1 May 2019 - Travelling to a new land

Leading up to the preparations for the expedition on the TCH my health has been a bit off and on. On one of the winter trips to Kazakhstan I contracted an eye disease which the doctors found difficult to diagnose. They were not able to determine why both the eyes were inflamed. Over a few months, steroids, antibiotics and regular lubrication reduced the inconvenience and killed the pain. Another trip brought on an impossible cough for a couple of months. More antibiotics and antihistamines. In February I had to get a massive corn removed from under the big toe of the right foot. While the initial healing was quite fast, despite the poor diabetic numbers, necrotic tissue came in the way of complete healing.  Despite the passage of nearly three months the wound hasn’t quite fully healed. Massive doses of antibiotics and daily dressing has improved it, but it is matter of worry as I embark on this expedition. Thus, dressing, dinner and departure was the order of the evening. The hospital where I got the daily fix of intravenous antibiotic and dressing was busy with emergency cases. A lady was on the verge of a lung collapse and a young man was brought in with a massive wound between the thumb and forefinger. While one was revived with nebulisation, the second was stitched up with blood oozing copiously. After all this was attended to I was attended to. The Doctor was happy with the progress of healing. He told me that I should avoid any further wet medication of the wound and prescribed medicines to wash the wound daily and dry pack it.

I had planned to leave my car with my cousin Abraham in Chennai. After a couple of drinks and lively banter it was time for dinner, which Abraham decided would be in Pedrones, a new restaurant in Perungudi. After taking leave of my uncle and aunt we settled for dinner in the restaurant. I decided on a Cream of Mushroom soup and a drink of mango and passion fruit. By the time the soup was finished it was time to leave for the airport. I got dropped to the airport by Abraham’s driver in my Champion, from who I would be away for nearly seven weeks.

 The Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong was obviously full going by the people at the check-in counters. The queues were very efficiently managed by the staff. I feared that my bags would be a tad overweight, but they turned out to be just fine. After moving slowly in the immigration queue, when I reached one of the counters I was asked to meet the immigration officer and verify the Canada visa. It got my goat. As it turned out all Canada visas were verified by the officer before stamping. If that was the case, people should have been directed to first meet the officer and then move to a special queue, as the numbers warranted that. Finally all that was done and it was time to wait for boarding after passing through security gates. The Central Industrial Security Force personnel who are vested with duties of security in airports take their own sweet time scanning bags. They are not bothered about the queues of people waiting. Their own small talks take precedence over those waiting!

Breakfast was served on the flight before landing in Hong Kong. The hospitality was flawless. The only complaint I had was the poor selection of Indian movies in the entertainment section.  After landing on time I moved through immigration and security meant for transit passengers and went in search of the Plaza Premium lounge to rest for the next few hours before the long haul to Vancouver. The three hours in the lounge was spent experimenting various foods and drinks. When I was in the lounge I remembered the last time I had been in that lounge. That was in transit to Sydney on 1 March 2018 for the Australia Highway 1 expedition. I had been sick and running high temperature. I was in much better shape now despite the foot.

The flight was announced in time and the aircraft pulled out nearly 30 minutes late from the parking bay. I had a middle seat and with a hefty Punjabi guy at the window seat I expected a troublesome 12 hours. His beer drinking only heightened my anxiety. I should not have worried, for he turned out to be a tank. After a few hours I had to ask him if he wanted to use the toilet. He said ‘Nahi ji’ and went back to his can of beer. The 12 hour journey across the Pacific to Vancouver was be mighty boring without sleep and entertainment. I was forced to see Chinese movies for want of other alternatives and sleep deserted me almost all through the long flight. I was happy when the Captain announced that we would land in Vancouver 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. The queue in immigration was humongous. Fortunately there were enough kiosks to electronically declare purpose of visit and what one carried. However, there were just two officers to physically verify the entries and that delayed the movement of the queues quite unnecessarily. By the time I was done with that my bags were on the carousal.

The next ‘task’ was to hire the car that I had booked online through Hertz. The car rental counters were a short walk from the exit. A Fijian lady attended to my reservation. I told her that I would like a car in good condition because of the long distance I would be doing in the next 45 days. She came up with a brand new Chevrolet Impala that had done just 643 km!  During the younger days, years before the Indian economy opened up and imported cars were the preserve of the rich and mighty, I have heard people talk in awe of “that man who owned an Impala”. And, her I was, ready to drive that massive white beauty. On road assistance and car hire together cost me a bit over CAD 3000. I have to watch out for the mileage, which is notoriously poor in the Chevy Impala. And, it was the first time that I would be driving a left hand drive car! On other international trips I had taken the right hand drive car along, while in Australia and New Zealand right hand drive cars alone were in use. So this was going to be a test, at least for the first few days. Therefore, before I pulled out of the rental parking slot I went through a drill to become more familiar with the vehicle.

It was a smooth drive to where my Aunt lives in Surrey. The traffic in many places slowed down the drive. However, in under an hour I parked in her house in a lovely gated complex. The rest of the evening was spent catching up with news and understanding the country a bit more. Supper consisted of asparagus, kale and chicken roast, after which I went on a short walk in the neighborhood. It had to be early to bed as the previous day’s lack of sleep was catching up fast.