Wrapping Up Vacation

Saturday morning Jithin picked Helen and me up at the hotel around noon, and we checked out of the hotel and headed toward the elephants. Turns out they were pretty far away, but close to Jithin’s house (which, incidentally, is pretty far away). We were not allowed to ride the elephants or even get close to them, because, as Jithin had been telling us all along, elephants go mad during monsoon season. The elephant training center doesn’t even conduct any training during monsoon season.

I seriously doubted this madness until I saw the elephants. Not that I’m any kind of elephant expert, but it was clear that there was something wrong with them. Their eyes looked unfocused, and they were all swaying back and forth to some rhythm in their heads, raising and lowering their trunks, turning their heads back and forth. They did not look suitable for riding. We took some pictures.

On the way back, we went to Jithin’s house and met his family. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. I was in the depths of a head cold, so my ability to hold an interesting conversation was compromised by my inability to breathe through my nose and the stuffy, confused feeling in my head.

We stopped by a temple that we were not allowed into (we’re not Hindu) and took pictures. Then we got coffee/tea near the airport and waited for Vijay, who had borrowed my flash drive to give me some great pictures he’d taken our first day or two. He came, and then we checked into a new (also lovely) hotel right next to the airport, and then we headed out for drinks at this awesome resort place called something like Shaj Earth Resort. I think.

They had a huge swimming pool, cool colored LED lighting, lots of bamboo growing, tables and chairs on scenic lawns, walking paths, etc. I’ve heard that tea with honey and brandy is good for head colds, so I wound up getting a drink called Honey Moon, which is brandy with honey and lime juice. It was delicious. I want another now. It also made me feel a lot better all through dinner, which was a huge relief. Then, after eating, I felt like I needed to crash, so we said our goodbyes and headed out.

We got to sleep around 9:30, woke up at 4, left the hotel at 5:40 for our 7 am flight. Which, we discovered when we got to the airport, had been canceled.

All week, when Helen and I would reflect about our somewhat hellish journey to Kerala, we would say, “At least on the way back, we have a nonstop flight, a few free hours, and a bus, and then we’re DONE.” In rescheduling our flight, we had no option but to miss our bus, which meant we had to stay the night in Kolkata and take the train at 6 the next morning to Ranchi, followed by a bus from Ranchi to Hazaribag. Okay.

Flights went fine, the day was going okay, I booked a room at a cheap place with good reviews, we took a prepaid taxi to the hotel…

And it wasn’t there. Or, it was there, but no people were. It’s still unclear what happened. What is clear is that we could not stay there, our taxi driver did not speak English, Helen and I were both beyond exhausted and frustrated, and the stress was making me sick to my stomach. Not to mention, it was 11 pm in a city we were not familiar with in the least, and we had a train to catch at 6 the next morning and no place to lie down.

After one more failed attempt at a hotel, we finally found a place (which is to say, the hotel was closed, but we banged on the door until the receptionist, who was sleeping on the floor and spoke no English, woke up and consented to let us stay). We had several of those frustrating conversations that happens often when there are language barriers:

Us: Sorry to wake you! Do you  have a room for tonight?

Him: Room? Tonight?

Us: Yes, we want a room tonight. We have to leave at 4:30 tomorrow morning.

Him: Booking?

Us: We do not have a booking.

Him: Room? Tonight? Leave tomorrow?

Us: Yes, that’s right.

Him: Booking?

Us: No booking. Can we still get a room?

Him: Room tonight, no booking?

Us: Yes. Whatever you have is fine. We are tired, and we will only be here a few hours. We have to leave at 4:30.

Him: Leave tomorrow 4:30?

Us: Yes, and we need a taxi to the railway station for a 6:00 train. Can you call us a taxi at 4:30?

Him: Taxi tomorrow 4:30?

Us: Yes.

Him: Okay. Tomorrow at 4:30.

Us: Great.

Him: Okay, 3:50.

Us: No, 4:30!

Him: 4:30. Okay. 3:50.

Us: WE NEED TAXI. 4:30. NOT 3:50.

Him: Yes yes, taxi 4:30! 3:50!

Us: [looking at each other]

Him: Taxi PAYMENT 350.

Us: OH! 350 rupees??

Him: Yes yes! So room. Booking?

The hotel room, when we finally got there, was not very nice, but it had beds and a Western style toilet and a shower. Possibly also bedbugs. We’ll find out soon.

This is getting long. Sorry. I’ll be briefer.

We woke up at 4, got to the train station around 5, found some muffin-ish things for breakfast, found our train, and discovered we were riding in the executive class. Air conditioning, lots of leg room, and so much food/drink service! The train arrived in Ranchi at 1:30, a driver from NBJK took us to the bus station, the bus left at 2:45 from Ranchi to Hazaribag, and we finally finally finally arrived back home at about 5:30. Finally.

Tomorrow I may write about the many and various things I love and miss about Kerala. For now, I will sign off.