Manisha and Rubin Patel had not been back to India in 10 years.  However, with the goal of exposing their 8-year-old and 5-year-old to the beauty and culture of the country, the family boarded the plane and made the long journey to the Gujarat state in India for an 18-day stay with family.

“We didn’t want to do the touristy things this trip,” says Manisha. “Traveling in India takes a lot of time, and we wanted to spend our days simply exposing [our sons] to the country.”

Trips to temples, rides on motorbikes and even occasional run-ins with cows made the trip more than a vacation, but a valuable learning experience for the two boys.

To read more about the Patels’ trip, check out this story from the June issue of inRegister, on newsstands now.