Back to the United States of Marriott

Well, my trip is at the beginning of its end and today, 4 22 22, we drive back to the Marriott in Cochin.

There has been some interest in my hotel room, so I’ve made a video. Windermere isn’t the Oberoi, but I almost like it better now that I’ve settled in.

I was up at 5:30 to watch the sun rise and realize I might have had a good chance to see some stars, but too much light now. The sunrise is beautiful and I am able to find the stairs up to an observation post on top of a local rock which gives a nice vantage point.

By 6 you can already hear the human world waking up and the feeling of prehistoric mystery is gone.

It’s an early breakfast today at 7:30 and I have my last masala dosa. I am sorry to leave.

The 5 hour journey back to Cochin is miraculously done in about 3 hours through the windy 2 lane road. Along the way we see a hot air balloon which I hadn’t expected. It appears the communist party is quite active as I continually saw the hammer and sickle flags along the road through several towns. You never knew what you would see in a Tuktuk…

Driving through India actually reminds me of a joke about driving in Russia - it’s the only place you can be rear-ended while passing another car. At one point we actually had to stop because and oncoming car was passing and we would have had a head on crash if the brakes weren’t good. There was no where for us to go except over the cliff….

It was a relief to get to the hotel. I was upgraded to a suite with a nice soaking tub. I went on a quick visit to the local mall to get a shoulder bag to carry some purchases and saw a KFC. I had a quick meal at the street food option in the food court - Dahl and naan - was really good and a bit spicy.

Then back to the hotel for a head massage and a nice soak in the tub.