2012-11-05 22:43:47-05
Wandering Earl 
When I first came up with the idea of offering a small group tour to India, one of the first things I decided was that every member of the group would receive a handful of quality ‘gifts’ at the start of the trip. Now I’m not talking about handing out balloons or buttons or coffee mugs. My goal was to seek out items that would be useful, not just for the tour, but for everyone’s future travels as well.
And so, the gang here in India, those ten bold souls who have decided to partake in this excursion, have now been armed with a few such items. As a result, off we shall all go, together, into the depths of India, into the cities, into the towns, into the mountains and into the deserts, fully prepared for the adventure ahead of us…  We shall all remain hydrated throughout the trip thanks to our Insulated Polar Bottles from Polar Bottle. Not only do these water bottles keep water cool, they keep water cool for a long time, even in the 85 F (30 C) heat of Delhi. They also weigh practically nothing and have a softer outer shell, making it easy to squeeze them into any extra space in your backpack.
 And our path, throughout this excursion, shall always be lit, whether we are wandering through town in the dark of night, wandering around the darkness of an ancient palace or wandering around our hotel rooms trying to find the bathroom during an electricity outage. It is our compact, travel-friendly, solar-powered Goal Zero Flashlights that will ensure we have light at all times.
Oh the photos we shall take! Thanks to XShot, everyone on this tour will receive an XShot Pocket camera extender. I can’t wait to see all of the photos that this group takes over the next 19 days!
 We shall each also have with us a versatile, reusable, lightweight shoulder bag from Chico Bags. For some the bag shall act as a day bag, for others an ideal place to keep their dirty laundry or as an eco-friendly shopping bag that can be used to carry anything and everything that is purchased during the trip without having to use plastic bags. I’ve used my bag for all three purposes so far and I’m sure I’ll find many more uses for it as well.
 Speaking of backpacks…all of our packs will be secured and potential thieves shall be deterred with our strong backpack locks from “The Club” (yes, it’s the company famous for their car lock system) that we are using to lock our zippers shut. A simple backpack lock can make a huge difference and using such a lock is definitely worth the peace of mind when you’re in a country that involves so much bus and train travel as well as large crowds of people.
 In addition, the group will enjoy internet connectivity throughout most of the trip thanks to the mobile WiFi router that TelecomSquare was so kind to provide for us. I simply turn the tiny device on and we’re good to go, whether at our hotel, on the train or bus or even while walking down the street. Why I haven’t carried one of these mobile WiFi routers with me before is beyond me!
And on a side note, I’d like to give another big shout out to CheapOair.com for providing me with several flights, which in turn, helped me keep the cost of my Welcome to India tour to an absolute minimum, something that all of the tour participants were quite happy about. Be sure to check out CheapOair.com whenever you’re booking any flight as, just like many readers have commented already, they often offer the cheapest fares on the internet.
Finally, I must apologize for not having responded to your comments and emails as quickly as usual over the past week or so. This tour through India is keeping me quite busy and I’ve unfortunately had a bit of a fever the past couple of days as well. But I will respond to everything as soon as I possibly can. Have a great week! *In exchange for a mention on the blog, the above companies kindly provided their products free of charge for the entire tour group. However, these are all products that I have personally used and that I fully believe in as I would never partner with any company that I do not trust myself.
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