Travels to India Part 1: Why India?

You Only Grow When You’re Pushed Beyond Your Comfort Zone

When we told friends and family we were headed to India for an epic five-week vacation, many asked: “WHY visit India?” Sadly, some people may only think of the crowds, the slums, the garbage, and the smells…But India has SO much more to offer.

India is a country where ancient traditions meet modern technology. With a history that stretches back over 8,000 years, it’s a country shaped by millennia of culture, religion, and innovation. From the iconic Taj Mahal to the peaceful backwaters of Kerala, India offers a mix of history, culture, and natural beauty around every corner. The landscapes are diverse, the spiritual life is rich, and the food is delicious! And as we discovered, traveling in India is full of contrasts, challenges, and rewards, leaving you with a deeper understanding of its people and history. This trip far exceeded our expectations, so we’re excited to share our India adventures here, in several posts.

How our bucket list trip to India finally happened

Kirk has studied and practiced Vedic (ancient Indian) mantra-based meditation for almost 60 years, including studying under Maharshi Mahesh Yogi (“Guru to the Beatles”), and becoming a “Sidhi Flyer” at the TM University in Fairfield, Iowa, during the 7,000 meditation gathering in 1983. 

7,000 experts in Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme in the presence of His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, creating a ‘Taste of Utopia’ for all mankind, Maharishi International University, Fairfield, Iowa, USA, 17 December 1983 to 6 January 1984. (Kirk is one of the 7,000 in this photo, as is our meditation teacher, Roger Gabriel.)

Maharishi’s theory was that by gathering large numbers of people meditating at the same time, it could affect the social consciousness of the surrounding area, and in fact, studies showed up to 70% drop in crime rates during these mass meditation gatherings. Impressive!

Heidi has long had a fascination for India, the culture, the colors, the fabrics, the spices, the foods… She was a Rudyard Kipling fan as a kid and read many books set in India, including The Far Pavilions (the movie is good, but the book is far better). As part of her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training ten years ago—Yoga is an ancient Sanskrit word meaning “Union” (of body, mind, and spirit)—Heidi also studied some Vedic history in the Upanishads.

When we first met, Kirk let Heidi know that meditation was a big part of his life, and if she wanted to hang out with him, she might want to learn to meditate too. So she did, and we’ve been meditating together twice daily for 35+ years. For the past 15 years, we have been practicing Primordial Sound Meditation (Vedic mantra-based meditation) with Roger Gabriel, a British-born, US-based meditation teacher and Vedic scholar. You can join us to meditate with Roger live on Instagram several times a week (8:30 AM EST, and he also has thousands of past recorded meditations on his IG account and website). Roger has been leading small groups to India for the past 30+ years to meditate in sacred temples, shrines, and ashrams—and we have wanted to join him for many years.

Meditating in India

So when Roger announced last summer that he would be leading one last trip to India before he retired… we realized if we wanted to go with him, it was now or never. 

Besides being a great meditation teacher, Roger has that wry British sense of humor, cracking subtle jokes, and reminds us to never take ourselves too seriously, even in meditation. He calls us his “spiritual rock and rollers”, and usually manages to quote the Rolling Stones or The Beatles somehow in his teachings… “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find…you get what you need.” 

Honestly, as much as Heidi wanted to visit India, she was also a bit nervous about this India adventure. Just thinking about all the sights, sounds, and smells India has to offer…could put her nervous system into overdrive, and we weren’t even there yet! She was torn—half of her really wanted to visit India, and half of her dreaded the thought.

But we only grow when we are stretched outside our comfort zone, and for sure, this trip would do that!! India would be a great place to practice “being here now,” being grateful for everything we have, and we could always go inside ourselves and meditate if things got too overwhelming on the outside.

Roger would be leading two trips back-to-back, one to South India for two weeks and another to North India for two weeks, with five days in between. We were undecided about which tour to take and kept going back and forth trying to decide; they both offered so many unique opportunities…

Did we sail or fly from Mexico to India?

We had quite a few people ask us if we were sailing to India!? If you’re not a sailor, you may not realize what is involved in sailing long distances and how far away things actually are. (When we raced Due West for 17 days across the Pacific, from Victoria, B.C., Canada to Maui in 1996, we had people ask us where we stopped for the night to get food!?! LOL.) 

