The little engine that could

22 hours until my flight to India takes off. It turns out that the boy will be travelling with me, so hopefully that'll help the time go by a little less painfully.

I'm not sure what to say at this point, nor am I sure how I feel. Excited. Anxious. Nervous. Overwhelmed. Disbelieving. I'm pretty sure the words and feelings will all come pouring out of me as soon as I arrive.

We've been trying to decide where we want to go for our getaway in the Himalayas. This process has been unexpectedly difficult, since many of the places we would like to go are dangerous thanks to military/terrorism and/or scary mountain roads and even scarier bus drivers. So, our decision is coming down to places we can reach by train: Shimla or Darjeeling.

I'm rooting for Darjeeling because... how cool would that be?! Plus we'd get to ride this darling toy steam engine! The big downside is that it would take forever and a day to get there, and although we'd get to see loads of pretty countryside, Nathan would have to take an extra day off work. So we'll see. I'm sure Shimla would be really cool too.

I think I've also decided to take a day trip on my own to see the Taj Mahal in Agra. Supposedly it lives up to all the hype, so I feel I have to take advantage of what may be my only chance to see it.

It seems I'm going to be spending an awful lot of time on transport this trip. Hopefully it'll be worth it... and maybe help prepare me for my epic journey to Hawaii in May. After all, that's what all the hours I spend commuting in London every day are for, right? It's like training for a marathon.