17.2.2020
The last day starts with a swim. The hotel pool is pleasant before the sun becomes hellishly hot. Billy comes to tell me goodbye, brings me a lovely small clay pot - he is aware I can't carry to much on my travels - and some cashew nuts. He says I can keep the tourist booklet about Goa. A truly nice man and very helpful individual who introduced me to Alan a terrific tax driver and guide.
The bag is easier to pack than in London. It's just a matter of packing what is in the room not deciding what to pack. I am busy with the blog until Alan arrives. I suggest we play a similar game at the shop next to the hotel but decide it's better to just go out for a nice meal.
We drive to a nearby beach 4kms from the hotel and have a pleasant dinner at a restaurant on the beach. The sweet and sour vegetables and rice are as I know them and Alan enjoys his dhal. He has eaten a lot of dhal recently. As we drive to the airport couples walk along the side of the road. Boys are drinking beer.
Alan can't go inside the airport as he does not have a pass. He lifts my bag onto a trolley gives me a hug and off I go inside the small, pleasant terminal. There are no issues with the bag being over weight which is good and I manage to buy the tea shirts for a London friend. He has not specified the wording so I chose two which I think will be appropriate.
The flight leaves at 1am. It is only one hour and I sleep all the way. My flight from New Delhi does not leave until 13.15 so its a long wait. I take my bag and sit myself down on a seat. A pleasant young man talks to me. When he leaves to catch his flight another comes. He works on a cruise ship and has just flown in from the Caribbean. He also does vegetable sculptures and helps with the crocodile safaris in Goa.
Bags are checked in all the way to Auckland. I have a bad feeling Air India will lose the bags. Thank god the lady and her husband I sit next to on the Air India flight talk and have some interesting stories to tell. The lady's son recites the Gita and gives commentaries about it. She is traveling to Sydney to see him. I watch an Indian film she has selected. A sad story about a man who gets a stroke and is cheated by his family until his grand daughter comes to his rescue and retrieves the family home her father was trying to sell. Serious stuff! Air India seems very India orientated in its entertainment and choice of films.
The 12 hour flight is not as bad as I thought it would be. Sydney's Kingsford Smith airport is small and welcoming. I discover an e visa is now needed for New Zealand and I don't have one but the lady on the check in counter at Virgin Australia manages to get me an electronic visa using the internet on my mobile.
When I arrive in Auckland the bag is not there - the price I pay for not following my intuition and not asking to collect the bag in Sydney.
My first experience of India for 43 years has been wonderful. I have learned that sightseeing in 30 degrees plus is a no no and has to be done between the crack of dawn and 12pm or after 4pm. A valuable lesson for New Delhi where I will not have a rest day in between sight seeing trips. The next Indian adventure beckons on April 30th after I have spent six weeks in New Zealand where I was born.
The last day starts with a swim. The hotel pool is pleasant before the sun becomes hellishly hot. Billy comes to tell me goodbye, brings me a lovely small clay pot - he is aware I can't carry to much on my travels - and some cashew nuts. He says I can keep the tourist booklet about Goa. A truly nice man and very helpful individual who introduced me to Alan a terrific tax driver and guide.
The bag is easier to pack than in London. It's just a matter of packing what is in the room not deciding what to pack. I am busy with the blog until Alan arrives. I suggest we play a similar game at the shop next to the hotel but decide it's better to just go out for a nice meal.
We drive to a nearby beach 4kms from the hotel and have a pleasant dinner at a restaurant on the beach. The sweet and sour vegetables and rice are as I know them and Alan enjoys his dhal. He has eaten a lot of dhal recently. As we drive to the airport couples walk along the side of the road. Boys are drinking beer.
Alan can't go inside the airport as he does not have a pass. He lifts my bag onto a trolley gives me a hug and off I go inside the small, pleasant terminal. There are no issues with the bag being over weight which is good and I manage to buy the tea shirts for a London friend. He has not specified the wording so I chose two which I think will be appropriate.
The flight leaves at 1am. It is only one hour and I sleep all the way. My flight from New Delhi does not leave until 13.15 so its a long wait. I take my bag and sit myself down on a seat. A pleasant young man talks to me. When he leaves to catch his flight another comes. He works on a cruise ship and has just flown in from the Caribbean. He also does vegetable sculptures and helps with the crocodile safaris in Goa.
Bags are checked in all the way to Auckland. I have a bad feeling Air India will lose the bags. Thank god the lady and her husband I sit next to on the Air India flight talk and have some interesting stories to tell. The lady's son recites the Gita and gives commentaries about it. She is traveling to Sydney to see him. I watch an Indian film she has selected. A sad story about a man who gets a stroke and is cheated by his family until his grand daughter comes to his rescue and retrieves the family home her father was trying to sell. Serious stuff! Air India seems very India orientated in its entertainment and choice of films.
The 12 hour flight is not as bad as I thought it would be. Sydney's Kingsford Smith airport is small and welcoming. I discover an e visa is now needed for New Zealand and I don't have one but the lady on the check in counter at Virgin Australia manages to get me an electronic visa using the internet on my mobile.
When I arrive in Auckland the bag is not there - the price I pay for not following my intuition and not asking to collect the bag in Sydney.
My first experience of India for 43 years has been wonderful. I have learned that sightseeing in 30 degrees plus is a no no and has to be done between the crack of dawn and 12pm or after 4pm. A valuable lesson for New Delhi where I will not have a rest day in between sight seeing trips. The next Indian adventure beckons on April 30th after I have spent six weeks in New Zealand where I was born.
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