I was overwhelmed by India,even though I was limited to what I saw from the bus and where the tour was scheduled to stop. It was all so beautiful, so ancient. I thought, what did the British first think when they got here and saw the ornate buildings, forts and temples? Were they as amazed as I was?
I was changed during that trip. I was smitten by the place -- in love, I guess -- and so, so hungry for more. I talked to my friend, Estelle, when I returned, telling her about how frustrating it was not to be able to explore on my own, to eat in the little cafes and poke around local stores and markets we passed on the bus. She was the one to tell me about the various tour groups she had discovered that allowed for a lot of free time and appealed to a wider clientele. They were based in other countries, England, Australia, Canada, and, although they were also small groups, the age range was much more varied. In the US, it seems like people travel around the world when they get out of college or when they retire. In other countries, everyone travels, no matter the age or the economic situation. She told me about an English company, Explore, where she'd booked a lot of her trips. That led me to the local tour broker, Adventure Center, in northern California, but more about them later.
My next adventure started with a call from my friend, Elaine. We had been roommates when I was hired to work as a costumer for the Los Angeles Olympic committee in 1984. It was an invitation to join her on a trip to Africa. That story tomorrow...
No comments:
Post a Comment