I like to think I’ve mastered the art of packing light for me and boyfriend. For instance, we brought two backpacks and a large purse for the 2-week trip around Asia I told you about. We didn’t want to pay for luggage and were country-hopping a lot.
And then there was the last trip we took. A two-weeker around India and Sri Lanka. My cousin’s daughter was getting married in Goa. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to an Indian wedding, but they’re extravagant affairs. Five events spread out over three days. We attended four over two days.
And each event had a dress code of sorts. Yellow or pink or orange for the Haldi. Indian formal for the wedding. American formal for the reception. An outfit you don’t mind getting accidental henna on for the Mehndi. Something you can dance in for the Sangeet. We also had kurtas for boyfriend and my jewelry to haul around. It was a lot.
It’s a pain in the butt to travel with that much stuff. Stuff. It always seems to suck the life out of you. I rail against stuff a lot, but especially when traveling. Go light, my friend! You have to wait so long at baggage claim for the bags to come around. It’s not worth the hassle.
Here’s our luggage for this Asia trip.
But worth it! The wedding lived up to expectations of lavish-ness. It felt like everyone was there. Hundreds of people, an exorbitant amount of food, and pretty outfits from every angle.
Anyway, here’s the bucket list for that trip.
1. Show boyfriend a taste of India
The food. I can’t even start with the food in India. It’s all carbohydrates and it’s all spicy and every last bite is delicious and it’s my personal achilles heel. I love Indian food. Even the Pizza Huts and Taco Bells of India are interesting and different. We spent three days in Goa and two days in New Delhi and I consumed more than my fair share of calories.
2. Take the blue train in Sri Lanka
It was a giant pain to find our seats on the first class train from Nanu Oya to Kandy with these embarrassing rolling luggages when the train was packed to the max. But the views were gorgeous and I’m glad I didn’t miss this train trip. I was too scared to do the iconic lean out the train picture, but the tea fields were very calming to watch chug by. There were waterfalls you could see from the train to top off the incredible views.
3. Spend a few days in Kandy
I remember the birds in Kandy. They were so loud, you could barely hear yourself say words.
Kandy is quintessential Sri Lankan, I think. We hiked to a giant Buddha, ate a lot of food, talked over the birds, and went to a nature preserve just a few minutes walk from the city.
4. Cross a country off the to-visit list.
I’ve been to India many times, but Sri Lanka was new. It’s hard to count what country number this is, but I think it’s 89.
How many countries have you visited? Do you keep track? I bet the number is higher for the FIRE crowd than the normal population.
Always enjoy reading your posts! I’m on a long slow travel after being laid off/retiring at 56. Started in August 2022. I don’t keep count but the countries for me is somewhere between 30 and 40. 89 is amazing! Happy travels!!
Where are you now?
If you want to keep track, this is a good website for it. https://visitedplaces.com/
Thanks for detailing your trip: plenty of things that I can learn or even do. Much appreciated!
I hope you make it to Sri Lanka and India! Truly excellent places to visit and learn.
So, amazing! Thanks for sharing as always.
Thanks for wanting updates! 🙂
Cute pics, thanks for sharing!! I did a study abroad in India in 2003. It was incredible. I had been to Brazil before then, which was amazing, but India was a singularly eye-opening experience. I remember getting out of the airport in New Delhi around midnight and being enveloped by the chaos. Us students were linked up with a women’s college in Delhi. The program was very well run. I spent a month in and around Delhi, two months in the Himalayas ‘working’ with an NGO and then Goa for about a month after the semester ended. We intended to visit Thailand or Sri Lanka but SARS was spreading and tourists were told to stay put. Better safe than SARS.
The people, food, culture, history, it was…wonderful. And it was also gut wrenching to see the poverty and hardship many people face everyday. It put into perspective how privileged we are in the west in terms of opportunity and general abundance.
I packed a backpack and day pack for the four months (humble brag). Two of the other students brought those ginormous suitcases which they always needed help heaving in and out of transportation when moving around (rookies). Never been to a full Indian wedding but I can see why you would need to bring so much! What did boyfriend think of the trip?! It’s a gift to travel abroad with people who know the country and/or have family there.
I love reading your posts. They are personal and informing and a nice easy read. Also, of course, inspiring! You are the only blogger I get emails from. Thanks for posting!
What a lovely compliment. Thanks for commenting and making my day!
Excellent comment. Thanks for sharing. I’m impressed with your light approach to India. 2003 India is no joke.
Boyfriend handled it like a champ. I’m sure it was overwhelming meeting so much of my family, but we had a grand time. Excellent people-watching.
We also stayed in a posher part of New Delhi and Goa, so was spared the brunt of the poverty you normally see. We got five year visas, so will definitely be back!
That’s awesome he handled it like a champ 🙂
I have never been to India, but it is definitely on my bucket list. I love Indian food, but by far classical Indian music is my favorite music in the world. When I was a teenager my best friend and I would attend many classical Indian concerts in southern California. We also attended workshops on how the Raga is constructed. I even got to see Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan and Zakir Hussain perform together. Over the years I never hesitate to go to a concert of classical indian music.
I’ve heard of Ravi Shankar, but I’m not that knowledgeable about music in general.
I hope you make it there one day soon!
Lovely, I had a plan to go to India last December, to Delhi, Jaipur and Varanasi, but then I hurt my knee so it will have to wait. You and bf look great together, seems like he passed the test! I’ve been to about half as many countries as you, I think, possibly even less
Sorry about your knee. That’s a major bummer. It’s a good reminder to travel while you can!
Hi Thriftygal, off topic here but if you want a topic to write about I would love to hear about your thoughts on retirement numbers. Maybe it’s just the circles im moving in online but I see a lot of discussion about needing 5 million to retire as a minimum, which of course I disagree with. I don’t know your numbers of course but I would love to know how you see this – would you retire again with the same number or would you accumulate more? Maybe you would even have jumped ship earlier?
All in all you seem to be having a great time, so I suspect you are pretty happy with your decision 🙂
Great question! 5 million seems to me absurd. If I could do it over again, I tell myself I would have worked one more year, but I don’t know if that’s true. I had a good time to leave after my secondment ended. I’m extremely happy with my numbers. I’ll see if I can write more about this in a post. Thanks for the comment!
Is there a reason that you would have liked to work one more year? If you are extremely happy with your numbers, is it a non-financial reason?
Just want to fly business class! lol