Authors: Scott Skinner
Date Submitted: August 31, 1998
Article Type: Journal

After four trips to China, even I was surprised at my own reluctance to travel to India. I just couldn’t convince myself that the positive experiences would outweigh the negative. Horror stories of other group tours did nothing to persuade me that the kites of India were worth the trouble of travel to India.

I was wrong! Thanks to the professional organization and skill of Ajay Prakash, travel to India is a much different proposition from my uninformed impression. Ajay is a professional travel agent and knows how to get things done. From arrival in Delhi to departure a week later, there was never any doubt that our kite group would be taken care of. The trip was not without some difficult moments, like overnight train trips and an overnight wait in the Bombay airport. But there was never any doubt that we would be met when and where we needed to be and that transportation and lodging would be waiting.

Finally, comment in this journal would not be complete without the mention of the kites. Watching the Indians flying by hand, hundreds of feet of line at risk, and the kites barely visible, was a treat. It is very hard to fully grasp the nuances of fighting strategy-the lines are invisible and the kites so far away-but watching a kite swooping down for the kill was a spectacular experience. It was great watching the Desert Kite Team-three personable Belgiques, Guy van Acker, Frank Coenraets, and Andries van Locker-do battle in the skies with the native Indian flyers. After being shut out the previous year, the now experienced Belgian team showed very well and actually one head-to-head match.

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