Preflight Facts and Figures
Portland, OR
I'm sitting in the Portland airport (PDX) waiting to board the flight for the first leg of my journey. Everything is packed, and only a few things were forgotten (sadly one of them was the small digital camera, which is going to make one personal project somewhat difficult), but nothing I can't live without. Being who I am, my mind is filled with a fair quantity of fairly usless information about the trip:
Getting there:
- Depart Dec. 3
- 28 hours airport to airport
- 25 hours on planes
- Change planes in Chicago
- Stops in London and some undisclosed location
- Time travel forward 13.5 hours
- Arrive Dec. 5
Mumbai:
- Formerly known as Bombay
- Population of 17 Million people
- Estimated to be the most populace city in the world by 2006, taking the crown from Tokyo (it may already be, there is no way to count actual population)
- Home of Bollywood
- Only city in India to contain a national park
- More than 3000 railway deaths per year
- 25% of the population lives below the poverty line
Going back:
- Depart Dec. 14th
- Time travel back 13.5 hours
- Arrive Dec. 14th
So all I really know is that I am not prepared for the trip. I've been to Europe a couple of times (which is more than most Americans can say), and I've spent a month traveling in the Philippians. I'm not a timid traveler. I like to get on the ground and see what is really there, and not just the places you are supposed to see. However I know that this will dwarf everything I have seen and that there is no way a sane man could say he is prepared for it. All I know is that I will hit the ground running, with an open mind, and try and be ready for everything that happens.
I can't wait...
