Day 5 – March 16

The morning of day 5, my roommate was part of a group of 11 who had signed up late for the trip so they’d been put on a separate flight that had to leave for the airport at 3 a.m. The rest of us had to wake up at 7 a.m. I packed up my stuff, checked out, grabbed breakfast and got on the bus. Of course, people were late checking out and even just waking up so we were waiting around forever. We had to drive from Jaipur all the way back to Delhi, which was at least a 5-hour drive. We ended up getting stuck in lots of traffic, though, and we arrived for lunch 2 hours later than planned. We had lunch at the Comfort Inn, yes that one, and it was the best food we had. The dishes were a little spicier and had more variety, and there was plenty of naan to go around. My fav!

Then we got back on the bus and drove about 15 minutes to the airport. We arrived in plenty of time and check in and security was much more efficient so we ended up with time to walk around and pick up last-minute items. I walked around with Alexa and I found a converter, which will be useful for the next couple ports! Then we walked to our gate a bit early just to hang out. I was reading my kindle when all of the sudden I saw a girl from Katy’s trip walking towards me. I knew Katy had to be around and a few minutes later she walked up too. We were probably too excited for only going a few days without seeing each other but it’s surprising how long a few days feel. Our flight was delayed 45 minutes so we decided to go and get something to drink and eat. I found mango lassi, which I got SO excited for because I had been told do NOT eat or drink dairy, but I decided to get one anyways. I figured it wouldn’t be too dangerous in the airport. It was so delicious and I was so happy. I paid for it later with a little stomachache but it was SO worth it. If you have never had a mango lassi, go to an Indian restaurant and try one. They are deeeeee-licous!

Finally, it was time to board. Our plane was a lot nicer than the first plane we had taken and I ended up in an exit row with a ton of foot room. Not that I really need it, but it was great! There were even movie screens on the flight. But I ended up just reading and listening to music and watched a show the last few minutes of the flight. But it was in Hindi so I don’t know what they were saying. It was funny though. We arrived back in Kochi and altered our itinerary a little. The original itinerary had us driving to some restaurant at least an hour or more away and eating for a few hours and then driving a few more hours back to the ship, getting us back after 1 a.m. so we unanimously decided to not go do the dinner and just go straight back to the ship. It only takes about 45 minutes from the airport to the ship so I’m really wondering where the restaurant could have been to get us back after 1 a.m. We got back to the ship at about 10:30 and I showered and tried to start my India blog. I only got so far before I started feeling extremely tired. I had written a lot but as I’m sure you can see by my blog, it’s pretty lengthy and I like to write as much as possible. So after clearing off my bed full of stuff I’d bought, I headed to bed to make sure I was well rested for a little more shopping in the morning before my FDP in the afternoon.