It is getting close.......

We are now on the last lap before we take off on Wednesday 30th January. There are flurries of e-mails between the group regarding all sorts of issues such as whether or not to buy liquor at the Delhi Duty Free shop on the way in and how fast we can drink it before it becomes an encumbrance in our luggage. Much logistical discussion concerns the weight and size of baggage both carry on and checked. With multiple flights and the Indian regulations differing from those in the US we will need to pack smartly. Camera gear, laptops and other paraphernalia tend to weigh quite heavy and this may prove problematical for carry on.

However, I am sure that we will all manage somehow even if the Indian airlines benefit from some extra baggage fees.

We have found that we are just missing Hemant and Darshana who are flying out of Newark after us and we will have left Mumbai for Colombo just before they land there. We will, of course, meet up in Delhi as arranged on February 6th.

Today I started taking my anti-malaria tablets which I will have to take every day and for a couple of days after we return.

We found some fairly recent and some older photos of the Class of 1975

Hemant, back in the day!!

Marc, as he was!!

This is the Class of '75 Reunion photograph which was taken in 2015 at the 40th reunion. Of our traveling companions Back row: left John Schiller, back row center, Marc Allinson, back row right Steve Rothman. Front row: third from left Hemant Sanghvi, then Linda Pringle and MAC, third from right. In the front pointing is Fumio Mitani who we will miss greatly on the trip but will be with us in spirit.

We have several February birthdays during the trip as well as Valentine's Day. We have Marc's birthday on 11th February, Darshana's on 15th. and Steve's on 21st. This is going to be a marathon not a sprint!!!

As the hours tick down until we take off there is a flurry of e-mails, mostly on the subject of money, how to obtain it, how to divide it up and how to spend it. Hemant and Darshana show their amazing patience and courtesy in helping those with inquiries. I have no idea how we would have put this together without them.

24 hours before departure I checked in with the Air India website which is a bit wobbly and every now and again seems to have a 'server error' and lose all the information you have carefully entered into their system!! Never mind, we seem to be in their system and I did get a check-in confirmation although no boarding passes.

The weather forecast for departure day and the rest of the week is awful and it will be bitterly cold with a 'Polar Vortex' with temperatures in the mid-west as low as -50 deg F (-45 deg C). In NYC the 'real feel' temperature may be below -20 deg F (-29 deg C). There is a travel advisory in the NYC area so we have re-scheduled our car to Newark Liberty Airport a bit earlier.

Otherwise my packing is going well but MAC seems to want to lay out all her options on our bed before making a selection at the last moment! The bedroom resembles a war zone.

I am sure that by 9.30 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday 30th. all will be in order😲😣😣😣😣