Helen writes,
Our plan had been to relax at the beach after our travels and leisurely make our way up the coast to Colombo with two stops en route. The Lighthouse Hotel in Galle had been fantastic and we’d assumed the Taj Exotica at Bentota would be really good too, but it was actually a bit disappointing. Certainly in comparison to other Taj Hotels we have stayed at in India
It is in clear need of refurbishment so we felt as though we’d landed in an overpriced, “once was but now isn’t” sort of place.
The local staff were very helpful, but the mainly Indian management were officious to say the least. We constantly felt we were under scrutiny in case we made off with an illicit packet of peanuts or some such thing.
The business manager asked us our views at dinner time so we told her. She said renovations were planned but that didn’t really help us there and then!
Never mind. We’ve stayed in some marvellous places on our tour so we shouldn’t moan too much!! And it wasn’t exactly Wormwood Scrubs.
On the positive side the food was good at both breakfast and dinner.
We’ve eaten my favourite foods here at breakfast time - Masala Dosas.
The pool here is also large and very deep.
Roshan thinks it is fantastic and has done 30 lengths each day.
He and I have also gone to the gym each day. It’s well equipped and the gym teacher is helpful and vigilant and plies us with water when we look as if we are beginning to fade.
Yesterday I was tempted to try the steam room after the gym.
It was so steamy I couldn’t see anything. I had to go on all fours to try to see where the benches were! Needless to say it was so hot I couldn’t stay long and groped my way back to the door and out into clear air!
Next stop Colombo and the famous Galle Face Hotel.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
16 The luxurious Lighthouse
Helen writes,
We arrived at Galle in the late morning after another long trek along narrow dusty roads.
Neil took us around the old town and we walked on the ramparts of the old Fort.
Along the route we’d seen evidence of the damage done in the Tsunami, buildings destroyed and homes washed away.
The government has prevented some shoreline rebuilding so there are areas along the beach where you can see right out to sea where previously there were trees, homes, shops and hotels.
The sea was really rough and beaches all along the coast had red flags to warn of the strong currents.
Nevertheless we saw some people bathing. We decided to stick to the pool.
We had a drink at a lovely old hotel called the Ramparts. It reminded me of Portugal in its design. This area has been colonised by first, the Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the British and all have left evidence of their time in power. The fort’s walls are so thick that they withstood the Tsunami so people here were safe.
We loved seeing Chuli again when she visited us at the Lighthouse hotel.
She brought May and Roshan lovely gifts to remind them of Sri Lanka. She was able to stay for a few hours chatting and reminiscing about times now long gone, before returning to her mother’s house in Galle for the birthday celebrations. We are hoping to see her a final time in Colombo at the weekend before she heads off for her new life in Dacca, Bangladesh.
The Lighthouse hotel was fantastic.
It was lovely to be by the sea again after all our travels inland. It is in a beautiful setting just outside Galle. Our rooms were great and we had a sea view balcony. The pools were large and one was an infinity pool so you feel like you are swimming over the edge and into the sea! Food was great too!
May and I had a cocktail on the terrace as the sun went down after a stroll on the beach - Fantastic!
The hotel staff were helpful when Malcolm was unwell and called a doctor straight away. He has had medicine, which has sorted out his illness although he felt pretty rough for a few days.
15 Searching for crocodiles!
Helen writes,
Very early - 4.45 am - we woke up to go to the Uda Welewa Game reserve. It had been raining hard all night in this very rural area and we wondered what the roads would be like that we’d travelled down the day before. Then everything had been so dry and dusty.
On our way to the Centaurus Tourist Hotel on the edge of the Game Reserve and on the banks of the lake, we had stopped to feed wild elephants with pieces of fruit along the road. Fortunately, there had been an electrified fence between us or we might not have been so brave.
Going along the pre dawn, darkened roads we saw the early morning activities of the locals; people taking food to market on little tractors pulling trailers or by bike or tuk-tuk.
