Counting Down the Days

I have a lot of countdowns going on at the moment:

21: The number of days 'til I run my first half marathon
23: The number of work days remaining
33: The number of days 'til I leave Melbourne
43: The number of days 'til I leave Australia
97: The number of days 'til the Commonwealth Games commence
140: The number of days 'til I start work at Whistler

These past two weeks I have been focussing on finalising my attendance at the Commonwealth Games. It was at Christmas time that I realised the Commonwealth Games were being held in October and were a possibility for me to attend during my trip. However, the fact that they were being held in India was a turn-off - ever since watching season 1 of the Amazing Race, I have been completely put off of the thought of travelling in India, and filed it in my 'list of countries I never want to go to' list. Additionally, there have been lots of news stories about the Games - terrorist threats; stadiums not being completed in time; athletes not attending. But then I thought to myself - how many times do you get to attend an international sporting event like this?

My fate was sealed when I scored a 'free' flight from Delhi to KL with Air Asia post-Games, and also scored tickets from Cambodia - Delhi (via KL) at a low price. My ticket request is also finalised (all netball games, including the gold medal match; and tennis, athletics, and gymnastics tickets - at ridiculously low prices). My Indian colleagues have told me how I will be the 'only one there' as Indians don't care for anything but cricket (news headlines show that almost no tickets have been sold except to the opening and closing ceremonies).

I also finalised my accommodation. Delhi seems to be such an extreme, like many other Asian cities - absolute luxury in some parts, next to absolute squalor and bargain basement prices. Given I'm slightly terrified about my two weeks in India, I decided to pay for slightly nicer Western style accommodation that includes a TV, fridge, and air con (I've found it amusing that a lot of Indian hotels proudly state they offer '24 hour power' as one of their services!) I have a few days spare at the conclusion of the games before I fly out, in which I will travel to Agra for the majestic Taj Mahal and hopefully to Jaipur as well.

Apart from my flight to Vancouver, I've now finalised all of the flights and accommodation that had to be pre-booked - so now I can focus on the trip! (Oh - and the packing and other fun things like that!)
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