Our sailing speed is around 5-7 miles per hour, about twice as fast as you can walk. Sailing to India would mean sailing across the entire Pacific Ocean and halfway across the Indian Ocean too, plus pausing for storm seasons along the way…so it would probably take about a year to sail from Mexico to India!

Once we looked at a globe and realized that India is literally 180° around the world from Mexico, without any direct flights…and it would take nearly three days to fly there and three days to fly home again…we decided to sign up for both the South tour and the North tour! Go BIG or go home. If we had only opted for one of the tours, we would’ve been flying to/from India for nearly as long as the time spent there!

Now that we’re home, we realized if we’d only done one of the two tours, we’d only have half the understanding of India that we came away with—with its 600+ languages and so much of the country we did NOT yet see, our five weeks only scratched the tip of the iceberg that is the Indian Subcontinent. South India and North India are entirely different.

Since we would be on our own for 5 days between the two trips, we watched a series of documentaries on India to figure out where else we wanted to visit. And Goa perked its way to the top of the list. It was a Portuguese colony until 1961, and since it was never British-ruled, it has an entirely different feel.

So we packed our bags and got ready to meet Roger and 12+ other meditators in India for five weeks.

So how do you fly from Mexico to India?

Trying to figure out airfare was another feat in itself. Once we landed in India, Roger‘s friends at Athma Tours (Jai [“Jay”] and Mallika) took care of everything for us, including local transportation and lodging within India. But for purchasing airfare between Mexico and India, we were on our own. 

Originally, we had considered flying through Dubai or Doha (which is the shortest, most direct way to fly from Mexico)—thankfully, our intuition opted against travel through the Middle East… And in hindsight, we were so grateful for that insight!! Some of our tour mates who had originally flown through the Middle East had to reroute to get home due to the senseless war, which started while we were in India. (And in fact, our third leg from Frankfurt to Chennai flew directly over Iran just six days before the war started!)

Our “his and hers” 40-liter Osprey carry-on packs (with pack straps tucked inside) and matching “piggybacking” day packs that attached to the carry-ons, so we could easily carry everything on our backs. We were concerned these would be too small for 5-weeks of travel, but they ended up being fine. However, we did have to purchase an extra suitcase for our return, full of gifts and souvenirs!

India or bust! Leaving Puerto Vallarta for Mexico City – Frankfurt – Chennai.

So our flight to India was several days and legs: a short hop from Puerto Vallarta to Mexico City (Aeromexico), then the red eye on to Frankfurt (Lufthansa, arriving the next day with an overnight layover in Frankfort), and the next morning, again on Lufthansa on to Chennai, India (formerly Madras), arriving the following day…three days after we left Mexico! Our return flight was on Turkish Airlines, Delhi to Istanbul (with a 16-hour layover to sightsee!), then Istanbul to Mexico City, and Aeromexico back to PVR.

With so many legs and airlines to juggle, we had originally planned to only take carry-on bags (specifically purchased for this trip to meet tighter international airline specifications), as we did not want to risk losing our luggage. But as it turned out, the tickets we purchased actually included checked bags (this seems to be more of a thing internationally than in the US). And it was really nice not to have to schlep our carry-ons onto the plane! So we each had a day backpack plus a small bag of airplane snacks—we never travel anywhere without food!

When Heidi‘s longtime Swedish friend Magdalena heard we would be flying through Frankfurt and overnighting there, she and her husband, Erik, decided to take a 10-hour train ride to Germany to meet up with us. And oh, what fun we had for six hours together!! Previously, we had only met Erik via Zoom, so it was great to finally meet him in person! Heidi and Magdalena were assigned as pen pals nearly 50 years ago, and have kept in great touch ever since, but have only met in person twice now. We cannot thank Magdalena and Erik enough for the warm welcome to Germany!

They even brought Heidi’s favorite gluten-free black licorice from Sweden, and warm clothes for us to wear since it had just snowed in Frankfurt. Then they treated us to dinner at a restaurant called Heidi & Paul’s— which was hilarious because Heidi‘s brother is named Paul! Delicious, healthy food with lots of gluten-free options. Six hours was not nearly long enough time to spend with these dear friends. And we are so grateful for their effort to meet us in Germany for a few hours! We plan to visit them in Sweden sometime soon.

