21 January 2012

We finally arrived in Kochi around 4 p.m.  It was a grueling trip and the thought of having to do it again to come back home is a real killer thought.  We had been traveling since the 19th with a 10 hour lay-over in London.where we checked it to a very down market dayroom where we sort of rested.  The flight to Mumbai was packed to the gunnels without a single vacant seat and many babies crying.  It was not an experience you look forward to.  The homestay people had a driver waiting for us at the Kochi Airport.  We were an hour late, beat and fed-up.  We have never had to line up so often during one trip.

The drive to our homestay was about an hour long and it brought us right back to our last trip to India, 25 years ago.  The crazy traffic, the smells,the constant noise, the dust and the crowds were still the same organized chaos.  Our friend Lynanne was overwhelmed and I could really empathize with her. She is fighting a cold and after such a tiring trip, it was the icing on the cake.  The homestay itself is adequate, sort of minimal but the owners and the guests make it a very positive experience. Upon our arrival we were greeted by Beena with a warm and friendly smile.   She and her husband Sudish are very pleasant  people. We were very exhausted so we just had a light dinner, went for a short walk and collapsed very early.  We got up refreshed and ready to call it a holiday.

We will be back tomorrow for more.