26-02-2024
Sunday morning, February 25th, the alarm goes at 6.15. We quickly drink a cup of coffee, and then play real-life game of Tetris to pack our suitcases in the small car Then we're off to Schiphol Airport. Checking in, handing over the suitcases -wait, we still have some electronics in our luggage. Going through customs -taking of our shoes and belts. And then into gthe first opf our three planes. For us, as non-flying holidaymakers, this is quite the start of the day.
First flight: We're having a delay of about 30 minutes. Fortunately, we manage to catch up a little, and arrive only 20 minutes late at Frankfurt. But our transfer there is still a very short one. And Frankfurt is a very large airport. Our travelapp keeps sending alarming messages: you might not make your ttransfer. Fortunately, signs are very clear at the airport, and we make our connecting flight. But has our checked luggage? We will only find out when we're halfway across the globe, in Delhi.
By the time we're half way to Delhi, our bums hurt from sitting for so long. I'm not used to sitting down for hours on end. And we still have a long way to go. Lufthansa has some nice films to choose from to pass the time: Barbie, Memory and Downto Abbey. There is Bollywoodmusic to dream into. And the meals are nice, even vegan for me, although my midnight snack is a bit disappointing (vegetable club sandwich, the non-veg option was a hot stuffed bun). Around midnoght we arrive at Delhi Indira Gandhi Airport.
At Delhi, we have three hours to catch our connecting flight to Kochi. Ample time, so we take it easy. But at 1.30 am the airport is as busy as Schiphol on during the day. First we go through customs where we hand over our disembarkation cards. Then we go to get our suitcases. Hoping they were on the flight. Very soon we're reassured. My pink flamingo-case is on the belt, and shortly after we also find Simon's suitcase. We're in India!
On our way to the connecting flight, we realise there are still some electronics in our checked luggage. We transfer it to our carry on bags. We've come this far, we don't want to be held up here.
Checking in is no problem, but going through customs (again) means we have to unpack all our carry on bags, because all electronic devices have to go through the checkpoint individually. And of course we have to take off our shoes and belts again. Going through the scanners ( a separate one for women), mine starts beeping. I have to step behind a curtain, where a female officer checks again. Apparently, the beads on my trousers are made of metal. We can go and start repacking our cases once again. The one thing we have learned from all this, is how to pack our things when we go back.
The plane from Frankfurt to Delhi was a spacious Boeing 747. Now, were sitting in a cramped plane for three hours. Apart from us, all passengers are Indians. We have breakfast at six. For me a tasty vegan Indian breakfast. Simon gets to choose. Because he finds it hard to make out the flight attendant's English, he choses randomly. He recieves an English breakfast, with baked potatoes, baked beans and scrambled eggs.
We arrive 20 minutes ahead of schedule at Cochin International Airport. We could feel the heat while on the plane, but when we get out it still feels like a slap in the face. It's 8 am and I'm already starting to sweat. We collect our luggage, freshen up a bit, and when we step outside we see Father Shaiju waiting for us. So nice to finally meet him, after 9 months of online meetings.
Father Shaiju takes us for a typical Kerala breakfast, with idly, appam and idiyappam with curry and different types of chutney. We love it. Then he takes us to our hotel. After checking in we go to our airconditioned room and fall asleep on a soft and comfortable bed.
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