Embarking on a Journey of Discovery: Preparing for the Adventure of a Lifetime in India!

As I sit here, just two weeks away from my trip to India, excitement and apprehension fills the air. The last time I went to India was nine years ago, but that trip was very different. I was travelling with the entire family to return my father‘s ashes to the Ganges and in 2016 I hadn’t been to India since 1973, creating a gap of 43 years.

At that time I was full of apprehension because I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know how I’d feel about being in India again. It was a foreign country to me but yet it’s the country of my birth or to use a corny expression - the Mother Land.

But even though I had a lot of fear of the unknown. I also knew that it would be the trip of a lifetime. I knew that there was something about that journey that would be epic maybe because of the weight of the reason of the trip - to return my father‘s ashes or maybe because I was going with my entire family - my sisters, my brother my mother and my husband and my son. There was a strong feeling that it was going to be a special time.

And it was! That trip was fantastic. I blogged about it at the time and just being back in India, being back in the Punjab where I’m from, being back in the house that I was raised in, the house where I lost my mother. Those memories came flooding back to me from just being in that same environment. And something about being in the Punjab felt like home, it was an incredible feeling to be surrounded by people that looked like me that talked like me (well, for the most part), and I felt a strong sense of returning home. Although it always remained a foreign country. I remember missing Canada and being thrilled about coming back I mean, we had some crazy adventures in that last week that we were in India, because of all the trials and tribulations with illegal money that the entire country was grappling with. Returning to Canada felt so great and safe and home too.

That 2016 trip was fantastic and I will always cherish it. This trip is gonna be different because I’m going alone. I’m gonna meet my mother there in Delhi and travel with her around the Punjab, but I’m travelling by myself there and it will just be my mother and I. There are no sisters or brother or husband or son to buffer me from that scary exciting vast and very foreign country and whatever experiences I have this time around. In so many ways this journey is different. It is nine years later. I’m in a different place in my life, in my relationships and being in India this time I think takes on a different meaning and different significance. That’s what I think as I sit here two weeks from flying to India. It does feel like a journey of discovery, well, of self discovery. Not to be so corny again but that is how I feel.

But right now I have to think about practical things like what to pack? What do I really need? What can I live without? What will make the time there easier and what will make it more fun. More memorable.

A vibrant Indian marketplace bursting with textiles

As my departure date draws near, the thrill of the possibilities that await me also grows. Hopefully those possibilities are more about shopping than returning with typhoid fever. But I’ve had all the essential shots at the travel clinic and the rest lies with fate!

So as I finalize my packing, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and eagerness for the adventure ahead. But it doesn't just feel like a trip, it feels like a new chapter.