Fifteen years ago, for the very first time, my husband David and I stood at the opposite ends of the travel pole bucket list. India was his long unfulfilled destination desire and the last place on earth I had ever wanted to experience. After twenty years of life and travel compatibility, with all other continents and subcontinents sampled or explored, I was out of reasons and excuses for stuffing this adventure to the bottom of the destination list. I'm not sure if my "okay I'll go to India" came from a burst of courage and resolve as if faced with a painful and risky, yet inevitable surgical procedure, or capitulation in a weak moment, when a parent gets talked into pleasing a child against her better judgment. Nevertheless, there I was, one moment swept into a spin of negotiations for tolerable travel terms, the next on my way to India for a month.

Linda B. Mullally was born in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec and has been sharing her passion for travel, outdoor adventure and dogs with her photographer/attorney husband, David Mullally for almost forty years. Her travel articles with his photos have been published in magazines and newspapers. Their travel column Travels with the Mullallys appears in the Monterey Herald monthly. She and her husband have co-authored ten California hiking books. The writer/photographer team and their Siberian husky, Gem can be found hiking the trails and beaches near their basecamps in Carmel and Sea Ranch, California between their worldwide wanderings. You can learn more about their projects at www.lindabmullally.com, Falcon.com and Facebook.