The case is closed

First of all - thank you to everyone who left comments/hearts/stars on our Indian adventure.   I will get round to replying, when I finally wake up.  In the meantime the suitcases are empty and the washing machine is earning its keep.

The journey home was …. interesting.  The ride to the airport was not as white-knuckle as last year.  And I discovered a new driving trait that I’d missed before.  

The road to the airport is a mix of narrow lanes and ‘major highway’.  What I mean by that is a single carriageway - slightly wider than the other roads - but with the addition of a white line down the middle.  I assumed this would keep us safely separated.  Nope.  We straddle the white line, only veering to the left at the last minute, when faced with on-coming traffic.  The other novelty is a 60mph speed limit.

We’re early for our flight (surprise, surprise) so try and catch up on sleep in the airport lounge. We take off at 4.00am local time.

We then have a 3 hour stop-over at Doha.  We get something to eat, have a wander round, then hear the call to board.  The departure lounge jam-packed with people.  The gate is firmly closed - staff blocking access to the plane. Something’s up.

Very little room to sit, so people stand, lie on the floor or glare at those who’ve put their carry-on luggage on a vacant seat next to them.

In the midst of all this is a large TV screen showing news footage of the air crash in South Korea.  As we watch the horror unfold, we hear an announcement telling us that the plane is delayed while they do a fire-safety check.  

The flight itself is uneventful.  The pilot puts his foot down and we make up the lost time and arrive 20 minutes early at Heathrow.  From Turkey to London the sky is completely covered in cloud  (see extra).  Looking down, we could be flying over a snowscape.  

We cover around an extra 200 miles in the holding pattern, then drop down thorough the cloud.  No  reference points or landmarks to show us where we are and it’s only the nose coming up and the increase in engine noise that tells us we’re about to land.

Chris has organised a car to pick us up and we finally relax heading up the M1. We took off at 4.00am Goa time and arrive home at 4.00pm UK time.  That’s more than 12 hours though.  The time difference is 5hrs 30minutes.  You can do the sums.

Anniemay has an App for the heating system on her phone so the house is toasty warm when we step inside. Shame it doesn’t make a cup of tea.