India plan, and packing continued.

Here's a rough version of what I'm thinking for India:

Sep. 1-15: Ladakh. Start out in Leh, perhaps do a homestay for a couple days, and there's a meditation center around there that I think is having a 3-day or so retreat while I'm there.

Sep. 15-22: Head back South via Jammu and Kashmir. Mostly passing through. Kashmir is a rather dreamy name, but I don't know what to do or where to go there.

Sep. 22-29: Punjab. See Amritsar and the Golden Temple for sure, and spend at least a day in Chandigarh.

Sep. 29-Oct. 26: Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Visit McLeod Ganj. HH will be there Oct 1-4 and 24-26! Visit some Hindu pilgrimage sites; I understand the Char Dham are in Uttarakhand. Sounds interesting? Also, Rishikesh. Finally, Oct. 26 is Diwali.

Oct. 26-Nov. 14: Nepal. I have no idea what I'll do there.

Nov. 14-18: Bhutan. I know exactly what I'll do there.

Nov. 18-25: Sikkim? This is also not very well thought out.

Nov. 25-Dec. 9: Delhi and around, meet up with some friends, relax a bit, and head south. Perhaps stop in Bangalore for a couple days; I'm interested to see what India's tech capital looks like.

Dec. 9-31: South India. Coimbatore, meeting another friend (hint: it is Ram), and then hang around Tamil Nadu or something? Kerala? It'll figure itself out.

Okay, now I will list the current list of things I will be bringing, because that's what I've been thinking about the most. Comments are welcome.

- passport, international drivers license (with motorcycle permit!), US drivers license, ISIC

- 4 shirt layers: red techy t-shirt, long underwear shirt, button down shirt, warm sweater

- 2 pants layers: long underwear pants and REI light hiking pants

- gym shorts for sleeping, or perhaps a lungi. I've heard these are very useful.

- 2 underwears

- windbreaker ("marathon jacket"- it's something stupid like 3oz, size of an apple.)

- 2 pairs of socks - Tekol is the brand I've liked the most

- earplugs

- phone (it's a camera, notepad, etc.), headphones, and usb cord

- kindle (same USB as my phone; woo)

- computer: need to buy this still. Looking at a 10" 3lbs netbook.

- toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, glasses/case, contacts/solution, floss

- medicine: allergy medicine, malaria pills

- shoes- I have some Vivo Barefoot shoes coming in the mail. Hopefully these will be good for walking a lot.

- sandals? my Chacos? they are not light. Anyone tried these?

- backpack: which? I will figure this out after I see how big everything is.

- gifts from Seattle for hosts/friends: what? ideally something small and light, but still nice. Maybe someone sells nice little Space Needle statues.

- and one bottle of Armani Code Black perfume, for my Bhutanese tour guide. His request. 's all good, I guess.