Few homes had electric light so the roads were very dark. Gradually, though, it started to get light and we transferred from our car to a 4 wheel drive jeep. It really did feel now as though we were on Safari!
We picked up a warden from the game reserve en route and he chatted to us about what we would be able to see.
I explained that Roshan was getting a bit desperate to see a crocodile. He was uncertain about our chances as apparently they are very shy creatures. Not an adjective I’d previously ascribed to a croc!
We entered the game reserve and picked up our guide. He was very knowledgeable but had problems explaining all he knew in decipherable English.
He had really sharp eyes and pointed out lots of beautiful birds; eagles, kingfishers, Indian rollers and storks.
There were lots of elephants wandering around in herds and smaller groups. They weren’t shy and came quite close to the jeep. They were all busy chomping away at the long grass and throwing dust onto their back to keep cool and deter insects.
We headed towards the large lake and slowed down.
The moment of truth approached. Would the shy and retiring crocs make an appearance?
Yes! In the distance sitting in the mud were 2 crocodiles; one large, one small. They lay unmoving, like logs in the sun.
Roshan was so pleased to see them. He’d begun to think that stories of croc infested rivers were untrue.
We are always amazed that local people swim in the lakes but I suppose they know where these fearsome creatures are likely to be and keep well away.
In truth, after a good 2 hours of hard safari-ing we were ready to go back to the comforts of the hotel. We’d seen lots of wildlife and we’re not really huge fans of the great outdoors at the best of times, and especially not when the going gets arduous.
The hotel pool and all its enticements beckoned!
Very early - 4.45 am - we woke up to go to the Uda Welewa Game reserve. It had been raining hard all night in this very rural area and we wondered what the roads would be like that we’d travelled down the day before. Then everything had been so dry and dusty.
On our way to the Centaurus Tourist Hotel on the edge of the Game Reserve and on the banks of the lake, we had stopped to feed wild elephants with pieces of fruit along the road. Fortunately, there had been an electrified fence between us or we might not have been so brave.
Going along the pre dawn, darkened roads we saw the early morning activities of the locals; people taking food to market on little tractors pulling trailers or by bike or tuk-tuk.
Few homes had electric light so the roads were very dark. Gradually, though, it started to get light and we transferred from our car to a 4 wheel drive jeep. It really did feel now as though we were on Safari!
We picked up a warden from the game reserve en route and he chatted to us about what we would be able to see.
I explained that Roshan was getting a bit desperate to see a crocodile. He was uncertain about our chances as apparently they are very shy creatures. Not an adjective I’d previously ascribed to a croc!
We entered the game reserve and picked up our guide. He was very knowledgeable but had problems explaining all he knew in decipherable English.
He had really sharp eyes and pointed out lots of beautiful birds; eagles, kingfishers, Indian rollers and storks.
There were lots of elephants wandering around in herds and smaller groups. They weren’t shy and came quite close to the jeep. They were all busy chomping away at the long grass and throwing dust onto their back to keep cool and deter insects.
The moment of truth approached. Would the shy and retiring crocs make an appearance?
Yes! In the distance sitting in the mud were 2 crocodiles; one large, one small. They lay unmoving, like logs in the sun.
Roshan was so pleased to see them. He’d begun to think that stories of croc infested rivers were untrue.
We are always amazed that local people swim in the lakes but I suppose they know where these fearsome creatures are likely to be and keep well away.
 |
| We visited the elephant orphanage where the babies are prepared for release into the reserve. |
In truth, after a good 2 hours of hard safari-ing we were ready to go back to the comforts of the hotel. We’d seen lots of wildlife and we’re not really huge fans of the great outdoors at the best of times, and especially not when the going gets arduous.
The hotel pool and all its enticements beckoned!
Monday, August 23, 2010
14 To the Hills!
Helen writes,
Very early in the morning we left Kandy and headed into the hill country on our way south.
The roads are very winding and the scenery breathtaking.
