From North to South

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After a solid nights sleep on the train (a real treat) I arrived in Delhi near enough on time. This was pleasantly unexpected after my last train ride being delayed by such a long time. I called Hapi at Bridge the World Tours just to confirm my pick up and drop off at the airport. He told me to make my way to the main gate and a driver would be there in five minutes. After some confusion as to which side the main gate was, I crossed back over the tracks towards the main gate, where to my surprise the friendly face of Mama was waiting for me with a huge cheesy grin on his face! He asked how I was and I asked if he had enjoyed his time with his family. It felt good and massively reassuring to be greeted by a friendly face.

We made our way back to the office where Hapi offered me chi and biscuits, which was very welcome as my breakfast had consisted of a chi on the train to wash down the left over sweets I had bought with the girls two days ago. He too asked how my trip had been and if I had enjoyed it so far. It felt like a bit of a debrief to make sure all of his contacts and 'friends' as we had come to call them, had looked after me.

Mama took me to the airport for my flight to Kochi. Once I'd checked in I found the welcome sight of a Costa Coffee! My first proper coffee in weeks and I couldn't resist, as I was going to be spending pretty much my entire day in transit to Kochi. I sat with my regular americano, chocolate muffin and cherry muffin chatting to a fellow Englishman who had just landed on his was to an Indian wedding. He'd been up for over twenty four hours, and didn't sound as though he would get much sleep that day. He explained the intricacies of an Indian wedding and how they lasted for four days, having seen the start of many along the way I could fully believe it!

The flight to Kochi was via Mumbai and as we landed in Kotchi airport I could see rain on the tarmac.I exited the plane and felt the humidity hit me immediately. The sensation of warm summer rain hitting me was wonderful and reminded me of summers past back in England, something I would miss this year.

I took the bus from the airport to Fort Kochi for just 70rupees (1pound) far better than the 700rupees taxi option. The transit time was and hour and a half, so I found a corner and settled myself into it. We arrived at Fort Kochi and I left the air conditioned comfort of the bus to get a tuc tuc the final three kilometers.

Tag und Nacht home stay was delightful, basic but delightful. It was exactly as Hostlworld.com had described it. The owner was very helpful and his mother, who showed me to my room, spoke little to no English. I dumped my stuff and headed back into the centre to find a meal.

After a couple of false starts I found the Taj Restaurant, a small family run home stay and restaurant. I had a pineapple lassi and a Thali...a small bit of everything dish with rice, dahl, roti and two mouthwatering vegetarian dishes. As I ate more lone travelers joined me and we all sparked up conversation together from our solitary tables. By the end of the night Devla, an Israeli girl, and I were the only two left chatting. We were comparing notes on traveling alone and agreed it was hard to learn about the culture without getting touristy. We said goodnight and I made my way back to Tag to prepare for a night with the mosquito's and heat of Kerala.

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