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TAKING YOUR 70-YEAR-OLD PARENTS TO INDIA FOR THREE
WEEKS TO FOLLOW THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED. WHAT COULD
GO WRONG? NOT MUCH, DISCOVERED SAMANTHA REINDERS.
OF CAMELS,
OW
C S
KIN & SACRED
“Dead people burning. 24/7. Cheap
price. One way or return,” came the
voice from the river. My mother’s eye’s
widened. My father seemed genuinely
intrigued. Standing there, on the banks
of the Ganges River among sadhus
and selfie sticks and touts at the very
top of their game, I wondered what I’d
gotten myself into.
Towards the end of 2017 I travelled
around India for three weeks with my
70-year-old parents. When we booked
the tickets I was excited – how often,
as a 40-year-old, do you get to vacation
with your parents? But as the departure
date closed in around us I began to
get nervous.
Before I carry on, let me introduce you
to the motley cast of characters – Team
Reinders, if you will. There’s me – journalist
and therefore traveller by profession. Skills
include sleeping on long-haul flights, or
a small piece of grotty pavement if that
is all that’s available. I’m also skilled at
identifying touts and avoiding them. Then
there’s Mom. Her skills include the ability
to get lost in her own home. To her, a small
suburban mall is the worst nightmare of a
maze imaginable. But she can rough it like
nobody’s business and drink her G&T from
a plastic bottle when required. Dad is a
prepper at heart. Not necessarily in “the
MAKE MEMORIES FOR LIFE // 33