OOTY!!!

After a taxi, a wait, and a plane, I arrived at Coimbatore. I saw Ash almost as soon as I got off the plane - his flight had arrived a few minutes before mine. We had an excited hug in the airport, and I was excited to see that he had brought almost as much stuff as me. Ah, runners and their gear.

I hadn't packed as much stuff, because I didn't REALLY look at the weather until I was in Lonavla. Ash brought me a jacket and some extra long-sleeved shirts.

Coimbatore was hot. Humid. Ahhhh, India. I was melting already. We stopped by a friend's running shop, and it was cool to geek out and see all the Indian runners. The running community in India is SO incredibly welcoming and I would never have connected so much with India if it hadn't been for the runners. They are my favorite people.

We got food, and I'm proud to say we basically ate cheese for lunch. (File this under: reasons why I love Ash.) Then we drove to Ooty. I had it in my head that it was 30 minutes or so. Add 2 plus hours to that.

Still, it was fine. We caught up, laughed. I told him all about my yoga course and my job and then we got to our room. I was pretty tired after my long day (getting up at something stupid like 2am because of jet lag and an early flight) and then we just went out to eat, someplace "continental." I had actually been hoping for good Indian food - I had been so sick of all the boring ashram food, but this was amazing regardless.

The next few days were a blur. We drove around to different places - lakes, mountaintops, went running (my stomach was a wreck so the running was greatly reduced, sob sob), bought tea, ate paneer, watched running movies. It was just like hanging out with your best friend, only your best friend lives in another country, so you just chill and drink tea and talk.

I have to admit: I had a lump in my throat saying goodbye to Ash. He invited me in to his home and family and shared with me so much. If he lived closer, we would def hang out and run all the time. Now, I have to settle with rare occasions and WhatsApp.