Traveling to India with kids? For real? This is not our first trip to India. But it is our first trip as parents, taking our kids halfway across the globe.
The last time I went to India as an adult was about twenty years ago. Before that, I’d been several times as a kid. My memories are mixed. I have good memories of cousins and family—playing, laughing, and feeling connected. But I don’t have particularly fond memories of the travel or the living conditions.
A lot has changed since then (or so I hear). More importantly, I have changed. And now, we’re going back with a different purpose. This is the first post in a short series about our trip to India from why we chose to go to India to the trip itself to the return home.
My Memories of India as a Kid
As a child, I remember taking some pretty rough flights to India. At the time, I didn’t appreciate what it cost my parents to fly the whole family there—especially as a percentage of their income. But every few years, we went, usually in the summer when it was brutally hot.
There was no air conditioning and no refrigerator in the house. When the power went out during heavy rains, it didn’t really matter from an appliance standpoint—because we didn’t have many appliances that depended on electricity anyway. But the heat and humidity were a different story.
I remember sleeping on the floor or on simple woven beds without mattresses. I remember bugs—mosquitoes, insects I couldn’t identify, and spiders that felt enormous to a kid. Water came from a well, and we couldn’t drink it. If I accidentally did, I’d get sick for the rest of the trip.
Drinking water had to be boiled, often with seeds I later learned were probably cumin seeds. With no refrigerator, that meant drinking hot water in extreme heat. Bathing wasn’t a shower—it was pouring water over yourself and scrubbing. There was no running water, and bathrooms were squat-style outhouses. At the time, it all felt overwhelming and uncomfortable, even if I understand now that it was simply normal life for many people.
The food was a little different too—not bad, just different from what even I was used to having mostly south Indian food for dinner every night. Looking back, I see it more clearly: this wasn’t “vacation living.” This was life in a place where my parents grew up poor, which is exactly why they left India in the first place. They moved to the United States to build a better life for themselves and, more importantly, for their children.
Why Go Back Now
So why go back now?
Because our kids are almost ten years old, and both my wife and I feel this is the right time for them to see the world beyond the United States. We want them to understand that life looks very different in other countries—especially in places where people have far less materially than we do.
We also want them to see where their grandparents came from. To understand why they struggled so hard. Why they made the sacrifices they did. And how those sacrifices ripple forward—from one generation to the next.
At the same time, I don’t want this trip framed only by hardship. India is also a place of incredible beauty. Kerala, my parents’ home state, is lush and striking. Northern India, which I’ve never visited before, holds landmarks and history I’ve only ever read about or seen in books, TV and photos.
My hope is that this trip becomes a core memory for our kids—one that’s overwhelmingly positive, with just enough discomfort and perspective to make it meaningful. Something that opens their eyes without hardening them. Something that teaches gratitude without fear.
Why We’re Flying Economy to India — And Business Class Back
For this trip, we made a very intentional decision: economy on the way to India, business class on the way back.
On the outbound leg, we booked mostly with miles. The out-of-pocket cost was a few hundred bucks for taxes and fees, and economy made sense. On the return, however, we decided to pay cash for business class—not as a luxury splurge, but as a deliberate comparison.
The question we want to answer is a practical one, especially at this stage of life: is business class actually worth it on ultra-long-haul flights? As my cousin who is in his mid-30’s texted me, “You’re old, man.”
We chose Qatar Airways specifically because it’s consistently rated the number one airline in the world. People rave about their Q-Suites in particular. That reputation, of course, comes with a heavy premium. During the holiday season, flying business class to India for a family of four would have cost roughly the price of a well-equipped midsize sedan—think Toyota Camry XSE territory, around $36,000.
That wasn’t happening.
As we get older, long flights in tight seating take a much bigger toll on the body. Add kids into the mix, and the equation changes even more. You’re not just managing your own comfort—you’re managing sleep schedules, screens, meals, patience, and endurance over a 14-hour flight, followed by another four to five hours after a layover.
In a perfect world, we would have flown business class on the way to India and economy on the way back. The outbound flight aligns better with normal sleep hours, which is when lie-flat seats arguably matter most. But cost—and reality—dictated otherwise.
So this trip becomes an experiment:
Economy on the way there.
Business class on the way back.
Same airline. Same route. Same people.
Once we’re home, I’ll compare the two experiences honestly and answer the only question that really matters: is the premium worth it when all is said and done?
Stay tuned.