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Wrap-up and Reflections

For those interested or anyone thinking about a sub-continent tour, when I remember stuff I’ll include it in here: 1. India is an amazing place and I can now see why some people get hooked on it. 2. I would recommend at least one fully supported tour to get the feel of the place and obtain some hints on where to eat, drink and stay before striking out unsupported. 3. Don’t be afraid to eat and drink local, just be sensible about it. Pick the “restaurant” as you would back home, but don’t always judge a book by its cover. The food was one of the highlights for me and no, I didn’t get sick of eating curries, even for breakfast. 4. The cities are interesting but very crowded and busy, the countryside is best and you get to see the “real India”. Isn’t that what cycle touring is all about. 5. Not once did anyone feel genuinely threatened, unsafe or concerned about dishonesty. Well there was one incident when two of us mistook our poor memories for a theft. Very embarrassing at the time but ...
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Day 20: Wed 29 Nov 17 - Brisbane to Hervey Bay to Home

Raining in Brisbane and I had nearly 12 hours to kill before my flight. It was a good chance to catch up with the blog, do some reading and wander around the airport and the nearby direct factory outlet. Just love shopping, not. Nice to only have a 50 minute flight this time. Due to all the rain around many flights were delayed, including mine. However we eventually flew out only a half an hour behind schedule. Always nice to see My Darling waiting at the airport to drive me home.
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Day 19: Tue 28 Nov 17 - Kochi to Dubai to Brisbane

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Up at the very ungentlemanly hour of 1am for a 4:30am flight from Kochi to Dubai. The taxi was spot on time with the trip to the airport taking about one hour. Within 15 minutes I was sitting in the departure lounge having a nice coffee. The airport is compact, immaculately clean, efficient and powered completely by solar. It appears quite new. There were only six flights listed on the board for departure so it not a huge hub. The 777-300 pushed back from the gate at 4:32am; I hope the next two flights are this timely. A pleasant 20 deg on arrival at Dubai, extremely busy at 7am, as expected. Took 45 minutes in the bus to get to the terminal from the parking bay, just an indication of how big the airport is and it wasn’t helped by the bus having to wait for two A380s to taxi past. Out of Dubai on schedule at 10:25am on the big one, A380. There were 100 empty seats on the flight so before sitting down I asked the hostie if I could move (had all full seats in my row) and she took me down...
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Day 18: Mon 27 Nov 17 - Kochi, 25 km - total so far: 1,061 km

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26 to 32 deg, 75% humidity, a late afternoon shower. Met Bob, Phil and Ken in the foyer for a pre-brekky walk to the fish market, where they lay out their catch from overnight on very dodgy tarps and sell via an auctioneer. Not sure it would pass the health standards back home, although we’ve had very little instances of tummy problems on the whole trip. That is despite the stories you hear about India, Delhi belly and the like. Anyway the fish market was interesting with some nice looking seafood changing hands. Since the year 2000, Kochi has revitalized its economy, with a focus on tourism, information technology and the port. There’s definitely signs that they are making good headway, but they have a fair amount of work yet to be done. When you consider that the formation of the State of Kerala only occurred in 1957, and Kochi has been the commercial capital as well as the seat of the Kerala High Court since that time, they’re doing okay. Back to the hotel for our rooftop breakfast ...
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Day 17: Sun 26 Nov 17 - Kochi

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25 to 32 deg, 55% humidity, fine and hazy. Had a wander around town before brekky on the rooftop at 8:30am, gentleman’s hours. Kochi merchants began trading in spices such as black pepper and cardamom with the Arabs, Dutch, Phoenicians, Portuguese, and Chinese more than 600 years ago. This helped Kochi to prosper and to become the gateway to old India. It was from Kochi that the colonization of India started. Portugal was first to establish its base in Kochi, followed by the Dutch and English. The Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1814, compelled the Dutch to hand over Kochi to the British in exchange for Bangka Island in Indonesia. The British managed to establish their influence over Kochi, limiting their direct administration to a small enclave of Fort Kochi and British Ernakulam with their capital at Bolgatty Island. The foundations of modern Kochi city started when Sir Robert Bristow, a senior Royal Navy Engineer felt the need of a modern large port after the opening of Suez Canal. This made ...
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Day 16: Sat 25 Nov 17 - Houseboat to Kochi, 44 km - total so far: 1,036 km

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24 to 35deg, fine, sunny and humid. Today is our last day on the supported bicycle tour. From tomorrow we’re on our own till we fly back home on Tuesday. Breakfast was served on the top deck dining room about 8am. It consisted of toast, jam and a crepe filled with coconut and bananas. The houseboat stayed tied up till about 8:40am, when it pulled away and started to head back to port. The passing parade of different boats continued along with the water birds, rice paddies and people going about their everyday lives, ladies beating clothes on rocks to wash them etc. Disembarked at 9:30am and went back to the bikes. Another very nice coffee at the beach coffee shop and we were on our way. I’m happiest on a bike, I don’t go well sitting around doing nothing. That said, it was very generous of Mike to include the houseboat trip in this tour as it would be a lot more expensive than staying in a hotel. A short flat ride to complete the tour and about 1,000km. Kochi is a little more touristy ...
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