We stayed overnight at the Frankfurt Airport Marriott, which was attached to the terminal, and a super-convenient five-minute walk to our gate! Frankfurt was so Seattle-like, grey and wet, but at least the snow had melted!

Frankfurt to Chennai

In the crazy world of airline rules and regulations, and things that make you go, huh?! We sat in an exit row on Lufthansa from Mexico City to Frankfurt, grateful for the extra legroom. However, when we returned to the Frankfurt airport after our overnight layover and prepared to board our Lufthansa flight to Chennai, they told us they would have to reseat us. “Senior citizens cannot sit in the exit row.” Really? Cuz we just spent the last 10 hours in the exit row. Kirk does both yoga and Pilates three times a week, and is in far better shape than many much younger people. Heidi also does Pilates three times a week, and is only 62, so technically not a “senior citizen“ yet, but who’s counting? How nice that they re-seated us in seats H and K, LOL!

Most international flights to/from India arrive and depart in the middle of the night… we left Frankfurt at 10 AM German time, and arrived in Chennai at 2 AM the following day. Interestingly, India has one single time zone across the whole country, which is 1/2 hour off from the rest of the world, making it 5 1/2 hours ahead of London. 

Chennai, India

“You can tell a lot about a place by the state of its bathroom.“

First impressions of India… Chennai airport customs and immigration were fast and efficient. And their bathrooms were cleaner and nicer than Mexico City or PVR bathrooms, with beautiful wall tiles, and “bum guns” in every stall. (In fact, throughout India, every bathroom we visited, even the lowliest roadside pit-stop squatty-potty, always had a “bum gun”! The US would do well to implement these.)

We were greeted in the hotel lobby at 3 AM by the Marvalous Mallika, our wonderful tour guide/organizer extraordinaire— and always dressed in gorgeous saris! The hotel lobby was decorated with beautiful fresh flower mandalas, floating in bowls of water. What fun it would be to create those every day! This 160+ room hotel on five acres of landscaped gardens had lots of interesting art and architecture.

Mallika gifted lovely quilted Indian tote bags to each of us as we arrived, stuffed with useful items for our trip (toilet paper, hand wipes, hand spray, mosquito repellent, socks for visiting temples where we have to remove shoes) as well as beautiful gifts to remind us of our India trip (cashmere shawls, a book of Hindu mythology, porcelain sculpture of Ganesha (the Hindu Indian elephant god “remover of obstacles” because who doesn’t need some obsticles to be removed?), and more.

The delicious buffet food at the restaurant was also conveniently marked with food allergens, so Heidi could easily figure out what to eat (sadly, none of the beautiful desserts). Sabudana Vada (below left, savory tapioca and peanut morsels) is now a new favorite; we’ll have to learn how to make this at home! We also loved the dosas (below middle, rice flour crepes with spicy lentil sambar and coconut chutney).

Our tour officially started the following day. We planned to arrive a day early to get acclimated with jet lag…we also used a cool app called Timeshifter to help us manage our jet lag before and after arrival (Thanks, Caroline & Larry, for that hot tip!)

Athma Tours advised to bring USD with us to exchange at the hotels. Some hotels have better exchange rates than others. ATMs were less convenient where we were going, so this worked out fine. As with so many other countries, India’s money is beautiful and colorful! This is about $65 USD.

When opportunity knocks…attend an Indian wedding!

Before we left Mexico, several people asked us if we were going to India for a wedding? No, we did not know anyone getting married in India.

So ironically, on our first day in Chennai, hanging out at the hotel recovering from jet lag, with so many beautiful sari-clad women there, it was evident that a big wedding would be taking place soon. Besides our group of 10, the wedding party must have taken up the rest of the rooms and suites in the hotel.

We talked to a couple of women in beautiful saris in the lobby, one of whom was the cousin of the groom, and she invited us to the wedding! Feeling like wedding crashers, we said: “We can’t possibly come, we don’t know the bride or the groom”. To which she replied, “It doesn’t matter! Everyone will be so happy to have you there!!”

