The longest plane ride ever
I think it was 18 hours, just about, but in other words, my mom and I flew an entire day across the world to get to the Delhi airport in “New Delhi” in India. Welcome, welcome; this is the last ho’oponopono trip I took with Mabel Katz and Maykert Gonzalez (for now)! We were supposed to fly with Qatar Airways, but they transferred our flight to American Airlines instead. The people on board were not happy, especially the Indian women, because they were vegetarians, and the food was not suitable for vegetarians. Or so I remember, but I thought the food was good enough. We had a layover at the airport in Doha, Qatar’s capital.
On the way to Delhi, I sat beside a woman who kept coughing and would not cover her mouth. This wasn’t good because I would end up with whatever she had, and who knows what else I picked up along the way for the entire trip. Only once we arrived at Osho’s Ashram in Pune could I recover those last few days to have enough of my vitality back to prepare for the long flight back home.
When we arrived in India, it was about 2 or 3 a.m. We had to message one of the people from the Indian tourist agency on WhatsApp to arrange for us to be picked up. I sent him a selfie of my mom and me so he knew what we looked like. We had to wait a bit for our luggage because we had to document them with American Airlines. A flight that had just arrived from Bangkok was also waiting with us. They caught my attention as I saw that most people got their luggage quickly. My luggage took a while, but we received it at the end.
Settling in
When we met with the agency, the first person from the group we met with was this wonderful woman from Spain. Her name is Laura. I don’t remember exactly why she was upset, but she was happy she met us, and we could translate because she did not speak English. After our conversations, a van pulled up from the agency, taking us to the “The Grand New Delhi Hotel.” Our driver gave us these flower necklaces like the ones they depict the Hawaiians wearing. He said with a big smile, “Welcome to India.” I don’t think we said much. We were tired from our long flight. They could not check us in at the reception until the next day, but they gave us our room. They kept our passports, which I don’t think my mom and I liked. We were tired, so we unpacked what we could and went to bed.
NOVEMBER 7: DELHI
The rest of the group arrived throughout the day; however, here is what the itinerary had planned for everyone.
Arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport. Scheduled group transfer at 10:30 a.m.
Reception upon arrival at The Grand New Delhi Hotel (Please note that hotel check-in is available from 2:00 p.m.).
The remainder of the day is at leisure to rest after your flight.
Delhi, once an ancient walled city and the crown jewel of the British Empire, is now the capital of independent India. Numerous monuments commemorate the grandeur and glory of the bygone eras.
We ate breakfast, and we were told there was a mall near the hotel. It was about a five-to-ten-minute walk. A mall was also located near the hotel we would stay at in Amritsar—a common theme for the big hotels in India. My mom and I walked over there and spent most of the day there. Here, we would meet a few more people from the trip. They were shopping for their outfits when we went to the Taj Mahal. My mom and I ate at a Starbucks in India. From all the food we ate, the only restaurants I remember eating at, which were similar to those back home, were Starbucks and Subway, which we only found at malls and airports.
With the people from the group my mom was with, we bought our clothes for our visit to the Taj Mahal. We were with Patricia and Denise, if I remember correctly. I didn’t want to buy anything at first, but I decided to get this blue outfit, which you can see in the pictures from my visit to the Taj Mahal. I even received compliments from the Indian people, saying that I looked like a Bollywood actor.
Rip traveling healthy
I won’t complain about it while writing, but I was not 100% healthy throughout this trip. The dense smog and fog were palpable when we walked to the mall. I recall the pollution in Mexico City from my childhood, but it was far worse than I had ever imagined or experienced. Besides our stay in Pune, today was the calmest day I remember from the trip. The ho’oponopono seminar was calm, too, but I spent it with a new friend. I’ll explain shortly when we get to this day.
In the evening, we met with the group at the scheduled time. This is where I met one of our guides. He told me to call him Manu, but his full name is Upamanyu, and Manu is his nickname. Indian people understand that non-Indian people have a hard time saying their names. I don’t remember much about the card I pulled out and our conversations. So many trips, so much had happened, and it felt like I had grown a lot. Mayk always told us to make sure we have an intention and purpose when we travel. I wasn’t sure what mine was for this trip, but as time passed and we returned to the United States, it gradually unraveled to some extent.
No love stories this time. This trip was memorable for sure, but unique in its own way.