Unfortunately, the road-building programme in this part of Sri Lanka has only just begun, so much of our route was unmade and bumpy.
There is an enormous project underway with sections of highway being hewn from rock.
As usual our careful driver, Neil, negotiated the dogs, cows, monkeys and other road users very skilfully. He isn’t phased by anything.
People here are not aggressive drivers so despite potentially lethal bends we felt safe overtaking on hairpins!!
On the way Neil spotted a very young puppy dog being harassed by a small group of very aggressive brown monkeys. He stopped the car close by but this didn’t deter the little gang of bullies one bit. The puppy was eventually saved when a local passerby shooed them off and carried the puppy to safety. It wasn’t at all grateful and squealed and squawked all through its timely rescue.
We arrived in the ‘Tea Factory’ hotel mid afternoon.
This is an old tea factory building that has been transformed by an architect into a beautiful hotel. The original features of the factory are still there so it was a unique place to stay.
The weather was really cool, like an English summer (a good one, that is) and many local buildings are styled like cottages you can see every day on the Isle of Wight.
A footprint of the Empire from over a 100 years ago.
Everywhere on the hills were closely packed clumps of tea bushes and women busy picking the succulent top leaves – the tips, each with a huge sack on their backs.
We visited a working factory which was very labour intensive.
As usual at the end of the visit there is the gift shop.
We did buy a few things but there really are only so many things you can stuff tea into!
Later we visited the town Nuwara Eliya which is the main town in this area. May wanted to buy a sari and Neil took her to a friend’s shop.
There she chose some beautiful fabric and had a sari made on the spot in the Kandian style.
The tailor delivered it, impeccably finished and fitted, to the hotel within just a few hours.
She wore it to dinner at the hotel that very night. She looked stunning!
The next morning we headed off early to the south and the game reserve. We knew it would be a change of climate again as we were heading for a really dry and hot area and, with a bit of luck, to find all the animals that Roshan was looking forward to seeing so much.
Very early in the morning we left Kandy and headed into the hill country on our way south.
The roads are very winding and the scenery breathtaking.
Unfortunately, the road-building programme in this part of Sri Lanka has only just begun, so much of our route was unmade and bumpy.
There is an enormous project underway with sections of highway being hewn from rock.
As usual our careful driver, Neil, negotiated the dogs, cows, monkeys and other road users very skilfully. He isn’t phased by anything.
People here are not aggressive drivers so despite potentially lethal bends we felt safe overtaking on hairpins!!
On the way Neil spotted a very young puppy dog being harassed by a small group of very aggressive brown monkeys. He stopped the car close by but this didn’t deter the little gang of bullies one bit. The puppy was eventually saved when a local passerby shooed them off and carried the puppy to safety. It wasn’t at all grateful and squealed and squawked all through its timely rescue.
We arrived in the ‘Tea Factory’ hotel mid afternoon.
This is an old tea factory building that has been transformed by an architect into a beautiful hotel. The original features of the factory are still there so it was a unique place to stay.
The weather was really cool, like an English summer (a good one, that is) and many local buildings are styled like cottages you can see every day on the Isle of Wight.
A footprint of the Empire from over a 100 years ago.
Everywhere on the hills were closely packed clumps of tea bushes and women busy picking the succulent top leaves – the tips, each with a huge sack on their backs.
As usual at the end of the visit there is the gift shop.
We did buy a few things but there really are only so many things you can stuff tea into!
Later we visited the town Nuwara Eliya which is the main town in this area. May wanted to buy a sari and Neil took her to a friend’s shop.
There she chose some beautiful fabric and had a sari made on the spot in the Kandian style.
The tailor delivered it, impeccably finished and fitted, to the hotel within just a few hours.
She wore it to dinner at the hotel that very night. She looked stunning!
The next morning we headed off early to the south and the game reserve. We knew it would be a change of climate again as we were heading for a really dry and hot area and, with a bit of luck, to find all the animals that Roshan was looking forward to seeing so much.
