Today I begin the first leg of what promises to be a whirlwind visit to India to visit the teams I have worked with for the better part of three years but, in the case of most, have yet to meet in person. I’m kind of excited, kind of feeling a bit of trepidation as well. From a business traveler’s perspective, it’s not much more than what one might call a “chew and screw” – I’ll be spending as much of my time traveling as I will be working, but it ought to be worth it. Consider the itinerary:

Friday: Fly from Phoenix to Atlanta, stay overnight at the Airport Westin in Atlanta.

Saturday: Have breakfast with one of the India guys who’s working over here in the States for a few months, then travel from Atlanta to Newark. Late Saturday, I’ll make the 15-hr. flight to Mumbai (formerly Bombay), where…

Sunday: …I’ll arrive around 9 PM for a 1-night stay at the International Hotel. By this time I fully expect to be in zombie mode.

Monday: Up bright and early to meet a colleague and fly from Mumbai to Vadodara (formerly Baroda) in northwest India, where I’ll check in at the Taj Baroda and head straight for the office for a there sometime around noon.

I’ll work out of the Baroda office until Wednesday PM, when, accompanied by some colleagues, I’ll be off by car, and then by plane, to Pune, where our other office location is. There I’ll stay at the Westin Pune for a 1-night stay.

Thursday: I’ll work out of the Pune office doing some work and some interviews until mid-afternoon, when I’ll fly back to Mumbai, arriving late on Thursday night.

Friday: My flight from Mumbai to Newark leaves at 1 AM, so I’ll be back in the States by mid-afternoon. From there (assuming, of course, that I’m not detained for observation at Bellevue), I’ll grab a flight to Phoenix and be back home early Friday night.

So it promises to be quite the whirlwind trip. I’ve gotten my hepatitis shots, have started on my typhoid fever and malaria meds, have bought a sufficient number of Powerbars (I’m told their essential for India travel) to keep me going, and plan on doing it all via carry-on. No muss, no fuss, a couple of dress pants, a couple of casual pants for the travel, and my usual supply of Hawaiian shirts – perfect for the monsoon season there. Having the opportunity to meet my team in their culture, their home, ought to be pretty interesting, to say the least.

And don’t worry, I’ll have my trusty laptop with me and will blog whenever I have a chance to and/or am not lathering foam out of the side of my mouth. Stay tuned!

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Pool temp: 92 degrees