(My Final Muttering From Madras was unfortunately cut short on Friday evening when I went to publish the post and only half of it appeared...and then I ran out of internet time at the hotel so was unable to complete it...and now I've pretty much forgotten what the rest of it said exactly! Anyway...
It has been a busy and tiring emotional roller-coaster of a week.
The packers came, they packed our lives back into boxes,again. They removed the boxes and they moved them to Chennai Port. Strangely we have fewer packages than we arrived with, I obviously haven't done a good job at shopping here as I thought.
Ellie's school broke up for the Summer holiday today and I was doing just fine until I went to collect her...cue the tears, thankfully I wasn't the only one, it's the transient nature of the ex-pat life...people coming then going and the cycle continues...it's tougher on the ones staying behind in the long run I'm sure.
What I can't quite actually believe is that we have only been here for 8 and a half months, and yet we've done so much, but so little of what we had planned, and been through a whole raft of experiences and emotions that could probably sustain us for a lifetime...but it's been great and I wouldn't change our short spell here for anything and I don't think that anywhere else could quite ever meet the challenge or offer the experiences, the sights, the people...and the wonderful friends met and made here. We will miss you all.
After just a few hours sleep Kumar and Murasoli will be picking us all up one last time and delivering us to Chennai airport where we will board our BA flight direct (thank goodness) to Heathrow. For me, Ellie and Luke this will probably be the last we see of India for a long while. Ian however, will be back in just a few weeks and every couple of months thereafter.
