A Passage to India

We made it to India and back, but since this is not a vanity blog, I figured I'd spill the dirt on how things really went down. In hindsight, while I never really considered it an optional trip, since it was to take the kids to visit DH's family, I wish that we had spent as much time contemplating whether it was actually a wise decision to go at all, as I ended up spending preparing us for the reality that we were in fact going...

Kicking it at O'Hare

The kids actually did pretty well, much better than I even expected them to do, which is a testament not only to them, but the adaptability of toddlers generally, I guess. They didn't suffer terribly for the jet lag going over (there is a whopping 11 1/2 hour time difference), though we are struggling more than we probably should be (as it is supposed to be easier going West) now.  We are just now (over a week later) getting back on a good sleeping schedule.  I read some of the travel tips from the travel clinic (where the kids and I got a typhoid shots and meds for malaria and TD before we left) after we were already en route (my bad), so I didn't get the melatonin they say can sometimes help with that.

As anyone with kids knows, taking them on the road in any fashion just takes your routine and makes it more complicated and difficult to adhere to. And if there is one tip I have for anyone contemplating children (and especially multiples) is to live by the routine, it will save you (even though it may seem like a pain) and your kids will (hopefully) be as happy as mine are with theirs.

Anywho, if you are not familiar with travel to "developing" countries, among many other rules, you can't drink or brush your teeth with tap water, so we use(d) bottled. And in the kids' case, you are also not recommended to bathe them or wash their dishes in it. This obviously adds time/effort to the routine. We tried both boiled (and obviously cooled) water and then iodine added (and then evaporated) for their baths and washed their dishes in boiled water. We fed them almost entirely at home, which helps lessen the likelihood of food borne illness, and they miraculously made it through the trip without getting sick at all. MAJOR VICTORY! (Though in full disclosure they were both sick the week before we left)

Sadly, DH and I weren't so lucky. He got sick soon after we arrived and was very ill for the first several days (including his bday).  I was on a similar trajectory and even with the meds I brought over (and three drs. visits in six days for many many more) an infection took pretty good hold of my body and it was Thanksgiving (over halfway into our trip), before I started to get any relief and feel even remotely human. At one point I was laying in bed, as I had to do most of the time, was nearly delirious from the pain and wishing not only for my own demise, but cursing DH (for bringing us there), and the whole of India (for always making me sick). Not exactly a high point.

We bought the kids their own seats on the flights, which is the only way to fly IMO. We brought their travel car seats, the CR top rated and wonderfully light (and inexpensive) Cosco Sceneras, which they kind of inexplicably love. We brought their workhorse Maclaren Twin Techno stroller and (since they were gifted) the lovely Fjallraven Kanken backpacks (which fit perfectly in the stroller storage) as busy/carry on bags. We flew Lufthansa, which was generally satisfactory but unremarkable, though as DH always notes you must fly international carriers (rather than U.S. domestic) when flying abroad, as the booze is free in coach. (ah, the important things...)  It worked out that there were four of us, as on three of the four legs, we were on 747s, which have four seats in the middle, so we reserved and commanded the entire row, with the kids facing us in the middle seats and each of us on the aisle. The other leg, we were in continuous rows in a similar fashion.

The kids got to see Grandma again, since she left when they were five months old, and meet their uncle and new aunt and baby cousin for the first time, not via Skype.  Mari was a huge fan of her baby cousin, her constant refrain around the house was "baby, baby, baby..."  She also had a major language explosion while we were there and has so many words now.  There was a naming ceremony/party for the baby, which, unbeknownst to me, our kids were included in too, since they obviously hadn't had one of their own yet, which resulted in a heap of generous, yet many much to big to transport easily, gifts, that I was not expecting. DH's mom comes from a very big family, and since they now live in the town where she is from, after raising DH in Bombay, they are all nearby. The party, for immediate family, topped out at 150 or so.

The baby's name is Raayna, changed at the last minute from (my preferred spelling) Raina, which is pronounced "Rye-na" rather than "Ray-na". She is a cutie pie and in the three weeks we were there (starting when she was four months old) she really changed a lot, starting to roll and generally be more and more adorable. She is chubbier than my kids could have ever dreamed of being and I honestly barely remember my kids being such little squishy peanuts.  I got my baby fix, but am so so glad we are forever done...

  

While DH's family is lovely, few of them speak English, so it is sadly difficult for me to get into much of the socialization aspect of going to India.  This was my third trip (the first was for our wedding, the second after FIL's passing), and our longest and most unscheduled.  We didn't get out much on this trip, for logistically reasons, so when we did, it was nice.  I don't do well as a shut in. 

We went to Sula Vineyards on Thanksgiving, which was nice since I love and missed Thanksgiving with my family and I was just starting to feel better.  We had talked about staying over at their resort (sans kids) after we decided against going to the Maldives on this trip, but they book out several months in advance, and it wouldn't have worked out anyway given the kids wouldn't sleep on the trip without us.  Nashik is the "Napa Valley of India", so this has been an increasingly large part of their tourism industry (it is also a religiously significant city, so that accounts for much as well). 

Our vineyard pics are still trapped on my DSLR, so these are all Iphone pics...

Another highlight was when two of DH's best friends from childhood made the trip from Bombay to visit.  It was a meeting of the Alistairs...

  

We also made it to the mall to visit one of favorite stores there, Fabindia.  I had found some pillows for our room on a previous trip, so I figured it was a good stop for looking for textiles for the kids' big kid rooms.  I found a great sari bolster cover and shams for Mari that I think will be a good start as I start mulling over ideas.

MIL may come back in the spring, though I have no idea when we'll be going back to India.  DH would like to go every year, but every other is probably more doable since it takes so much time.  I don't know if/when I'm going back honestly, so he may take them himself when they are four (I'll be on an island somewhere).  BIL has repeatedly gotten turned down for a U.S. visa, he missed our wedding here, but he is going to try again.  What will most likely happen is that we'll meet up in Europe every few years, with various visits all the way interspersed between.

So, long story short, India kicked our asses, but we're back and raring to go for the twins' birthdays, more travel, Christmas, New Year's, and back to (pre)school (for the first time)!

Happy Holidays!!