13 The Kandy Perahera
Helen writes,
Our guide took May, Roshan and I to the Temple of the Tooth this morning.
This is the famous Buddhist Temple in Kandy where the tooth relic of the Buddha is kept.
Lots of people were here today as we are in a holy week.
The Temple garden was full of elephants eating great chunks of palm wood. Roshan was in seventh heaven.
We all had tickets for the great Perahera festival tonight but in the end only May and I went because the wait and parade was too long for Roshan and Malcolm.
May and I went to town with Neil our guide in a tuk-tuk at 5pm.
We climbed onto a trestle bench and waited 3 hours for the parade to start.
We were fascinated by all the salesmen who came round with a great variety of things to play with, eat and blow.
May tried various sweets; pink candy floss wrapped in newspaper which she liked and said was really sweet and a doughnut shaped dahl ball which she didn’t. She is very intrepid when it comes to trying new things.
The parade was fabulous. It lasted till 10.30.
The photos give a taste of the spectacle we saw; 30 elephants, dancers, fire spinners and cracking whips.
The tuk-tuk ride home was great too.
These little 3 wheeler taxis are fab at weaving around the traffic and potholes.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
12 Mahiyangana
Helen writes,
On Tuesday morning bright and early, before 7am, May and I set off from Kandy to visit her family’s home town, Mahiyangana .
We were excited because we wanted to see where her grandparents and sister had been living when May was born and we hoped to find information about them with the help of our guide, Neil.
He had been so helpful to us in finding Roshan’s family so we hoped that his detection skills could do the trick here, too.
The road was long and winding around the great reservoirs on the Mahawhelli River. We saw many monkeys and chipmunks along the way.
The road was busy with trucks carrying sand to Colombo from the east.
Neil had said it may take us 5 hours to get there but we arrived in 3.
The town was dusty, with a large Buddhist shrine at the entrance.
We stopped at a little local café to ask for advice as to where we might start to look.
The owner told us to enquire at the surgery of an old Ayurvedic doctor, as he might know people who were inhabitants of the town a long time ago.
In fact he wasn’t able to identify the family at all because we didn’t have an address but he suggested the family name came from a specific part of the region and that we might have more luck over there.
We traveled on into areas most tourists don’t ever visit and stopped at a place inhabited by the Veddhas, the aboriginal people of Sri Lanka.
A little old man grabbed both my hands and listened attentively to Neil’s explanation of our quest. He suggested yet another possible location.
This time it was a really remote place so a young man offered to come with us to show us the way.
Off we went again along bumpy little tracks around large tranquil lakes.
By the time we reached the end of the road we still hadn’t found the family so back we came.
As we returned feeling downcast, we saw an amazing sight.
A sea eagle swooped down in front of us and caught a fish from the lake. It flew up into a tree and laid the fish across the branch. A crow flew across to try and steal it but the eagle took off with its prize before it had the chance to make a grab.
We went back to the town and looked around once more until we found an old lady and asked if she knew any details of May’s birth family.
Like everyone else we had asked she was so keen to help and directed us to the Social services office in town.
There the officials were really keen to help us track down her family.
They said that May was "one of their nation" and would get help from them even though the paperwork we had was so sketchy.
We left all the details we had got with them and said we would send more photos later to help in their searches.
A disappointing result on the day …… but you never know what the future might hold.
We came back along the same windy road and saw the same monkeys we had seen on the outward journey!
We had traveled for 10 hours and a distance of over 300 kilometres.
The scenery had been spectacular and all the people we had met, so kind.
On Tuesday morning bright and early, before 7am, May and I set off from Kandy to visit her family’s home town, Mahiyangana .
We were excited because we wanted to see where her grandparents and sister had been living when May was born and we hoped to find information about them with the help of our guide, Neil.
He had been so helpful to us in finding Roshan’s family so we hoped that his detection skills could do the trick here, too.
