peregrinating

I first learned this word thanks to Sara Hoffman; it's her username on couchsurfing. Sounds beautiful.

It's been hard to come to term with my unrealized dream, a.k.a. Israel/Palestine for this summer. But, there's no way other than dealing with it. So i canceled my flight to Tel-Aviv, decided to go home, got my ticket, wrote to my parents and friends, contacted people for volunteer opportunities and dancing classes, etc. all within a span of 36 hours.

And i fancy some peregrination, first on the way home, crossing overland from Bangkok, through Laos, to Ha Noi. I had to cancel it though, after learning that one of my best friends from elementary school would be leaving for the whole summer to visit her family in Ukraine. I decided to fly instead so that I'd be able to spend a couple of days with her.

But in August, when i go to India, it would look like this: from Sai Gon (Ho Chi Minh city), take a boat or ferry to Phnom Penh, continue up to Siem Reap, and then down again to Battambang (i heard it's magnificent). I'm not sure if it'd work from Sai Gon to Phnom Penh, but in any case, i can always take the bus. From Battambang to Bangkok, not sure if there's a train or only a bus, doesn't matter any way. Fly from Bangkok to Calcutta, and then board the train from Calcutta to Ahmedabad, which takes about 35 hours to literally cross India from East to West.

At the end of my stay in Ahmedabad, which will be in mid-December, I'll still have a month before the spring semester starts at Wesleyan. And here's THE ambition:
From Delhi, take the train to Amritsa, cross the border to Lahore, board the train all the way down to Karachi, up again to Quetta to take another one to Zahedan. (Rumors has it that this line has been canceled). Once in Zahedan, take the bus to Bam, train again up to Tehran, and finally another one to Damacus via Turkey.

The biggest concern is, not so surprisingly, getting visa for Pakistan, Iran, and Syria (maybe even Turkey?) when i'm in India. It's always more complicated in a third country. And even if that happens, what would the U.S. consulate say to my face when they see all those visas?