Leaving and Arriving and seeing old friends

February 3, 2017

Yesterday, after working our hinnies off getting ready to leave, we checked into the Hyatt for our last night in India. At 4:00 we had 90 minute massages and were invited to dinner by my massage therapist. We left the hotel around 7:30. Sabina is from Sikkim which is in extreme north of India. She looks more Asian than Indian and has told me stories about being made fun of whenever she goes out. Indians will pretend to speak Chinese and come up to her and say something in gibberish. I told her she should respond in Hindi to get them to stop it but those who are jeering her are shocked that a ‘Chinese’ person (which she isn’t)  can speak Hindi, not realizing she is Indian.

Sabina

Sabina's friend

She and her friend had gone home before meeting us and gotten all dolled up: sexy hairdos, high heels and pretty dresses. We hardly recognized them as usually their hair is pulled back and put in a bun and they wear white uniforms. They took us in a cab to the other Hyatt where we have a wonderful Chinese meal in a great restaurant. We had insisted on us paying but she said absolutely not, that she got a Hyatt employee discount and it was to be her treat to us..

When we got back to our hotel, we said we would meet them in the Spa where they work to take photos. We had been given a dessert by the Hyatt staff in the early evening so took it to them to share since it was 10:00 and we needed to get to bed. We had three other employees join in for photos. All of them knew us as one of them is my hair stylist, a tall good looking Indian in all black attire and another therapist. It was fun taking photos. Back to our room and packed up our bags and jumped in bed and up at 4:00. At 4:30 Rahul met us with a friend and his car and we loaded up our bags (four huge bags and four carryon bags all at max weight allowed.

When we went to Nepal a week ago we took off from the domestic terminal to Delhi and then flew from the international terminal there to Nepal. So we went to the domestic terminal. Big mistake.  It took 10-15 minutes to get in the door as only passengers can go inside and tickets and passports are checked at the door. When we got we got to the door we discover we were at the wrong terminal. Panic. Out the door with two carts loaded to the hilt. Raced over to the other terminal. I thought I would fall over from panic and exhaustion. We got near the terminal but had a high curb to get up with our carts and two men came to our rescue and lifted them up for us. I will never forget how helpful and kind Indians /strangers can be. I think my white hair helps and Ron’s gray beard. Again, screened at the door but there are always fewer passengers at international terminal in Ahmedabad. Then a line for bags to be screened before proceeding. We went up to the Mumbai line and when we got to the counter we were told we should be in the Delhi line. God you would think we had never flown before!! We got the STUPID AWARD  today. We were waiting in line and an  employee directed us over to another line for faster help which was a mistake. The short line is never faster. Then Ron had to pay for our excess baggage weight and that required going into the bowels of the area behind the counter and it took forever. I forgot to say check in might as well have been manual as the clerk had to figure fees and  taxes manually. It was the longest check- in ever in all of our travels and that is saying something but this is a a government owned airline so that explains a lot. We made it through passport control quickly with a short line.

Security was a Cluster F**K. It was as though they wanted to see how inefficient they could make it Ron had his backpack run through screening three times and the final time he had to take everything out of his pack that had anything to do with electronic equipment: camera, cords, tablet, computer, etc. By now we were quite concerned about the time. But when we got to the area where you catch a bus to transport passengers to the plane on the tarmac there was a long line and locked doors. Whew! Plane was 10 minutes late but no problem because we have a five hour layover in Delhi. Again Delhi air is awful. Visibility is limited here all the time. It really makes me appreciate how much better the air is at home.

We had a long layover in Delhi but they have Starbucks. I was desperate for a good Americano and I wasn’t disappointed. Our plane was late but we didn’t have an immediate connecting fight so no problem. The Air India plane had better leg room than Jet Air which we used to go to Nepal. We arrived in Colombo and our luggage was just about the last off the line. We got some cash at the ATM then a SIM card for our phones then a cab to town. We arrived around 9:00 pm. Our Airbnb is lovely. And it is located about three blocks from where we lived in 2005-06. We have a large bedroom with kitchenette, no cooking but we have an electric kettle and dishes, etc. There is a sitting area and en suite bathroom with shower. We have AC option but haven’t needed it with the ceiling fan. We fell into bed after a hot shower.

February 4

We had breakfast and met up with our tri-shaw driver Mr Kularathna whom we have known since we lived here in 2005. He took us to the pharmacy where we got some items, then headed for my favorite store, Barefoot. Today is Sri Lanka’s Independence Day and all shops are closed we discovered so no shopping today.

We called Geetha’s family to arrange a time to get together. Geetha was our housekeeper when we lived here and we maintained a loving relationship until her passing in August. I came here then for her funeral and asked her family how we could help. They asked that we maintain the relationship. So at 2:00 we went to the cemetery to pay our respects and to shed a tear before going on to the house. We visited and took photos. Geetha and I had a long standing tradition when I came to  town. Geetha, her youngest daughter and I would go shopping to buy an outfit for each family member. Geetha always fretted about the cost. I always told her not to worry as clothes are so inexpensive here. On one of my trips I got eye glasses for her as she needed them. So on the shopping trip she was looking at each price tag. I told her to stop it or I would make her go sit in the tri-shaw. We all laughed. It was always a push to get it all done in a half day as we often had to go to several shops since we were shopping for three generations with 11 people.. So, today I recalled the tradition with Geetha’s three adult daughters and said I wanted to leave them a check to continue the tradition but they wouldn’t have to rush in one day. Tinesh, the oldest grandchild who is 18, helped me to know who to make the check out to. We were invited to lunch for tomorrow and gladly accepted.

Suba and his three children

We rested in the afternoon then went to Suba’s family home for a Jaffna style feast. Suba is a Tamil Hindu and has three children. His mother in law was there and his father as well as a niece. We talked about Suba’s work and Ron’s work and compared India to Sri Lanka. Oddly enough Sri Lanka is more advanced in many ways. We talked a lot about local government which is what Ron and Suba have worked on in their careers. Then the topic of our new prez came up. Suba told us the CEO of Uber had agreed to serve on trump’s Economic Advisory Board and that 200,000 people had deleted their Uber apps. HA! I think this election has motivated people to speak up and organize if nothing else. Yay democracy. We left around 9:00 and went to bed pretty early as we are still tired and the heat during the day is draining.

February 5, 2017

Today we had a Sri Lankan breakfast at our BNB and it was fabulous: SL roti which is very different from Indian roti, sambal made with freshly grated coconut and chilies, and a hot and spicy meat dish. Yum.

Off to shop at Barefoot. The stock was slim but I managed to find one blouse but no pants which I need. Ron got three shirts and I got two shirts for friends in Portland. My favorite hand painted ceramic dishes were not available either. Because the stock is all hand made they get deliveries once a week from various villages where products are made so we never know when they will have what. It makes it fun because we go back numerous times. I will return on Tuesday and when we get back from Jaffna.

I have forgotten my ATM PIN number. My new debit card was issued when we were home for one day in November and I never used the card in India because during demonetization the ATMs didn’t have cash. So now I am stuck. Bummer. Glad I have Ron with me!

We hung out at our bnb until time to go to Geetha’s for lunch. I had told her daughter’s to make it simple. Nothing doing. They prepared my favorite food that Geetha used to make: curried potatoes, beets that I always called Geetha beets, brinjal (eggplant), sautéed greens, rice and curried chicken. As is the custom they stood and served us as we ate.  The food was just as Geetha made it and I joked that she was in heaven and pleased and proud of her daughters for creating this wonderful event. It was absolutely fabulous. Afterwards we retuned to our bnb to rest before going out to dinner with Veena, our former land lady and her family.