The road was long and winding around the great reservoirs on the Mahawhelli River. We saw many monkeys and chipmunks along the way.
The road was busy with trucks carrying sand to Colombo from the east.
Neil had said it may take us 5 hours to get there but we arrived in 3.
The town was dusty, with a large Buddhist shrine at the entrance.
We stopped at a little local café to ask for advice as to where we might start to look.
The owner told us to enquire at the surgery of an old Ayurvedic doctor, as he might know people who were inhabitants of the town a long time ago.
In fact he wasn’t able to identify the family at all because we didn’t have an address but he suggested the family name came from a specific part of the region and that we might have more luck over there.
We traveled on into areas most tourists don’t ever visit and stopped at a place inhabited by the Veddhas, the aboriginal people of Sri Lanka.
A little old man grabbed both my hands and listened attentively to Neil’s explanation of our quest. He suggested yet another possible location.
This time it was a really remote place so a young man offered to come with us to show us the way.
Off we went again along bumpy little tracks around large tranquil lakes.
By the time we reached the end of the road we still hadn’t found the family so back we came.
As we returned feeling downcast, we saw an amazing sight.
A sea eagle swooped down in front of us and caught a fish from the lake. It flew up into a tree and laid the fish across the branch. A crow flew across to try and steal it but the eagle took off with its prize before it had the chance to make a grab.
We went back to the town and looked around once more until we found an old lady and asked if she knew any details of May’s birth family.
Like everyone else we had asked she was so keen to help and directed us to the Social services office in town.
There the officials were really keen to help us track down her family.
They said that May was "one of their nation" and would get help from them even though the paperwork we had was so sketchy.
We left all the details we had got with them and said we would send more photos later to help in their searches.
A disappointing result on the day …… but you never know what the future might hold.
We came back along the same windy road and saw the same monkeys we had seen on the outward journey!
We had traveled for 10 hours and a distance of over 300 kilometres.
The scenery had been spectacular and all the people we had met, so kind.
11 Elephant riding at the Kandalama
Helen writes,
Today Helen, May and Roshan went on an elephant ride round a beautiful lake filled with lotus flowers.
When we arrived we climbed a rickety ladder up to a high platform and Rajah the elephant waited patiently while we clambered onto his back and sat on a padded seat either side of his back.
The mahout was a spindly man with a simple stick to control the elephant. Luckily Rajah obeyed all his commands and transported us safely around the lake stopping to munch on various leaves en route.
The mahout’s friend took pictures of us as he said the camera was safer like that! I tried to take photos but they were all shaky.
After a while Rajah took a precipitous turn into the lake! We were frightened to death.
We couldn’t see what was in the lake and thoughts of unfriendly reptiles made us very uneasy.
Rajah plodded in deeper and deeper.
We raised our legs and I made conversation with the mahout to keep my mind off hidden perils!
We emerged much later thankfully unscathed!
The guide made us all garlands from lotus flowers, which were lovely.
He also found us interesting plants for May to draw.
Today Helen, May and Roshan went on an elephant ride round a beautiful lake filled with lotus flowers.
When we arrived we climbed a rickety ladder up to a high platform and Rajah the elephant waited patiently while we clambered onto his back and sat on a padded seat either side of his back.
The mahout was a spindly man with a simple stick to control the elephant. Luckily Rajah obeyed all his commands and transported us safely around the lake stopping to munch on various leaves en route.
The mahout’s friend took pictures of us as he said the camera was safer like that! I tried to take photos but they were all shaky.
After a while Rajah took a precipitous turn into the lake! We were frightened to death.
We couldn’t see what was in the lake and thoughts of unfriendly reptiles made us very uneasy.
Rajah plodded in deeper and deeper.
We raised our legs and I made conversation with the mahout to keep my mind off hidden perils!
We emerged much later thankfully unscathed!
The guide made us all garlands from lotus flowers, which were lovely.
He also found us interesting plants for May to draw.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
10. Dambulla Reunion
Helen writes,
Another amazing day!
