How The Chance to Go To India Came About

Most of you visiting this site didn't have a clue that I was going to India until today, five days before the flight. You probably got a text message from me today (yes I posted this BEFORE I sent the text... I wanted you to have something to read!), and now you're wondering just what the hell is going on here. Well, it's true, I AM going to India for a wedding, but here's the skinny on how exactly it came to be a reality.

My buddy Jeremy works for the State of New Hampshire Office of Information Technology (OIT). One of his friends at work, Amit, a native of India, announced that he was getting married, and in December he invited Jeremy to the wedding ceremony. Amit told Jeremy that if he could take care of his plane ticket, everything Jeremy needed in India would be taken care of. What an opportunity! To be able to see and experience a countryand its people on the other side of the globe! Of course Jeremy, not really imagining that he could pull off paying for the $1100 plane ticket, stuck with the perspective reality and chose not to tell his friends about the opportunity. Lucky for him, he told his mother about it.

Just before Christmas, our mutual friend Adam called Jeremy's mother to discuss potential Christmas gifts for Jeremy. Our group of friends was initally considering pooling some money together to buy Jeremy a new paintball gun, something that he'd been wanting for quite some time. It was at this point that the secret was out: Jeremy's got an offer on the table to go to India, and all he needs is the money for it.... NEW PLAN! Gathering money together for Jeremy's India Trip, and keeping it a secret from him until his birthday (Dec. 31)! And so we did. We gathered for his birthday at The Outback, and after meals were had, we presented Jeremy with an envelope containing a card and $800 toward his trip. Adam and I were hoping we could get the bastard to shed a tear, but he held it together quite well, and with a HUGE grin on his face the entire time!

All was fine and well, and Jeremy was off planning his Indian trip, quite meticulously I must say. Initially, the trip was to be for 6 days, and Jeremy would fly into Mumbai with Amit, and stick with him during the entirety of the trip. That wouldn't have been a problem for Jeremy, but he also recognized the fact that this may be the only chance he gets to see India, so he'd better make the most of it. A 6 day trip turned into a 12 day trip, starting in Delhi rather than Mumbai, and landing in India 6 days before Amit was due to land. Now the trip included visiting Agra and the Taj Mahal, stopping in Jaipur, flying to Mumbai in-country, meeting up with Amit, and then taking part in the wedding festivities.

Though Amit had quite a bit of heartburn over the thought of Jeremy being in India without him, there had been up until this point, another co-worker of their's that was going to the wedding anyway and had been willing to travel the extra days with Jeremy. Unfortunately said co-worker did not have any more vacation time, and could not afford to take the additional time off. Now Jeremy really WAS going to be alone in India for 6 days.

And that's when I got the call.
Thursday, January 15, 2008, 7:30 pm. "Hey man, ahh, you wanna go to India with me?"
Of course at this point, I'm laughing at him, because OBVIOUSLY it's a ludacris idea. Me, with no passport, no visa, and 3 weeks before the trip is scheduled. So Jeremy says "If you really wanna go, I think we can pull it off, but we'll have to move fast." Can you say understatement?!
Trying to remain rational and not wanting to give in to the immediately "Damn right I'll go!" answer, I told Jeremy to let me mull it over for the night. I hung up the phone and walked back into my mother's livingroom, and told them what Jeremy had called for. And I asked her if she thought it was a good idea. She said "What the hell is stopping you?" GOOD Answer I say! And so with that, I was on the phone with Jeremy not less that a half-hour after the original call, confirming that I would go. Another half hour later and I had an appointment with the Passport Agency of Boston for the following Tuesday at 8:30 am.

Thus began the trip to India!

(Check out Jeremy's blog, http://jeremypuneindia.blogspot.com/ for details on how our trip to the Boston Passport Agency went!)