Day 18 in India
This is my last day in India. It’s also the last day to finalise all the purchases I wanted before I leave this country. And to say goodbye to lovely people that we have become friends with. We also wanted to have a final Goan Fish Curry from a highly recommended local restaurant, Johncy’s. The food was great and an excellent parting meal before our departure.
Preema Doña was sad to see us go. Even though we constantly fobbed off her offers of coming into her shop to purchase items, she would sweetly say good morning to us every time we went past. Eventually we did make a couple of purchases on the last day. The umbrella is purchased from her the first day, I gave back (it wouldn’t fit in my luggage), so she could resell it.
The last shopping stop for the evening was Anna and Vital’s. Peter and I both ended up doing quick Bowen treatments on them, and talking to them about the issues in their lives that were the cause of their discomfort. We will keep in touch with them (once they get the internet connected).
Day 19 in India
4am wake-up to get ready, have breakfast and be at the resort gates at 5am to travel to the airport, for Peter, Brian and Lily to catch their flight to Kochi. It just so happened they were all heading to Kerala on the same flight, Peter for his 3week Patchakarma detox retreat, and Brian and Lily to Royal Karma Kerala Resort for a week.
Me, I was heading to Delhi for an overnight stay before heading out back home to Brisbane tomorrow. Unfortunately, my flight wasn’t until 2.30pm, so I had an 8hr wait at Goa airport….urghhhh….I read nearly a whole e-book though. It was tiring.
Back in Delhi, and the cacophony of honking horns (reminiscent of a gaggle of geese being herded), reminded me of how peak hour traffic, gridlocked for ages required the patience of a saint and the expert skills of a Le Mans driver. Narrow barely two-lane streets and 8 lanes of traffic merging into these teeny-weeny passageways was pure madness! Everyone is yelling at each other too. It doesn’t help at all. And then there’s a long procession of people attending street markets that have been set up, to hold us up further…baahhh!!! And I sit patiently in the back street writing my blog. There’s nothing else to do. You could sit in the middle of the street in the car and watch the ever-changing swirling nightlife and never be bored. It’s a roving entertainment gig just for your benefit.
I was so tired, I had a quick meal, spoke briefly with Abi from the UK and Jean from Australia, then slid into peaceful slumber for 8hrs.
Day 20 in India
Abi whom I met the night before came into breakfast prior to my finishing. She told me she was an acupuncturist and would love to work in India with the children. I love the way the Universe so seamlessly connects me with people who are potential candidates for the world-wide work of the Foundation.
Rohit (from Total Holiday Options) picked me up at the hotel. He’s a lovely young man studying Tourism at College. My driver today was Raj, from Kashmir. He was really sweet. He bought me a rose to remember him. Awwww….
At Delhi Internationsl Airport, I asked for Special Assistance because being vision-impaired and not having a companion on this part of the journey can be intimidating to know where to go exactly. I don’t see signs or doorways or people’s faces (my facial recognition software is corrupted lol), nor do I see glass doors or windows…I crash into those lol. And sometimes it’s ouch!! too. The staff were very helpful.
Disabilities are common in India and the officials in public places accommodate them well. You just don’t see people with disabilities on the street very much, unless they are begging for food or money. In the villages, it was very rare to see a disabled person. We were told that organisations and schools for disabilities, and orphanages existed, though very few people knew exactly where they were or how to contact them. There’s a bit of research ahead for the Oasis Health Foundation team to find them and contact them for future working opportunities with the children in the near future.
The flight to Ghangzhou went smoothly. Then a transfer to the connecting flight back to Brisbane. I asked a young man named Sam to help me navigate to the next plane, which he did with considerable kindness.
I sit in my seat, and who should happen to sit beside me…Sam. There is obviously a reason why we’re together. It’ll be fun to find out. For the next 9-10hrs, I’m offline. I’ll do the last blog when I return to Australia.