This morning we woke in a state of great nervous expectation because the day promised two possible results; either we would be meeting Roshan’s birth mother for the first time in twenty years or disapointingly she would not be able to make the journey to Dambulla for the reunion.
The tentative arrangement was for us to meet at 11am.
Before this we planned to climb up the steep rock face at Dambulla to see the ancient Buddhist cave temples.
We started out at 8am and climbed painfully slowly up the steep pathway towards the caves. Several elderly ladies passed us negotiating the route much more nimbly than our leaden limbs could manage.
How unfit are we?
The temple was interesting and our guide was very informative but in truth, I was far too anxious about our coming appointment to concentrate on touristy stuff and wanted to get going to town and make the rendezvous with Roshan’s mum.
At the base of the temple our guide got a call on his mobile from Priyantha, Roshan’s brother. He said his mother hadn’t yet arrived.
I told Roshan that the chances of us meeting her were now very small as she wasn’t able to make the journey from where she now lives.
He was sad but said he understood she must feel very stressed about it all.
He knows all about stress!!
We headed out of town to try and get my phone unblocked but every phone shop said that this would cause permanent damage so I’ve given up trying now and will just stick with May if we are out, as her phone is fine.
At 12 o’clock we had another call from Priyantha. He said he would be meeting us with his mother very soon.
We waited and soon a little green tuk-tuk appeared.
Out climbed three people; Priyantha, a young woman in orange robes and a small, thin woman whose face I instantly recognised as Roshan’s Mum!
It was all very emotional all round really.
The young woman turned out to be Roshan’s sister. Her name is Depeeka.
She has been a Buddhist nun since she was a young girl.
She is 26 now and remembers Roshan when he was a baby.
She was shocked to see him initially and cried.
Through Neil our guide I asked if we could go to a café to have a drink and talk some more and everyone readily agreed.
We spent over an hour exchanging information and his mum was very happy to find that Roshan had been well looked after and was able to live well in spite of his deafness. She was worried for him and that he needed a cure but we explained that it wasn’t possible.
We exchanged addresses and promised to be in touch with more photos etc.
Roshan was happy to meet his family.
But I don’t think he’s realised quite how amazingly lucky we were to have found them.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
9. Gallewella
Helen writes,
Today we had a remarkable adventure!
We were told by the Sri Lankan authorities that neither May nor Roshan’s mothers were traceable so we gave up on the idea of actually meeting them during our visit.
But on the way to our next stop at Dambulla we asked Neil, our driver, if he could stop at the home village of Roshan’s birth Mother so we could investigate.
I knew she had lived in the grounds of a Buddhist temple in a little town called Gallewella on the road to Dambulla.
Neil was sceptical about finding anyone who might know of her as it was such a long time ago That she had lived there and we didn’t have the address of the actual temple but ..... Helen, the Determined Woman persisted and I asked Neil to stop at the temples we found on the route and make enquiries.
At the first one - puzzled faces all round.
But at the second, where we had long conversations with aged and venerable Buddhist monks - Neil acting as translator - and a chattering clutch of very young novitiates eager to practise their English, there was a glimmer of recognition from a visiting tuk-tuk driver that rapidly sent him and Neil off into the town to find another tuk-tuk driver who turned out to be Roshan’s older brother, Priyantha!
He looks such a lot like Roshan and frowns with a puzzled, bewildered expression in exactly the same way that Roshan does.
Possibly tomorrow at 11am we may meet up with his birth mother once again after nearly 20 years!
Today we had a remarkable adventure!
We were told by the Sri Lankan authorities that neither May nor Roshan’s mothers were traceable so we gave up on the idea of actually meeting them during our visit.
But on the way to our next stop at Dambulla we asked Neil, our driver, if he could stop at the home village of Roshan’s birth Mother so we could investigate.
I knew she had lived in the grounds of a Buddhist temple in a little town called Gallewella on the road to Dambulla.
