The library is closed all the days I'll be there and could not accommodate my request. Autumn will just have to investigate on her own .... under my mom's gaze.