Let the Planning Begin...

Planning a trip can be half the fun. Excitement builds as you scour guidebooks, read blogs, highlight maps, interogate fellow travellers and, in my case, read the diary entries of a relative who lived and travelled the subcontinent more than thirty years ago. 

With any luck, this research will result in a well thought out itinerary. More likely, it will result in confusion, angst and a re-thinking of what one is capable 
of.

I began my planning knowing nothing more than the fact that I wanted to dunk myself in The Ganges. So, when Lonely Planet suggested that this may not be the best idea I've ever had, the plan began to swerve in another direction. And it continued to swerve and veer and jump and change until  it landed where it is today....spend one month in Sri Lanka, buy a motorbike in  India and ride around for three months, volunteer somewhere for a couple of  weeks, then trek to Everest Base Camp. Seems simple enough. Until you read a  blog which suggests riding a motorbike in India is a silly idea, have a friend  tell you its the best idea you've ever had, have a relative tell you it's your  only option and have a documentary tell you that you may well die. 

Perhaps  travel really was simpler when you had to make it up as you went. When, as the  diary I'm reading suggests, sometimes you were the first to be doing what you  were doing and hence, there was no 'warning on the label.' Does this 
mean I'll  cease my research? Doubt it. It's way too much fun.