Who's there?
It's India!
... that's it... no joke... lol
Apparently India has been knocking on my door louder than I thought. Ever since I went to India last summer I knew I would go back, but I had no definite or near plans. It was just hanging out casually in the back of my head as something I would at some point do again. It's not really very realistic to think one can just saunter off to foreign countries once a year for a month or more. Especially not someone who works for a living and has pets. Leaving home is not easy for me, not even for a long weekend, let alone a long trip like that. If a yoga teacher doesn't work, the yoga teacher doesn't get paid! No 'vacation pay' for us - no siree!
Every now and then I go online (usually to expedia.ca) and check out airline tickets. I usually check flights to Hawaii (it's my favourite place ever, I've been 4 times, it feels like home and it's one of the only places I feel safe surfing), and I also check flights to Bangalore, India - where you fly into if you're going to Mysore to study Ashtanga Yoga.
About a month ago tickets to India were pretty cheap, around $1300. I think that planted the seed. Last time I went, my flights were over $2000, but I had an extra stop in Goa on my way home. A little over a week ago the tickets were back up to $1500/$1600 so I figured I missed the boat on that one. I'd keep checking. I think my 'thing' is, if an idea gets doable enough (cheap flights!) then I just do it! I tweeted about the price hike and a response from an online Yogi friend said - check 'skyscanner.com'. I did. I found a flight for $1287!! Holy Cow! I booked it. BOOM. Right then and there. I was going to India! I got a confirmation email from a company called "The Flight Network" and was just awaiting my e-ticket. It did not arrive. I waited. I finally emailed the company and they said the price was invalid and the ticket was not issued. My heart dropped. It was too good to be true. I was angry at their misleading 'confirmation' email and their poor policies and customer service.
However, now that India was in my head, I was still going to make it happen. I went straight to the Jet Airways website and found a flight for $1450. Not bad, sort of in between. Still much cheaper than last year. Booked it. ACTUALLY for realsies booked it. Ticket received. Yay. Thank you JET AIRWAYS for not lying to me like FLIGHT NETWORK.
Next I went to the Facebook page for the community of Ashtanga Yogis in Mysore. I threw out a request for a room to stay in, walking distance from the shala, for my dates. BOOM. Got a reply from a lovely lady offering up a room in her lovely house. I responded thinking it might be beyond my budget but it ended up being totally reasonable. RESERVED IT. Yay.
She (Tracy) is involved with an organization there called PFA - People for Animals, who rescues and looks after stray, abandoned, abused, neglected, injured, sick and dying animals. They have over 200 dogs, loads of cats, bunnies, owls, a pelican, monkeys, horses, pigs... So I am excited to find out more about that and help out however I can when I get there (visiting, feeding, cleaning, petting, loving). I also may do a bit of fundraising before I go there, so I can help buy food, medicine and supplies for the poor needy helpless animals.
So I'm pretty set and very excited! Now I have to start working out a multitude of details...
Getting my yoga classes and coaching covered while I'm away. Getting my pets taken care of (the cats are easy, the ferrets are not). Getting over the fact that I won't have Christmas with my family and friends. Getting a new passport. Getting an Indian Visa. Getting a travel medical workup/checkup/meds collection/shots, etc! Packing list. And most importantly I have to apply to study at KPJAYI. Apparently this year it is extra busy and extra hard to get in, so I am nervous about that. I will be applying online PROMPTLY the minute registration opens. If Sharath's class is full, well I'll still go and study with Saraswati which would be a different experience, but still great. I feel like no matter what happens from here on out my second trip to India will be entirely worthwhile.
Here we go again! Stay tuned!
It's India!
... that's it... no joke... lol
Apparently India has been knocking on my door louder than I thought. Ever since I went to India last summer I knew I would go back, but I had no definite or near plans. It was just hanging out casually in the back of my head as something I would at some point do again. It's not really very realistic to think one can just saunter off to foreign countries once a year for a month or more. Especially not someone who works for a living and has pets. Leaving home is not easy for me, not even for a long weekend, let alone a long trip like that. If a yoga teacher doesn't work, the yoga teacher doesn't get paid! No 'vacation pay' for us - no siree!
Every now and then I go online (usually to expedia.ca) and check out airline tickets. I usually check flights to Hawaii (it's my favourite place ever, I've been 4 times, it feels like home and it's one of the only places I feel safe surfing), and I also check flights to Bangalore, India - where you fly into if you're going to Mysore to study Ashtanga Yoga.
About a month ago tickets to India were pretty cheap, around $1300. I think that planted the seed. Last time I went, my flights were over $2000, but I had an extra stop in Goa on my way home. A little over a week ago the tickets were back up to $1500/$1600 so I figured I missed the boat on that one. I'd keep checking. I think my 'thing' is, if an idea gets doable enough (cheap flights!) then I just do it! I tweeted about the price hike and a response from an online Yogi friend said - check 'skyscanner.com'. I did. I found a flight for $1287!! Holy Cow! I booked it. BOOM. Right then and there. I was going to India! I got a confirmation email from a company called "The Flight Network" and was just awaiting my e-ticket. It did not arrive. I waited. I finally emailed the company and they said the price was invalid and the ticket was not issued. My heart dropped. It was too good to be true. I was angry at their misleading 'confirmation' email and their poor policies and customer service.
However, now that India was in my head, I was still going to make it happen. I went straight to the Jet Airways website and found a flight for $1450. Not bad, sort of in between. Still much cheaper than last year. Booked it. ACTUALLY for realsies booked it. Ticket received. Yay. Thank you JET AIRWAYS for not lying to me like FLIGHT NETWORK.
Next I went to the Facebook page for the community of Ashtanga Yogis in Mysore. I threw out a request for a room to stay in, walking distance from the shala, for my dates. BOOM. Got a reply from a lovely lady offering up a room in her lovely house. I responded thinking it might be beyond my budget but it ended up being totally reasonable. RESERVED IT. Yay.
She (Tracy) is involved with an organization there called PFA - People for Animals, who rescues and looks after stray, abandoned, abused, neglected, injured, sick and dying animals. They have over 200 dogs, loads of cats, bunnies, owls, a pelican, monkeys, horses, pigs... So I am excited to find out more about that and help out however I can when I get there (visiting, feeding, cleaning, petting, loving). I also may do a bit of fundraising before I go there, so I can help buy food, medicine and supplies for the poor needy helpless animals.
So I'm pretty set and very excited! Now I have to start working out a multitude of details...
Getting my yoga classes and coaching covered while I'm away. Getting my pets taken care of (the cats are easy, the ferrets are not). Getting over the fact that I won't have Christmas with my family and friends. Getting a new passport. Getting an Indian Visa. Getting a travel medical workup/checkup/meds collection/shots, etc! Packing list. And most importantly I have to apply to study at KPJAYI. Apparently this year it is extra busy and extra hard to get in, so I am nervous about that. I will be applying online PROMPTLY the minute registration opens. If Sharath's class is full, well I'll still go and study with Saraswati which would be a different experience, but still great. I feel like no matter what happens from here on out my second trip to India will be entirely worthwhile.
Here we go again! Stay tuned!
