Jan 2010 India trip

We were little skeptical about our Jan 2010 India trip with 2 small kids - especially after our last visit with 1-year old Kavya in Jan 2007. However, our excitement started to build up as we did some last minute shopping and packing. We weren't sure how the kids would do in the long flight.. but we had heard of good things about Emirates Airlines and their helpful staff and good service.

And then came Jan 10th - we were all packed and ready and excited. Parthiv gave us a ride to the airport. SFO to Dubai was a long flight, but it was uneventful. We all could get some sleep (although not as much as we would like), the kids didn't trouble too much and to our pleasant surprise, Gaurav and I could also watch a movie or two. So far so good. The 3 hours halt at Dubai airport also wasn't too bad. So, we were hoping that the short flight from Dubai to Ahmedabad would be relatively smooth - but we were so wrong. Kavya slept off as soon as the plane took off and then she woke up with pain in her ears. On one hand she was so tired and sleepy and on the other she had ear pain. She also threw up (good thing was that she gave me enough notice that I could take her to the toilet sink). She was crying badly and wanted to be held. Ishaan also didn't want to sit. He pooped twice during this short flight - requiring the tedious diaper change in the small toilets with very active Ishaan and bad smell :(. Both Gaurav and I were totally occupied with cranky kids - not even getting 5 mins of down time.

Finally, we were glad to land. Ahmedabad airport was a mess with passengers from 4 flights and everyone in rush to get their luggage and get out. We wondered what happened to people's civic sense when they argued and fought over the airport staff's decision to let people with kids (like us)jump the line. Both Kavya and Ishaan were very tired and wanted to be held and crying and we had to go through immigration and pick up luggage. One of the officers had pity on us and allowed me to go out and hand over kids to bhai-bhabhi who had come to receive us. That was a big relief (although 20 mins later Saumil came in with Ishaan crying at the top of his voice). Finally, we got our luggage and got home.

It felt very nice to meet friends and family. They were also very happy to see all of us - especially kids. It took us around 4 days to get over jet lag especially due to kids schedule - but eventually we got settled.

We had 3 main events in India : Ishaan's mundan, his first birthday party and Jigi's marriage. We did some shopping in the first 2-3 days. The arrangement of cook and a driver were big help. Also, my mom was in Ahmedabad for the wedding - so she helped with shopping. Uttrayan was also nice. The wind was good on both the days. We also got to see the new cool thing called gubbara (something like mini hot air balloon).

Then on 15th, Ishaan got diarrhea. We felt like dejavu. We got Dhara's dad's contact number and went to see him. Ishaan's stool report did not reveal any infection. So, Rajesh uncle said it was only indigestion. We stopped all dairy (except my milk) and all other foods except rice and banana. So, Ishaan got better very soon. We continued to control/monitor his diet.

The mundan and birthday party on Jan 17th were big success. Although Ishaan cried during mundan, it was overall very smooth. We had lunch at Toran (Gujarati thali) that morning. That turned out to be the only time we had food in a restaurant during that trip. We did eat to-go food at home, but the experience is definitely different. The birthday party was awesome. The decoration, the food, the people, the activities - everything was too good. The only regret is that we didn't get lot of time to spend with everyone. But at least we got to meet all those people who we wanted to meet while we were there.

Next day, I got diarrhea :( We could not go for my mama's surprise birthday party at Rajvadu. We decided that Kavya can go with my mom. So, she got all dressed up - but on the way to mom's, she threw up in the car. Kavya took a while to recover. She also got diarrhea 2 days later. She pretty much stopped eating - but after last trip's experience, we were not too worried about it.

In between, we could attend grah-shanti and the wedding. Missed couple of other functions, but we were happy we could atleast go for 2-3 hours for the wedding.

Few days later, Ishaan got diarrhea again. We were getting tired of kids' sickness. We also realized that we would need more time to settle down when we get back - for jet lag adjustment as well as for the kids to recover fully. So, we started to inquire if we could prepone our tickets. However, earlier tickets were not available. We continued to enjoy our time there with friends and family. Kavya loved going on a ride on a 2-wheeler. She also enjoyed watching all the animals on the streets like dog, cat, monkey, camel, horse, cow, elephant. She had love and fight relationship with Khushi. At times, they would be like the best sisters and play and share together and then at other times they would fight for their things and even hit each other. But that's how little girls are - its like they understand everything, but not really :). Kids had started to feel better. We also got to visit Kankaria and the zoo there. It was a good change. And then Kavya again threw up in the car when we were going to Bawarchi restaurnt for some nice punjabi food on the way back. And, we went home - continued to monitor/control her diet.

Finally, on 23rd night, when Gaurav called to inquire for tickets, we learnt that tickets for 26th are available. We were in a dilemma about what to do. We wanted to spend the time with friends and family members. We were also making plans of going to Shreenathji and mummy was also busy with some social activities due to the demise of Anandwala masaji. But at the same time, we thought that the extra time back home would help with getting settled. So, we decided to leave on 26th. The next two days were very busy with last minute shopping and packing and meeting everyone.

The flight back was uneventful. We took 3-4 days to settle down. Jyotsnamasi was out of town. So, we continued to stay at home and enjoy our vacation. Kavya started school on 28th. It took us almost a week to get over jetlag. We were glad we had the extra time to settle down.

Overall, the trip was a mixed experience. Kids getting sick was the worst part. Getting to meet everyone was the best part. Getting some shopping done was also good. We have decided that the next trip or two would be either Gaurav travelling alone or just the two of us with kids at mommy's place in NY. The next trip with kids will be probably 4 to 5 years later.