Today we had breakfast as we sailed back to the original berth where the bikes were parked. Some of us took turns at the tiller of our respective boats. I am sure the photographs will tell their own story.
The air conditioning on the houseboats had been switched off at 7am so it was a very hot and humid start to the day. It was refreshing to get moving on the bikes. Again there were a few more converts to riding in shirt sleeves.
We took the coast road from Alleppy towards Cochin. I had a pillion, Mr Oottmon, the boss of the agency who had organized our tour who had joined us for the last day.
Our first stop was at a beach on the Arabian sea where some of the team took the opportunity to have a camel ride. I spoke to some British tourists whilst we were there and enquired if they had knowledge of Goa and if so was it the paradise I imagined it was. They replied that Goa had been spoilt by commercialism and that the beaches and resorts around Cochin were far better. I cannot repeat the words they actually used to describe Goa.
The ride up to Cochin was very pleasant on nice roads and as we passed by; children waved which they often did when they saw the spectacle of the convoy of Royal Enfield’s pass by. As we got closer to Cochin the traffic congestion deteriorated to the point where we had make a third line of traffic in order to make any progress and Gordon was seen to be performing traffic control alongside a police officer on point duty at the end of the grid lock and who actually thanked Gordon for sorting the problem out.
Our last hotel is The Harbour View Hotel Cochin which overlooks a ship yard and have Harland and Wolfe size cranes similar to those in Belfast. This hotel was another oasis of privilege in an industrial area.
After settling into our hotel we had to return the bikes to Ivan Joseph’s home in another part of Cochin which meant yet another ride on this very hot day. We were welcomed with cool beer at Ivan’s house. He had been away from home with us for three weeks and his family were glad to see him. It was nice of him to provide us with this welcome refreshment.
We have an early start tomorrow as our flight is at 9.15am and the airport is 90 minutes away and we have to be there 90 minutes before the flight. Let us hope we can get an early breakfast.
The bikes have performed well. We have covered more than 16400 miles between us, in some of the most hazardous driving conditions you are likely to encounter in a driving lifetime. It has been a very enjoyable tour, I recommend India as a holiday destination but be prepared for the mountains of rubbish and litter. They urgently need a refuse policy, but where do you start with India.
Nigel
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