spotlight on member laddie bhullar

On Top of the World

Even as a young girl, Laddie Bhullar dreamed of faraway places. Her father, an engineering draftsman, usually worked abroad, and early on Laddie became fascinated by tales of the diverse world beyond her homeland of northern India.

Her childhood, Laddie says, was “overprotected”: the only girl in a family of moderate Sikhs, she lived at home through college, and her two brothers always “got to do more,” including attend boarding school, an experience she actually coveted. But starting at age 15 she traveled abroad with her family on school holidays, an opportunity that inspired her to embark on what has become a lifelong global journey.

Laddie and husband ADesh look forward to taking some really long trips wtih daughters Mehar (left) and Sarghi.

That journey began after college, which Laddie attended in her hometown, earning a bachelor’s degree in commerce. From there she headed to the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, England, where she earned a master’s in international relations while enjoying what she calls “one of the best times of my life.” At UEA she experienced personal independence and a growing desire to devote her life’s work to some form of international service. She also found camaraderie with like-minded students, which grew so strong that she and a group of fellow alumni are now planning a five-year reunion on their old stomping grounds in Norwich.

Master’s in hand, fate next brought Laddie from England to America—specifically southern California, where her dad had moved for work reasons, with the entire family trailing behind. Eager to work in the international arena, Laddie quickly landed an internship at the British consulate in southern California. But fate soon intervened once again—this time leading Laddie not to work, but to love. Through their respective families, she was introduced to Adesh Sidhu, an electrical engineer with an MBA in international marketing who is also of Indian ancestry. Laddie and Adesh, a fellow travel enthusiast whom she describes as “my dream come true,” quickly hit it off, and within months the two had decided to wed.

The pair settled in a condo in Fremont, a convenient distance from Adesh’s San Jose job as a software marketing manager. Her stint finished at the consulate, Laddie taught ESL and math at Fremont public schools while contemplating her next career move. But she and Adesh found themselves dwelling on their mutual fantasy of a trip around the world, which they agreed should be an extended journey best taken before having children: “We didn’t want to just spend two days in each country,” Laddie says. “We wanted to go to a country and really experience it.”

The two set out to make their dream a reality. It helped that Adesh was able to secure a one-year leave from his job. Laddie’s green card prohibited her from leaving the U.S. for longer than a year, and so the two plotted a journey of exactly 11½ months. They scheduled visits to 23 countries, some timed to coincide with major cultural or religious festivals. Certain destinations were a given: “I wanted him to see India; he wanted me to see Australia and New Zealand,” says Laddie. But the rest of their itinerary was wide open, and they narrowed their choices with the help of the Lonely Planet book series, which also guided their selection of lodging and activities.

Their “very beautiful trip” began in the summer of 2001 in Iceland, which Laddie praises as “the most gorgeous country we visited.” From there they headed to England, and spent the next four months traveling Europe by train and by car. Sometimes they stayed at inns for a few nights, but often they settled in furnished villas, immersing themselves in the rhythm of local life. A long-time vegetarian, Laddie found it challenging at times to find fare that fit her dietary needs—“sometimes we had to resort to pizza”—and she always carried a supply of Indian spices to be able to prepare her own beloved native dishes.

The midpoint of their journey was India, where they met up with family and witnessed the annual Festival of Lights. Next they headed down under, where Laddie went skydiving from 10,000 feet in Australia and bungee jumping in New Zealand. Another highlight was zorbing: rotating inside a huge ball while tied to a chair. From there it was on to China and Southeast Asia, where Laddie found Vietnam exceptionally “wonderful” and Thailand provided their most memorable culinary delights.

Laddie and Adesh returned home poorer but much enriched by their experiences: “Spending and not earning is hard,” Laddie says, “but that freedom is so addictive.” If anything, the trip further strengthened Laddie’s commitment to working on an international level, and she had developed particular interests in the areas of conflict resolution and immigration. But first she wanted to fulfill another lifelong ambition: becoming a mother. To Laddie’s delight, shortly after their return from abroad she became pregnant.

When she found out—at the late stage of five months—that she was expecting twin girls, it was like “winning the lottery,” Laddie says: “I had always wanted to have twins.” And because her mother and grandmother had no sisters, and there are no sisters on her dad’s side either, Laddie’s daughters—whom she thinks are identical—are the first set of sisters in her family in recent generations. Fittingly, they are named Mehar, which means “blessing,” and Sarghi, which translates into “first morning light.”

Since their birth, Laddie has stayed home with the girls—in a new, larger house decorated with souvenirs of her journey—except for one month in which she worked but found it took too great a toll on the entire family. Now, as often as she is able, she volunteers for two local organizations that address violence against women, and looks forward to the day when her daughters can join her and Adesh on another trip around the world.

“Travel is such a beautiful and rewarding experience,” she says. And, she explains, it is the best way to expose her girls to different cultures: “I want them to grow up appreciating everything around them, and to be accepting of others.” —Lisa Crystal

 

Copyright © tricitymoms.org. All Rights Reserved.