Back to Kathmandu

After staying in Nepal a little longer than planned (see previous few posts), I've made plans to head to India. I plan to steer clear of big tourist hotels and cities named Mumbai (seriously, how does spell check not know this city??). Here's the tentative plan:

• Wednesday (3rd): Pokhara to Kathmandu by bus
• Saturday (6th): Kathmandu to Delhi by plane
• Saturday night: stay in a safe, clean airport hotel one night (hot shower, flush toilet, real bed)
  
• Sunday night (7th): Take the overnight tourist bus (wonder how this will be) from north Delhi to Mcleod Ganj (residence of the Dalai Lama, immediately north of Dharamsala)
• Monday (8th) through either Thursday (11th), Friday (12th), or Saturday (13th): stay in Mcleod Ganj (possibly do some hiking, hang around for the festival for the Dalai Lama's Nobel Peace Prize. No, he won't be there, but it should be fun.)
• After Mcleod Ganj (no later than the overnight bus on the 13th): Travel back to Delhi (possibly via train through Amritsar to see the Golden Palace), or possibly straight to Delhi via bus and then to Agra via train for a day trip to the actual Taj Majal (not the hotel), or just straight back to Delhi, no stops, no sights.
  
• Monday (Dec. 15): Fly to the southern coast of India (Kerala). I have a reservation at a yoga ashram.
  

As you can see, a few days are still fuzzy but it's coming together. I should know more about whether or not I'll make any additional stops (Agra, Amritsar) in the next few days. I'm having a travel agent work on that and it will depend on security. The plans can all change if things in Delhi heat up. But I'm limiting my time in Delhi (2 nights max), and heading to places that are relatively cool.

Namaste to you and to Nepal! I'll be back to both.