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02:50am: Today we head back to Calgary (yahoo!). We left our hotel at 12:30am in the morning for the airport. Said goodbye to the wonderful staff, who all asked if we were coming back again, that they truly enjoyed getting to know us and hoped we would return to visit them. Of course we would love to be back, maybe in a couple of years.

The international airport is only a 5 mins drive from the hotel, which is great. There were no crazy line-ups although what we've seen in India so far has demonstrated that queuing is not a known concept - which infuriated us greatly. Many a time, we queued patiently for our turn only to be jostled by the locals.

At the airport, there was some queuing, which was good. But we also find that people don't stand back behind the yellow line for privacy, so they are literally listening in to your conversations with the officer!

We flew Lufthansa. Our baggage was way over allowable limits - 15kgs over in total. We had to pay $50 USD each for the 2 bags that were overweight. As boarding time came, yup, you guessed it - there was a mass exodus into the plane. No lines whatsoever - we just don't understand why there is no enforcement of this even at the airport.

We would not recommend flying Lufthansa. The seats are terribly cramped, no leg room at all. I had to endure my knees hitting the front seats for about 8 hours! Service is also poor - the attendants don't like to serve their guests outside meal times. So if you need to get a cup of tea, you'll have to wait over 1.5 hour just like Prem did!

Second leg - Frankfurt to Calgary was much better. The seats were roomier, but service still sucks!

11:30am Came back to a cold blustery morning. What a drop from 34 Celsius to minus 9 Celsius!! Went to pick up our car from GD parkade, glad to see it's still there and not towed away or stolen.

As soon as we got home, Prem called to make appointments to see our optometrist and doctors that very day. We were concerned about our eyes, coughs and my gout pain which has increased during the flights.

Saw the eye doctor - she gave us a clean bill of health. It's safe to wear contact lenses again, much to my relief. For our coughs, our family doctor could not see us immediately, so we were referred to another clinic that evening. Both of us have thick nasal congestion which causes constant coughing. No antibiotics required, only nasal steroid sprays.

For my gout, I was prescribed additional medications - one to control pain and inflammation, the other to reduce uric acid production. Need to take them for 10 days, after which a blood test is required to monitor uric acid levels. Not something I'm looking forward to!

In general, we will be resting for the next few days, having a “real” holiday. Somehow between doing errands, a little unpacking and cooking, days will just fly by. Prem is glad we are home early to be able to settle in and rest even though the coughing and tiredness is still there.

Guess it's back to work, and the general humdrum of life again. Despite our illness, the vacation was a good break, away from work and life in Calgary. We got to savour different climate, cuisines and different lifestyles altogether. Also we get to appreciate the good things we have in Canada, how lucky we are with a lot of amenities. Good and modern healthcare, clean safe drinking water, no power or water shortages etc. Lots of produce and cuisines from around the world.

We even appreciate the fact supermarkets are everywhere in Canada, which means we get everything under one roof. In India, one has to go to an open produce market, a pharmacy and other facilities to get different items which makes for a lot of stops.

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