The Getting Ready

For the next three weeks, my dad and I will be traveling through Karnataka and Kerala in southern India. We'll meet up with my dear friend, Champaka in Bangalore and meet her husband and family. After a couple of days stretching our legs in Bangalore, we'll head north in Karnataka to explore some of India's ancient temples. Then we'll head west to Kerala to explore the backwaters, plantations, and wildlife sanctuaries. There will be animal sightings. Be ready.

Champaka gets a call out in post #1 because she's the whole reason we're taking this trip. Six years ago she and I worked together in a place some might call an architecture lab. I don't mean an architecture studio. I mean a place where experiments are performed on unassuming young wannabe architects (and a handful of planners) to see what happens to them after weeks/months/years (depending on how long you last) without sleep, pay or clothing outside the black/white/beige color palette. Needless to say, this experience bonded us. She came to visit my homeland in New Mexico. Now I get to experience hers.

Because I'm not roughing it this trip, I've practically done nothing to prepare-- unless you count setting up this blog, getting a visa and packing some summer clothes. I hope this lack of preparation doesn't lead to any unfortunate adventures that you have to hear about in future posts. Since I wrote that, it probably will.

If your attention is waning already and you're pissed that you've now read 3+ paragraphs and I'm not even in India yet, hold your horses! I'll make the next one extra enticing.