I Love Kerala

Fisherman hauling in the nets on Kovallam Beach

Here I am in an internet cafe at the Trivandrum Airport. This is the first airport in India that has an internet cafe. So it earns big points in my books. It's also the shiniest and most modern of the airports I've been in. The takeoff, I have been told, will be spectacular ... it's like Vancouver airport. It's right next to the sea and the end of the runway is the end of the land.

What an amazing time I have had here. I do think that, of all the destinations in India, this is the one place where North Americans can come and not have to do TOO much adjusting. I used to be quite critical of people who travelled to a foreign country and then needed to stay in a Western style resort. Now I am realizing that there is something to be said for it .. when you're encountering a totally new culture, some touchstones with the familiar are a good thing.

So now I am off to Sri Lanka. As I went through Indian Customs I briefly got a little pang in my heart, realizing that I really AM leaving. Goes to show that over the past month, I have acclimatized and developed a liking for the place. Got to say, in the first couple of weeks I wasn't sure that was ever going to happen.

Now, Canada seems like an abstraction. I think of being back at my mom and dad's place zipping around on the snowmobile and it seems like something out of a movie.

But I don't have to think about that right now. I am off to a new adventure and two more weeks of fun, adventure and education in the sun.

More from Colombo. Got a plane to catch.