Who does what? - ClaudiAntics - BootsnAll Travelogues

November 15, 2003

Who does what?

A lot of travel, is taking care of things. When you travel with someone, you develop routines. Ideally, those routines take into account each other's strengths, and helps make for a better trip for the both of you.

Claudia and I have been traveling together for over a month now, and we each have naturally gravitated to certain roles and responsibilities. Here's a breakdown of some of the stuff we each do to keep the trip a rollin' rollickin' good bloody time:

The Books. We're both trying to keep to a budget of about $20 a day. So far we've done really well at it. Every rupee we spend, I note it down in my notebook. Usually we split things 50/50, but I also note down if one of us buys something for ourselves, or if, say, I spend more at lunch than she does. At the end of the day I tally everything up. Seeing what we actually spend, helps us not go too too crazy.

Itinerary Planning. Claudia excels at this. Give her Trains at a Glance (contains timetables for all Indian trains), a bag of potato chips and, tops, an hour, and she'll plan out all the trains for the next couple of weeks (which she just did — we're set all the way to Delhi). We talk in general about where we want to go, or we'll have a look through the guides and see what's up, and then she'll piece it together, with maybe a comment or two from me if she needs it.

Train & Bus Tickets. This can be a two-person affair, but Claudia handles the bulk of it. She understands the service classes (sleeper, 3AC, express, luxury, deluxe) better than I do, and is more adept at talking with conductors and ticket agents. We team up more if we're at a station and trying to sort out a bus number or platform or something, with each of us checking things out and asking questions.

Hotels. These past few weeks, I've handled the bulk of this, though Claudia always helps with suggestions and has found us a few places too. We go through our guidebook together and pick out some likely spots. Once we hit town, she hangs in the lobby and I go to check out rooms. How's the mattress? Is there hot water shower? Bucket hot water brought to the room? Is there a telly, and if so, cable and a remote? How's the view? Can we get a quieter room, away from the street? Does the fan work? (Sadly, I can never tell about cockroaches until the buggers show up.) I'll also take care of registering us, paying up, and chatting with the staff if we need anything.

Haggling with Rickshaw & Taxi Drivers. My domain, with Claudia chiming in to further harangue and always cue me when to walk away and see what the driver's reaction is. I have to confess, I love this part...

Schlepping. The boy always carries the daypack.

Clothes & General Shopping. As usual with guys, before Claudia I looked like a dork. Granted, I am a dork, but still, a little camo over that won't hurt. Claudia likes a touch of shopping, and she also has been helping to improve my wardrobe a fair bit. If there was no Claudia, I'd never shop. (This part is also my way of further apologizing to Claudia for arguing over a $2 pair of fisherman pants that, as it turns out, actually look pretty good on me and are damn comfortable... even though they don't have pockets for my keys, cash and notebooks. Curry that crow for me before I eat it, please.)

Posted by Ant on November 15, 2003 09:34 AM
Category: India

Comments

hmm - maybe I need to take a guy with me to carry my pack? The ultimate travel accessory?

Posted by: novice on November 14, 2003 09:24 AM

Hey Ant, You forgot about the laundry and ahem, the sewing or patching up of torn clothes. 8-). Have fun in Mumbai, go and see the elephanta caves (check out my story, u will get details there). It is a world heritage site, when I last visited it was under repairs. Also try and have dinner at Starters and More, slighly pricy, but good music - a live band, in fact and yummy food (you can have meat, chicken and fish out here). It is above Eros cinema in Churchgate. And yes, check out the English movie while you are there.

Posted by: Dusty on November 14, 2003 11:32 PM

Just want to say that I am really enjoying your blogs Claudia and Ant :) Its like reading a book and you can't wait to see what happens next.

When are you two leaving India and whats next on the agenda?

Posted by: Dewbie on November 15, 2003 08:18 PM

NOvice,

Ant is the ultimate pack accessory. He complements my shoes. :)

Dusty,

You read my mind about a movie. I am so hankering for western trash, as opposed to ear splitting hindi trash.

In addition to the above list of duties, I do laundry, Ant fixes my clothes.

Dewbs,

We leave India on the 27th and 28th for Bangkok and we're crashing with my friend Mel who has a swank apartment there. We might be in Cambodia around Xmas time, to give a sneak preview.....

Posted by: Claudia on November 16, 2003 01:40 AM

It's funny that you have assigned roles. I'm amused by the expertise involved for each of you. Apparently, vampira needs help in the sunblock area. Luckily, in Egypt, she seemed to have it mastered.
Today, Vanessa is painting the kitchen. Of course, her eye was needed for color selection. I feel like I was visited by the FAB5(queer eye for the straight guy), but by a straight girl. Many of my choices were not even considered.
Enjoy the weather. It was monsoon season last week with 50-60 mph winds. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Love to you both.

Posted by: mom on November 16, 2003 04:04 PM

The trick to not getting sunburned it to REAPPLY...that one time slathering doesn't cut it. :) You're too funny...wierd anti-foot fetish, can't handle anything that remotely resembles ET, fear of pregnant women and anything baby, and an aversion to "dark" waters. You do realize that just because the water is clear that little creatures still lurk...but then again I'm sure you don't want to dwell on thoughts like that too long or we'll never even get you into a bathtub again. Hope you two are having fun back in the city and have good memories of paradise.

Ant,
Just make sure you protest if she starts dressing you funny. :)

Posted by: Dione on November 17, 2003 10:34 AM

Hey Ant, glad you two are having a good time. thinking good travel thoughts for the both of you. Not much new here, just work, Seattle, a little travel to see family and more work. love and light and many pleasant experiences. Diane

Posted by: Di on November 17, 2003 09:47 PM

Yes. I know. I have weird phobias... what can I do?? I don't let them stop me from doing stuff here though. Oh, and I have a golden tan right now, so HA!! I can figure out the suntan lotion thing as well!!!
:) Of course, after being in the Arabian, what did Ant and I do, we watched Discovery Channel shows on sharks.... At least it's a while before Thailand...

Posted by: Claudia on November 17, 2003 11:26 PM

Di,

Thanks for the travel thoughts - they've definitely been paying off. I'm sure Seattle is just *lovely* right now ;-)

Send all my best to the Excal crew!

Posted by: Ant on November 20, 2003 09:53 AM

Oh the suspense!! hehe Its nice to know people all over the world that you can crash with. As always, have an awesome time ;)

Posted by: Dewbie on November 20, 2003 03:28 PM