RTWAdventureFamily: A Diversion

Sunday, February 2, 2014

A Diversion

A much anticipated stop on our journey was Thailand with our landing in Bangkok scheduled for January 31st. Unfortunately, due to the recent unrest in Bangkok as the elections approached, we elected to alter our travel plans and head to the beaches in the south of India. In the States, we would call this a detour. In Africa and Asia, this is known as a diversion. This is a bit of a blessing in disguise. We asked so much of the boys in Ethiopia as we worked to move Endris, Shemelese and Yenu to Awassa and two weeks in Northern India is tough for even the most seasoned traveler. As a result, the boys can use some well earned R and R.

January 30th found us aboard an overnight train from Jodhpur to Delhi. A fun and memorable experience for all.

We arrived in Delhi around 8am and headed to the hotel for a lazy day. After resting of a while, we found our way to the Chatter House restaurant for some good American cuisine and liquid refreshments.

January 31st brought another long travel day for the RTW Adventure Family. We awoke in the hotel at 7am and headed to the airport for an 11am flight to Thiruvananthapuram which is in the Kerala Region of Soutern India. Our flight had a connection in Bengaluru that departed only 40 minutes after our landing so we needed to be ready to hustle like O.J. (the pre-murderous O.J. You know, the Hertz guy running through the airports.)

Upon landing in Bengaluru, a representative of Jet Air whisked us toward our connecting flight which was boarding from a remote area on the tarmac. The connection was so smooth that nobody was on the plane when we boarded.

The second leg of our journey to the coast of the Arabian Sea was smooth and uneventful. We landed at Thiruvananthapuram Airport just after 4pm. After grabbing our bags, we headed outside to locate our transport to the Oceano Hotel in Varkala.

Unfortunately, nobody awaited us as we exited the terminal. A quick call to the hotel and they assured us just a few minutes. Several phone calls and more than an hour later we were still waiting. We negotiated the fare with a taxi and we were off toward the beach. We arrived in the coastal town of Varkala around 8pm to the sounds of waves hitting the cliff and the smell of the sea water.

We will stay at the Oceano Hotel in Varkala for 4 nights before departing to the town of Kollam. Kollam is home to several lakes and rivers known as the Kerala Backwaters. There we will negotiate a price for a two night rental of a houseboat and sail toward the town of Alleppey.

The Oceano Hotel.

The view from our balcony.

The shoreline of the beautiful Arabian Sea.

As the calendar turned to February, we awoke to sunshine and tempatures in the high 80s. It did not take long for the young adventurers (and the old adventurer) to step into the Arabian Sea for the first time.