It's All Coming Back to Me Now

Here I am...back in India once again. It's been so nice to come back after such a long wait. My heart is happy. I arrived on the 18TH of July into Bangalore and a friend picked me up and hosted me for a day. I spent the afternoon fighting sleep so that I could get so I could acclimate to the timezone and she took me on a scooter ride around the city. The weather was perfect and we stopped at a coffee shop and sat outdoors. While she went to some other appointments, I read and watched TV until we could go to dinner. Had some delicious chicken biriyani and topped it off with mango ice cream. My fav! Then I crawled into bed and had an excellent night sleep. The next morning I went with her to some shops that had beautiful hand stitched items made by women that are at risk for exploitation. I got several for myself and as souvenirs for home. Then we grabbed a delicious chicken tikka lunch and went home for a short while. We decided to visit an art gallery and park in the center of the city and I loved the artist's work. He painted scenes of India from the 1970s and they were somewhat cartoon-ish in style. I got a small print to take home. After we walked around the park, we headed back to her house so I could pack and catch an overnight bus to Calicut. 

I knew the bus was bound to be adventurous and had used this tour company once before and it did not disappoint. I reached my pick up point and was informed we needed to be transported by car to another location. We hopped in a car and drove 20 mins or so. Now I had no idea where we were and could only hope this was legit. After a couple minutes in the car, the driver put on some music and Timber came pumping through the speakers. I stifled my laughter and enjoyed the random pop music selection for my drive through town. Finally we arrived just to be told that we needed to board another bus to take us to the "real" overnight bus. So once again I lugged my 50lb suitcase and climbed aboard. After another 20 mins we made it. I was given a bus number to watch for and I never moved my attention away fearful after all this, I could miss it! I climbed on and to my great surprise, the bus was more like an RV and I had my own bed with privacy curtains, outlet, blanket and AC vents. Sweet! I thought, I may actually sleep on this ride. As we stopped to pick up more people I had a momentary panic as I wondered if I would have to share my space (which was a double bed) with another random ticket holder. I could not imagine the tour company putting me with a strange man but still was on edge until we finished all the pick ups. I put in my head phones and listened to music trying to relax and get into sleepy mode. As I wiggled down under the blanket watching the city pass by, I realized that sleeping was not actually going to be possible. I assumed it would be like the train, which is dumb lol, it was actually just like an Indian bus. As soon as I laid down I was shot back and forth like a pinball machine, side to side and sliding to the front every time he braked. Think trying to sleep while riding a roller coaster hahaha! I also had not allowed myself any liquids cause I knew there would be no toilet for 8 or 9 hours. So when I finally got to Calicut, I was anxious for a immobile bed, a drink and a bathroom. Which is just what was waiting for me. Thankful for amazing friends!