Neil was sceptical about finding anyone who might know of her as it was such a long time ago That she had lived there and we didn’t have the address of the actual temple but ..... Helen, the Determined Woman persisted and I asked Neil to stop at the temples we found on the route and make enquiries.
At the first one - puzzled faces all round.
But at the second, where we had long conversations with aged and venerable Buddhist monks - Neil acting as translator - and a chattering clutch of very young novitiates eager to practise their English, there was a glimmer of recognition from a visiting tuk-tuk driver that rapidly sent him and Neil off into the town to find another tuk-tuk driver who turned out to be Roshan’s older brother, Priyantha!
He looks such a lot like Roshan and frowns with a puzzled, bewildered expression in exactly the same way that Roshan does.
Possibly tomorrow at 11am we may meet up with his birth mother once again after nearly 20 years!
Friday, August 13, 2010
8. The road to Dambulla
Well, a long, hot and eventful journey from Negombo to Dambulla yesterday.
(More on the events later from Helen.)
A day of hard and dusty driving but fortunately we have the benefit of powerful air-con in our people carrier.
May took many photos of the sights and scenes of daily life of as we drove ever onward into the Sri Lankan interior. I'll try to upload them to a flikr account if we have time in the schedule. Broadband is a bit erratic and very slow at times.
The Hotel Kandalama, where we are staying, is an unbelievable place. It is built into and around a high rocky, jungle-clad hill overlooking a huge tank (man-made reservoir – I say man-made but it was made by men living in a previous millennium so there is nothing artificial about it.)
Some background info on
The Hotel
The Hotel
The building is close to half a km long in total, winding it’s way round the hill, and has 6 floors but is as unlike a concrete monolithic edifice as it is possible to get. The jungle is never more than a few feet away at any point.
We woke this morning to find monkeys on one of our balconies.
Yes, we have two balconies. We booked standard rooms at all the hotels on our tour but Rebecca at Audley’s managed to get them all upgraded to deluxe rooms at no extra cost. She’s a marvel.
When we arrived at the Kandalama they only had one deluxe room available so they upgraded us again to a suite. At first May insisted that she and mum had the suite but decided on reflection that she preferred the panoramic lake view from the one deluxe room to the suite’s less exotic jungle view, so poor old Roshan and me had to settle for the suite.
We aren’t complaining. The Jacuzzi is huge.
There is a tri-nation cricket tournament going on at the moment and the hotel is the base for the Sri Lankan, Indian and New Zealand teams. We are constantly coming across people I’ve seen playing on Sky Sports.
It’s a strange, unworldly experience to keep bumping into strangers who look so familiar.
Today Sri Lanka are playing new Zealand, so the hotel is quieter but this evening there will be one happy group and one a little more downcast, I expect.
I was talking to one of the Sri Lankan coaches (an Aussie) last night and he’s very confident of a Lankan win. We’ll see later.
I was talking to one of the Sri Lankan coaches (an Aussie) last night and he’s very confident of a Lankan win. We’ll see later.
All the players and their support staff for all three teams seem a friendly bunch despite their great fame and the reverence they are universally held in, here in Sri Lanka, which is a country utterly besotted with cricket.
It’s a marvellous place.
It’s a marvellous place.
Me and my new friend, Lasith Malinga.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
7. In Negombo
Helen writes,
Life in Economy wasn’t so bad! After a short while on board we were given food and drink.
All was fine until the plane converted to Sri Lankan time and after only a few hours sleep in the darkened plane the lights were turned on and cold flannels distributed to all of us to wake us up.
I looked at my watch. It was 2am.
We were served breakfast then we landed. In local time it was 8 am. We were very jet lagged! We definitely needed to relax and acclimatise.
Our driver, Neil, met us at the airport and took us to our first hotel called ‘the Beach’ at Negombo.
It is spectacular! There are palm lined beaches and a crashing surf beyond. We explored the hotel and the local beach, enjoyed fantastic local cuisine and cocktails in the evening on the terrace.
