I left my hotel and went to a homestay near the beach. Cath and I would be staying there for a few days and Helene would join us after work.
After checking in, the owner, Edwin, introduced me to his wife, Ashley.
Cath came later. She’d finished her yoga retreat. I’d ordered an Uber for her since it was easier with an Indian SIM card. It was strange to see her in India. We were last together in Birmingham.
We had a choice of two villas and picked one. Cath and I were just about to stroll to the beach. We saw Ashley and she asked us to join her. We walked with Jerrick, her five-year-old son and Kanaka Raj, her dad. We passed the centre of the community, the Catholic church.
The beach was only 200m away. It was quite busy and fairly dirty. There were lots of stray dogs, which has been a common sight in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
Kanaka Raj is a retired social sciences teacher. He had many qualifications, all the way up to a Master of Philosophy. He seemed keen to practise his English. Ashley was a teacher too and spoke good English.
Together, we watched the sunset.
Helene messaged to say she was on her way. We walked back to the villa to meet her. We three have been on many holidays together — in Wales, Shuna island, the West Highlands and the Outer Hebrides. It was our first joint holiday abroad. We couldn’t believe we were together in India. Many coincidences had to happen to bring us together here. It was all so last minute.
One of the recommended local restaurants didn’t have good reviews on Google Maps. So, we ordered online, using the Zomato app. We opted for Mothers Veg Plaza, a restaurant I’d already been to twice. The food was delicious as usual.