Day 20: THANK YOU, INDIA

We weren’t totally out of the woods yet as we still had to leave Courtallam and drive over three hours to Thiruvananthapuram. Sometimes I wonder which is the longer name for a city or town – Kirkjubaejarklaustur in Iceland or Thiruvananthapuram in India. I can totally understand why the British decided to name it to Trivandrum (tree VAN drum).

So the drive went mostly uneventfully as the Western Ghats looked ghostly against the remaining early morning clouds and the early morning sunlight. It rained pretty hard last night (apparently the monsoon is still not over) amidst some loud crackling and rumbling thunder along with consistently flashing lightning, which we witnessed somewhat on the way back to our room last night. I worried whether landslides might cause unforseen delays.

Still, we made it all the through to the city, which was pretty big and busy, but not nearly as haphazard and chaotic as some of India’s other cities. It’s further proof that Kerala really is more laid back as a state than the rest of the country.

The whole time I was looking out the window, I kept thinking of that Alanis Morrisette song called “Thank You” where she says, “Thank you, India…” and I’d have to echo that sentiment. After all, this was yet another trip that changed our perspective on the world while sampling the nature and culture of the subcontinent. It’s amazing how a waterfall trip evolves into such a life-changing experience, and it further affirms why we go to such great lengths to travel (using waterfalls as the excuse to visit specific regions especially places off the beaten path).

At the airport, we passed by what looked to be Kovalam Beach, which was surprisingly peaceful and clean. Dennis claimed the Trivandrum Airport is the safest in the world since emergency landings could take place right off the coast.

We got to the airport a little before 10am, which was plenty of time for our 13:15 flight to Male, Maldives. Hopefully, we won’t be delayed, but it’s time to wind down and ease back into reality after three nights.

In any case, thank you, India…