May had a King Coconut, which is a whole coconut, pierced and drunk through a straw into the fruit.
Today our Sri Lankan friend, Chuli da Silva, came to see us.
She stayed for dinner in the evening and we enjoyed a Sri Lankan buffet on the terrace of the hotel. She thought the food was great so we feel we’ve been eating the authentic cuisine.
It was great to see her after 20 years.
She is about to start work in Dacca, Bangladesh where she is curating/ organising a huge event in photography. She’s just as enthusiastic as I remember she was all those years ago when we first met in Brunei.
She took lots of photos, especially of May and Roshan. She’s always been very interested in their lives as she was instrumental in our adoption of them originally.
We may see her again in Galle as she’s there at the same time as us - fingers crossed.
Life in Economy wasn’t so bad! After a short while on board we were given food and drink.
All was fine until the plane converted to Sri Lankan time and after only a few hours sleep in the darkened plane the lights were turned on and cold flannels distributed to all of us to wake us up.
I looked at my watch. It was 2am.
We were served breakfast then we landed. In local time it was 8 am. We were very jet lagged! We definitely needed to relax and acclimatise.
Our driver, Neil, met us at the airport and took us to our first hotel called ‘the Beach’ at Negombo.
It is spectacular! There are palm lined beaches and a crashing surf beyond. We explored the hotel and the local beach, enjoyed fantastic local cuisine and cocktails in the evening on the terrace.
May had a King Coconut, which is a whole coconut, pierced and drunk through a straw into the fruit.
The three intrepid travelers take time out for a welcome pedicure. Dad just foot the bill.
Today our Sri Lankan friend, Chuli da Silva, came to see us.
She stayed for dinner in the evening and we enjoyed a Sri Lankan buffet on the terrace of the hotel. She thought the food was great so we feel we’ve been eating the authentic cuisine.
It was great to see her after 20 years.
She is about to start work in Dacca, Bangladesh where she is curating/ organising a huge event in photography. She’s just as enthusiastic as I remember she was all those years ago when we first met in Brunei.
She took lots of photos, especially of May and Roshan. She’s always been very interested in their lives as she was instrumental in our adoption of them originally.
We may see her again in Galle as she’s there at the same time as us - fingers crossed.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
6 Heathrow Blues
Well I did my best.
I asked them at the check-in desk and I asked again at boarding.
I asked the kind young stewardess who showed me to my capacious and luxurious seat and she asked the smiling dapper cabin manager who then came to see me. So I asked him too.
He went off and asked the ultimate arbiter, the flight manager who also came to see me and, yes you’ve guessed it, I asked him.
Oh how I asked him. I used all the obsequious charm I’d picked up during my two years in Northern Borneo. I smiled my Mackworth grin and shook his hand like I was his long lost son.
And he said YES! It certainly was perfectly possible for my family to join me in the exclusive business class cabin. It was only half full, after all and he could quite understand how I might be lonely parted from them for a full ten hour flight. All I had to do was pay a £550 upgrade fee – each - and they could leave the cramped hell I’d consigned them to and scamper forward to the roomy acres at the front of the plane.
As you might guess, I declined his kind offer and settled disconsolately into my deeply padded recliner and tried to come to terms with my failure as I tucked into my Tian of Seafood with Mesculine salad, followed by Fillet of Beef with green peppercorn sauce served onto china plates (silver service, of course) and a very pleasant, if a little fruity, cheeky glass of red.
Somehow I recovered. I’m not sure Helen, May and Roshan have though.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
5 - Just a week to go now ........
This is where we start off. Met at the airport and gently chauffeured to our first hotel
The first port of call -
Three days of pampered luxury on the agenda to help us get acclimatised and to re adjust our internal clocks before we get down to the hard traveling to come later.
Exactly how many deeply alcoholic coconut cocktails and exotic nibbles served by the pool might be considered to constitute adequate preparation, I wonder?
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