Next stop Mumbai ... with an Africa extension

It’s 5 AM on 1/27/11 and there’s lots of stuff brewing here. We’re supposed to fly to Mumbai today, that sounds simple but a couple of issues:
1. We have 6 bags to ship back to the U.S. that won’t be needed for a short term stay in India, especially where the weather is over 80 every day. It’s still cold in Shanghai, not Boston cold, but not over 40 any day recently. The return of “unaccompanied” packages to the U.S. is a complicated process that requires lots of paperwork.
2. We are almost finished planning our trip after Mumbai but have been waiting for our confirmation to come through.
3. Finally, we’re lacking an Indian Visa and might not be able to board the plane if it doesn’t come through today. Not a minor issue.

Imagine the wildest (or silliest) adventure you’ve ever taken. For me, it might be my travels to Alaska or my mountain climbing in Chengdu or maybe even sleeping on the Great Wall of China several years ago. Well, the next trip will top all of those combined.

Let’s take a look at this map of Africa and see what Steve and Susan will be doing at the end of our India journey, going South to North …

That’s our next adventure…
60 days in Africa heading from Capetown to Nairobi. 50 nights will be camping in a tent.

Before you assume we’ve totally lost our minds, let me explain. This is a tour run by a company called Intrepid Travel out of Australia. This trip leaves Capetown every other Thursday so it’s not like we’re blazing a new trail and 2x per month they have a trip following the same route in the opposite direction. There are 20 people on this trip. We will travel in a huge overland vehicle using smaller vehicles for safari trips and off the track journeys.

This paragraph from the tour company says it all…
Venture out and witness vast landscapes, natural wonders, towns rich in cultural traditions and modern cities humming with life on this epic journey through Africa. Get ready for 60 days of action, adventure and authentic experiences that will create lasting memories and endless photo opportunities. Starting amid the cosmopolitan cafes and vineyards of Cape Town and finishing in the bustling streets and markets of Nairobi, travel through remote parts of the continent seeing immense canyons, verdant mountains, exotic beaches and simple villages along the way. Stop to witness the power of Victoria Falls, the sweeping beauty of the Serengeti and the awesome scale of the Ngorongoro Crater. Meet the San Bushmen, sample traditional food cooked by the Chagga people, have close encounters with mountain gorillas and be warmed by the welcoming smiles of locals in Malawi. Camp on balmy beaches in Tanzania, trek through steamy rainforest in Rwanda and see cheeky chimps at play in Uganda. These are experiences to remember forever - this is Africa Encompassed.

For more info, here's the link...

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/UXODC


We’ve spent the last few weeks scurrying around Shanghai shopping for things we would need on this trip that we don’t have. We’re now ready for whatever India and Africa have to offer.

I’m guessing there might be a few photo opportunities on this trip. I’ve got 400 books on my Kindle and 200 hours of audiobooks on my Ipod. The trip ends on May 1st, a day which has some significance to me, (my birthday).

Next stop,,,, Mumbai, India

Home for the Holidays - December 2010

This is, somewhat sadly, my last China blog. Next week is the last week of my assignment here in Shanghai for Staples. Although local Staples management wanted to retain me here, the type of work I have been doing is not budgeted for 2011, so my contract here ends on 1/29. I have been offered a position similar to what I have been doing in Mumbai, India for the month of February. I will be there for just one month and then my career with Staples will end after 14 and one half years. More on next steps later.
The last month has been a major whirlwind. On December 16th, I left Shanghai after a week of crummy, windy, cold weather including accumulating snow which is rare here and returned to the U.S. for the first time since July. Starting in Boston, where I got to see many Staples friends, some neighbors, some photography friends and three of my children was a lot of fun but way more work than I expected because of things to do in our “for sale” house and meetings I needed to have at Staples. I did get to see an NFL game live for the first time this season and watched my favorite team play it’s worse game in many years and then miss the playoffs. The time whizzed by and on 12/23 it was off to Seattle, three days before the big storm shut down the East Coast with 18 inches of snow.
Seattle was nice, fun and more exhausting. I got picked up by my oldest, Michael, who chauffeured me around a little in his new SUV, very nice. Headed to my mother-in-laws house for a few days to see Susan’s family for the Christmas weekend. Of course, Susan was in Malaysia which made the whole experience a little odd, but I like her family, her sisters and my brothers- in-law so it was a fun trip. Since two children traveled with me to Seattle and one lives in Portland, OR it was a lot more family time. Again, there was lots of activity including opening two months of mail that have accumulated since Susan’s departure for Asia to join me. I spent one day back where we used to live with my daughter, had lunch with an old friend who is the Bagel king of the Seattle area and makes amazing products and then it was Christmas Eve at Susan's sister’s house, Christmas Day at her mother’s house. A day to relax with a Focker’s movie (better than I expected) and a great meal on a nephew’s house and then back to the airport to head to my family in Southern Cal.
Southern Cal was pretty much as expected. The weather was nice, it was great to see my mom again and the Lorin’s (my sister Janet’s family) were amazing hosts as they always are. With her two children there and my two youngest still in tow, we had a great, fun filled visit which included a round of golf. Of course, I was still working with Staples people to finalize the India assignment, dealing with issues at the house in MA, paying bills and making changes to things every day so there was very little downtime. On 12/31, I was pretty happy with the trip but ready to relax, I headed back to Shanghai. I came back a few days earlier than planned because doing so would get me to the next level in my frequent flier plan which means no baggage charges and upgraded seating for domestic U.S. flights. My daughter headed back to Boston for her last semester, my son, Jeff, stayed in CA until it was time to meet his older brother in Phoenix to attend the national championship football game in which, sadly, Mike’s alma mater, Oregon, couldn’t pull off the win.
Shanghai was like I left it, windy and cold. Unfortunately, I fought jet lag in a big way and it took me almost a week to get acclimated to the time zone change. Work for the last month has been a mixture of excitement for the things we have been working on coming to fruition and the reality and trepidation of heading to a new place. I’m thinking what do we know about Mumbai? For most people, it’s the movie, “Slumdog Millionaire” and the terrorist attack at the Taj Mahal hotel a few years ago. No, I won’t be staying there. I guess most of us don’t realize there is a big movie industry here called “Bollywood”. The few people who are positive about India say because everything is cheap you can hire services like a car and driver, maid, cook, etc. for very little money. The pessimists tell me, “It’s a great way to lose 15 pounds and it will probably happen in the first week”, due to stomach issues brought on by food contamination and dysentery. Boy, something to look forward to!
So I went to my India travel guide and pulled out some facts about Mumbai and India:
1. Population: 15,000,000
2. Average annual income: $1,000
3. Number of Bollywood movies made in the last 70 years: 70,000
4. India, with one billion, people will surpass China’s population in 2030
5. Families living one room homes: 42%
6. 80% of the people in India are Hindu and most of the balance are Muslim
7. Number of toilets per one million people: 17
8. Number of people in an 1,800 person capacity train at rush hour: 7,000
This all sound very interesting and I know many of you are queuing up to join me or visit. There are a bunch of positives:
1. Tiger photography
2. The Taj Mahal
3. Weird food and festivals to observe and photograph
4. It’s a short term visit
5. The work will be very interesting
6. It’s not monsoon season so I can enjoy the pleasant (?) weather where is 85-90 and humid every day.

Wow! That’s a quite a story and I haven’t done anything yet!
There is a very interesting blog coming about our next trip that Susan and I are planning if my Staples career is over. Until we get the confirmation back, I’m withholding the details. Let’s just say, this trip will be quite a shocker. I should be ready to publish the facts on that very soon.