Ticket to Ride

It’s official: I’m coming home. Today I finally bought the last of my plane tickets from India back to the good ol’ U.S. of A. It took me awhile because I’m not going straight back to Detroit from Delhi. I knew I wouldn’t be, and that’s why I bought a one-way ticket to Delhi in the first place. The way I figure it, as long as I’m already halfway around the world, I might as well take my time coming back. In fact, my official internship is over in two weeks, but I’m staying much longer anyway because I don’t have to go back and finish classes until September.

First stop is in Warsaw, Poland. Agata and I really clicked during the short time that she was here, and she invited me to come to Poland anytime to say hi. I’m taking advantage of that for sure. On 14 July, I will be flying from Delhi to Warsaw by way of Moscow. I even selected a flight that has a 9-hour layover in Moscow. Why would I want to inflict that kind of punishment on myself? Because if I can manage to get a short-term transit visa from the Russian consulate in Delhi, I would be able to leave the airport during that time and see a bit of the city, just like my layover in London. Any chance I can get to add another flag to my collection, I’ll take it.

Second stop is Budapest, and I’ll be flying there from Warsaw on 26 July. I lived there for about 4 months (one semester) in 2008 during a study abroad program. It was my first time in a different country for an extended period of time, and I absolutely fell in love with the city. I knew I would return, and now I will. Places to revisit, old friends to see, delicious food to eat… And the pastries! I can already taste the Dobos torte.

After Warsaw and Budapest, I should be pretty sick of traveling by then, so I figured I’ll call it quits and go home from there. Unfortunately, that’s an adventure in itself. I could only find one good trip from Budapest to Detroit during the dates that I wanted, and it’s not pretty. First, on 4 August, I have to fly from Budapest back to Warsaw, where I’ll have a 90-minute layover. From there I get to experience a wonderful 10-hour trip to Chicago O’Hare. In coach. Can’t wait! And it doesn’t end there, because after that I still need to fly from Chicago to Detroit. Plus that doesn’t count going through customs in Chicago. I wonder if there is a free waterboarding included in the trip, because that would round off the whole experience nicely.

In all seriousness, I love traveling like that. I love people watching, and navigating new airports, and finding things to keep myself busy. It’s all very exciting, and I can’t wait. Sure, I could just fly straight home to Detroit from Delhi. But where’s the fun in that?