We checked with our tour guide, Mallika, to make sure it would be OK for us to attend (and not offend anyone?), and what we should wear or anything else we might need to know to attend our first Indian wedding, and she said, “Yes, go! It’s a unique opportunity.” 

The wedding was set for 6 AM the next day (so much for sleeping in!), the auspicious time determined by the astrologer for the bride and groom. Apparently, most Indian weddings are several days long, with a big party after the wedding. For this particular wedding, because it was so early in the morning and possibly the hotel was not available that evening, they actually held their big party the evening before.

We arrived at 6 AM only to find things were still being set up, and the wedding didn’t get started until around 7:30 AM. However, a huge buffet breakfast was served before the wedding started. But we weren’t really hungry at 6 AM with our time zone differences, so we declined the buffet, but everyone else was tucking in! 

Top left: Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god, “Remover of Obstacles”, Top right: a close-up of the wedding stage with fruit and flower offerings, Bottom: The whole wedding shrine was decorated with fresh flower garlands that smelled divine.

About 7:15 AM, we were ushered to front row seats, normally reserved for family. Again, this made us super uncomfortable as we didn’t know anyone there. But everyone was smiling and waving at us, making us feel like honored guests.

According to our online research, “Indians often invite large numbers of guests, including acquaintances or strangers, to weddings to showcase social standing, wealth, and community influence. These massive gatherings are rooted in cultural traditions emphasizing hospitality, reciprocal social obligations, and the ‘Big Fat Indian Wedding’ spectacle.” 

The wedding lasted about an hour with a break in the middle where everyone went outside (while the bride changed outfits), and the bride’s sister washed the groom’s feet to help welcome him into their family. Apparently, there are tons of nuances to Indian weddings, and weddings in the south can vary a lot from weddings in the north, and vice versa. 

Maalai Maatral: The bride and groom try three times to garland each other as friends and family playfully lift or pull them back—celebrating love, laughter, and the joining of two families!

Although we didn’t understand anything that was said in the wedding, we got the gist of most of it, and it was such fun to experience an Indian wedding front and center! When the bride walked off the stage at the end and saw us strangers in the crowd, her eyes lit up with a big smile, like she was really excited. Welcome to India.

February 22, 2026: A Cartel Kerfuffle

The day our South India tour began…was also the day that all hell broke loose in Puerto Vallarta and across Mexico with the cartel kerfuffle…but that’s another story for another day. Suffice to say, we were grateful not to be there in person, and grateful that our cat-sitter Christine, Tikka, and Due West were safe and sound at the Marina. According to many friends who were there, it was not nearly the big ordeal that US media and fake AI “news” made it out to be. Puerto Vallarta is still much safer than most of the US, and hopefully, people will return to vacationing here again soon.

Our Tour of South India Begins…

After our early morning wedding extravaganza, we took a nap, then met up with our tour group for an afternoon bus tour of Chennai, getting our first experience in Indian traffic! Old shops and houses are intermixed with new shopping centers, light rail towers, and Hindu roadside shrines. It’s a very eclectic look and feel. Traffic is organized chaos, with everyone beep-beeping to let you know they’re passing by. Somehow it all seems to work organically!

We stopped at FabIndia (a chain similar to the Gap but full of Indian clothing, including saris, kameezes, and other silk and cotton clothing for men, women, and children, plus household goods), for those who wanted to buy some traditional Indian clothing. Kirk got a couple of nice cotton shirts. Heidi didn’t find anything she couldn’t live without, but tried on a sari just for fun. Most of our tour mates bought lots of Indian clothing!

That evening, we enjoyed a meet-and-greet dinner, so we could all get to know each other before taking off in the morning. Here we are with Mallika in another of her gorgeous saris, and Roger.

Our South tour included a small international group of 10: two girlfriends friends, EK from London and Isabelle from Montreal, Kathy and Drew, both from South Florida (although they did not previously know each other), Basilica from Mykinos, Greece (on her fourth tour of India with Roger!), and the two of us from Mexico, plus Roger (now from Miami), Mallika, our Indian tour guide Asoka (“Ashoka”) both from South India. We traveled by private bus everywhere with our fantastic driver, Mani.

In Part 2, we’ll set off to explore the state of Tamil Nadu…