Last weekend, the hotel manager revealed that he had been a chef at a five-star hotel, which explains some of the breakfasts I’ve had, and mentioned that my last day is also his birthday. For my final week, he promised some special dosas… here they are! Onion dosa, egg dosa, cheese dosa (yum!), cucumber dosa, and a paper dosa. Actually, that last dosa is a masala dosa, but done with extremely thin dough. All very tasty. I asked him what he would have served if I stayed another week, and he smiled, “You’ll have to come back to find out!”
My last day happened to coincide with the company’s observance of Women’s Day, which was officially Sunday March 8. There was a rangoli competition in the foyer in the morning, with several teams of women creating Women’s Day-themed designs with coloured powder, followed by a talent show in the canteen in the afternoon, where employees got up and sang, played instruments, and did stand-up comedy. There were games and prizes (“first one to the front with a company-branded pen gets a chocolate bar!”), appreciation gifts for the cleaning staff, and of course prizes for the best rangolis. I was called up to draw names, and while I was up there, “Mr. Gord” was asked to say a few words about Women’s Day!
After work, I went back to the hotel to try to fit everything into my bags. As in 2006, I’d come with a single duffle bag, but this time I was smart enough to bring along a second one, knowing that last time I’d had to buy another bag on my last day. I wasn’t planning to bring back as much stuff this time, but it’s surprising how it accumulates… movies, books, incense… a rug…. I ended up filling both duffles with about 40 pounds more stuff than I came with.
Saif dropped by to pick me up about 11pm to drive me out to the airport. I enjoyed that drive out to the airport with the windows down in the warm evening air, knowing that I had a few more months of winter to look forward to when I got back to Ottawa.
The flight back was uneventful, but crowded. Every seat on the 747 was occupied, but even so, it wasn’t unpleasant, and the Air France food and service reminded me again to congratulate myself for avoiding Air Canada.
Beer is cheaper than coffee at Charles de Gaulle, so I had a couple of Heinekins and watched the throngs of people passing through.
The airport had been largely deserted in the early morning when I passed through five weeks earlier, but this time, in the afternoon, it was very busy. The gate for the flight to Montreal had a flight going to somewhere in Africa before mine, so I found another gate to relax at. Someone with a clipboard wanted to interview me about Bulgaria– it was a short interview.
Twenty-six hours after leaving Bangalore (and about 48 hours since I’d last slept), I was back in Ottawa. The cats sniffed me over, decided I was OK, and it was as if I’d never left.
Update:
About 24 hours after I got back, I discovered I’d returned with a souvenir of either the plane ride or Charles de Gaulle: the worst flu I can remember, almost as bad as having the Chicken Pox when I was 31. I’ll spare you the gory details, but it was definitely a memorable end to the trip!
And what does Mr. Gord have to say about Women’s Day? Does he approve?
Mr. Gord sez… I was a bit flustered (ok, a lot flustered) at being handed a microphone as a followup to such an impressive show, so I don’t remember exactly what I said (and luckily Vivek couldn’t find movie-mode on my camera!), but I do remember observing that we could do with a little more recognition of the day in North America.