South to Kerala

We left at 6.00 for Chandigarth Airport in an air conditioned car. We were not sorry to leave the Radisson. The level of bowing and scraping was too much for us. I do not know whether it is a remnant of the time of the British Raj in Shimla but we have not found this elsewhere to the same extent. Our bill for two evening meals and car and driver for yesterday came to one hundred pounds, expensive for India but a bargain by our standards. Our driver was good, quite cautious as you have to be on these roads, but we did the reverse trip we had done on the train, but only half way with a short trip to Delhi. On the way the roads were quiet till Kalka then increasingly busy with new dual carriageway for the last hour. Spotted on the way was a sign for the "Eco friendly School" in Solan. Schoolchildren were dressed immaculately some in white skirts and knee socks, or trousers. They still seem to be clean at the end of the day.

Chandigarh was evidently designed by Corbusier and is set out with a grid system with wide roads. It is meant to be very clean, and is headquarters for much of the army. The airport was modern. We had a breakfast of omelette, toast and good coffee for about 2 pounds. There was little else except a selection of free newspapers in English and Hindi. Reading the local paper certainly give a different perspective on a country. It was a quick flight to Delhi but a long wait for the 5.30 flight to Kochi. Arriving at 9.00 it was still an hour to the hotel. The temperature was somewhat warmer than Shimla. Immediately we drove along the street we could see that this was a much more prosperous state.

Industries are teak and spice export, oil import, a navy presence and in the last 10 years tourism has grown particularly around the backwaters. A comfortable bed gave us a decent 8 hours sleep.