This morning I packed my suitcase and carry-on. This will be my sixth trip to India and I find I am as excited about this journey as my first one though I go to India with a little more knowledge of what I will experience there.
My first trip was marked by culture shock and much fear. This time I will be visiting a country that has become somewhat familiar to me, although I will be visiting a part of India I have never been to before. In previous trips I have visited the states of Mahasashtra, 
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Jarkand. This time I will be visiting the state of Asam ( It is the Green, wishbone shaped state in the far north-east corner of the country). I am told that Asam is a very scenic part of India. I is also the home to a variety of wildlife, including Elephants and Bengal Tigers.
The Lord willing, we will be flying from Denver to Chicago on Wednesday afternoon. Then we will be taking a direct flight from Chicago to Delhi. After a brief stay in Delhi we will be flying to Asam. We will be staying several days in Asam and visit a number of villages.
I look forward to this as I have found the villages to be among the most interesting places in India. Not many tourists take them in, but if you want to see and experience authentic India you need to check out the villages.
The picture I have chosen for my header is from a photo I took in a village in Jarkand. I took it out the window of a moving car with a disposable camera. It has been cropped to fit the header. The original photograph was amazing. A photographer friend reproduced it for me to give it an impressionistic look. He said that this photo is proof that even a monkey with a camera will accidentally take a good picture from time to time. I, on the other hand, attribute it to genius.
After visiting Haryana we will return to Delhi and do some sight-seeing. After that the rest of the group I am traveling with will return to the states. I am planning to fly to Hydrabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, and spend a few days with friends there before returning to Delhi and flying home.
Do keep us in your prayers. I will do my best to keep you informed about progress of my journey.
I’ll be praying for you Mark. I think the villages would be interesting if I didn’t have to go through the cities to get to them.
Hi Brenda, thanks for the prayers. I know you will be praying faithfully for us and I greatly appreciate the prayers.
Hi Kris, Yes, traveling through the cities can be an adventure to say the least, a nightmare to say the most, but they too are interesting.