15 June - It is time to head back home

 

The homestay was just a 15 minute drive to the airport. We drove straight to the Hertz Rental sector for car return. Returning the car to Hertz was completely hassle free. I first drove to the inspection area where a genial gentleman went around the car, took photos, made a thorough examination and took the keys. He said that all was okay with the car and that we could go to the Hertz office to make the rental payment. The Chevrolet Impala had served us well and not once did she even sigh during the 45 days I was at its wheel. The payment formalities were completed in less than 10 minutes. I asked for the lady who had given me the brand new car and was told that she was off duty at the time. I left her a couple of Record Drive coasters and copies of my books with the gentleman who took the payment. The experience with Hertz car rental in Australia and Canada have been great, superb cars and exceptional service. Though they are a bit pricier than some of the rest the quality of cars and service accommodate that premium.

We were very early at the airport for check in. we killed time over coffee and idle talk. Later we checked in electronically, tagged the baggage and took the boarding passes for the flights we were on. Hetal was scheduled to fly Air China via Beijing to Mumbai and I had one through Hong Kong to Chennai with Cathay. Hetal had quite a scare when her passport and tickets were compared. There was a mismatch in the two names and after a lot of back and forth she had her boarding passes. It was our luck that we had reached early. If we were in the nick of time she could have been refused on the technicality if the flight had been overbooked. In the end all panned out well. We said our goodbyes and left for our respective gates. It had been a wonderful team effort all the way from Newfoundland to Victoria.

While waiting for the gate to open I reminisced about the 45 day sojourn in Canada. The roundtrip Trans Canada Highway Expedition was the 13th successfully completed Record Drive, a passion that surfaced in 2010. The brand new Chevy Impala, hired from Hertz, was my companion for 18001 km consuming less than1500 litres of petrol at an average cost of C$ 1.28 per litre (less than INR 68) for a mileage of over 12 km per litre. With the completion of this expedition I have all the four longest highways in the world under my belt - Australia Highway1, Trans Siberian Highway, Trans Canada Highway and Indian Golden Quadrilateral - all completed solo, a record of unbelievable proportions for a person who doesn't even know how to change tyres of a car! I believe that respect for other souls will get you respect from them too. And, I believe that the cars I drive have souls too. Trouble free expeditions are what I have got in return for respecting them.

It is time to fly back home to family, friends, colleagues and work. Adieu Canada, I enjoyed being part of you for 45 days. Drinking water from the tap, a crime free society, friendly people, awesome landscape, brilliant infrastructure friendly to abled, disabled and pets, pollution free environment, respect for pedestrians, and many such positives are my takeaways.