SRI LANKA - FEBRUARY 2016
Part one - getting there...
Okay, here be me first post, and bear with me as I do not profess to be any sort of writer......AND for those of you who read Feron's posts, I shall warn you, in advance that my writing is no where near as "sophisticated nor eloquent" as her writings.......
We left our home Friday, November 5th, and headed for Duke Point to catch the 815 pm sailing to Tsawwassen..,..we arrived at the terminal and the ferry arrived on time, but surprisingly BC Ferries had troubles lowering the ramp...in fact, in took almost an hour and a half before the ferry could be unloaded....I know what most of you are thinking, "what a rarity, BC Ferries having mechanical issues..." and I was equally as shocked....of course BC Ferries kept everyone in the loop...periodically announcing their progress over the PA system, but unfortunately, I, like most others, were still in the dark, probably due to the fact that the PA system was on the lowest possible setting, and the announcer felt it best that he mumble.....on the flip side, I mastered twitter...well not really, but I made a post with the hashtag "bcferries" and low and behold, I got a response, albeit from some passenger that was stuck on the ferry....and I must admit, this was probably my first twitter attempt, so I will claim success with that......
The rest of the voyage was uneventful, and we made it to our daughter's place in the Point Grey area to spend the night.......thanks Tess.....
We made our way to the airport the next morning (Saturday) and checked in with Lufthansa for the first leg of our journey- a 9 hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany......which departed on time at 1325.....Lufthansa was an airline I have never before flown on, but was wanting to do so, but I must admit, I was rather disappointed...the service was less than to be desired...and the food more like some kind of road kill that was put in the washer to be warmed up...and they really didn't see to worried about coming back to collect garbage, so I was more or less awash in it by the time we arrived in Frankfurt.......
Approching Frankfurt...a 9:10 flight from Vancouver, and one day later.....
So we had about 6 hours to kill in Frankfurt...so we thought we should have breakfast....which basically consisted of fine German beer,
Our flight to Sri Lanka departed Frankfurt on time....1420 local time. We flew this leg on Sri Lankan Airlines...an airline I had told my wife had a dismal safety record, and had never successfully arrived on time....but of course, I was joking.....and at the same time, did do research on any airline I fly on.....BUT let me tell you this...Sri Lankan Airlines is, without a doubt, probably the best airline I have ever flown on...an almost new Airbus A330-300, with excellent customer service, and the best "economy-class" food I have ever had....which made the 9.5 hour flight much more better.....on a side note, upon my arrival in Unawatuna, I discovered my IPad was missing.....I must have left it on the airplane!! (I once left a set of Bose headphones and my IPod on a KLM flight, and KLM said there was nothing they could do about it, and I reported it to them as soon as I cleared security, the plane was still at the gate...basterds I say). So I email SLAir, and they responded within 10 minutes and sure enough they found an IPad, in my seat, and turned it over to customs as per their protocol, and assured me that they would hold it for me until I return to Colombo for the flight home, but they would charge me 50 Rsr (rupees) per day....50 cents. Just another indication that SLAir is truly a class act...
Our plane from Frankfurt arrived in Colombo around 430 am local time, and clearing
customs was almost effortless, but was somewhat hampered by the throng of people that were lining up. It was like there were a dozen flights that had arrived all at once, and there was a certain amount of jostling in the queues....but after passing through immigration control, you could not help but notice that most of the airport shops (that were still in the secure section of the airport) sold appliances, and we are talking refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers.....I got to thinking...I suppose it is for those who had forgotten to get a loved one, or a family member, a trinket on their trip....what a better gift to bring home than "A brand new refrigerator!" (think Bob Barker on the Price is Right).
After immigration control, it was to the luggage carousal to fetch our luggage and then to the next stage of security, where two stoic, smartly dressed agents merely glanced at us and waved us through....(drat, maybe I should have bought that fridge)..
After changing some Canadian money into Rupees (it is illegal to import rupees, which means you can't obtain them outside of the country, as well as taking them out of the country) the arrival hall was jammed full of people, most of whom held signs in some language(s) that I certainly don't understand, and upon exiting the airport the throng of people continued. Although a small airport by international standards, the place seemed busier than YVR, and this was now about 5 am in the morning!! What is everyone up to?
This picture does not do justice, but may give an indication of the hubbub outside the airport.
Even at this early morning hour, the temperature was in the mid 20's and the humidity probably in the 70's...quite refreshing after 25 or 3o hours of travelling.....(note sarcasm), but we were immediately met by two vans that had been pre-arranged to pick us up for the 2.5 hour drive south to Unawatuna.
The drive was filled with opposites...at times we were on a modern 4 lane highway, not at all different from what we would expect at home (although they drive on the WRONG side of the road...) then off the main road into mayhem...small streets with oversized vehicles, motorcyles, tuk-tuks ,cars and bicycles, with each and everyone driving like they were possessed. Even though the roads had painted lines it was like that was just a formality, whereas the centre of the road was for those who needed to pass, not matter which way they were going... Honking horns was a constant, but seemingly there was a pattern, with one blast meaning something, two shorts something else and so on....but all of this was carefully executed, as if there were some unseen force at play. Even dogs (and there are a LOT of dogs) seemed unnerved by this controlled mayhem, wandering across the road at just the right time. Bicyclists seemed to be in the "higher risk" group, and at one time, we asked our driver if he had ever hit a cyclist, to which he replied "oh yea...." with no further eloboration.
Sunrise whilst driving south
It is interesting to point out that the expressways are not widely used as they are tolled, with the approximately 110 km trip we took on the costing about $10.50 Cdn. Our driver explained that many Sri Lankans cannot afford the toll, and stick to the more minor roads and the mayhem. During the civil war in Sri Lanka, which began in mid 1983 and lasted for almost 26 years, public transport (mainly buses and transport trucks) were prone to attacks, which usually involved explosive devices of some fashion, and it wasn't long before the existing motorways became impassable, as they were effectively blown to bits. This civil war was between the minority Tamils, who felt they should have their own state in the north and east of the Island, but were ultimately defeated by the Sri Lankan Army in May of 2009. But the damage had been done, not only to infrastructure, but an estimated 80-100,000 people persihed during this struggle. In recent years, it was China who invested money in the country to aid in the improvement of infrastructure, particularly highways, although their (the Chinese) presence is not easily observed. Canadians are also well liked, with many Sri Lankans very knowledgeable on things Canadian.....but more on that later.
We arrived at the Nor Lanka Hotel in Unawatuna about 8 am...after being up for almost 40 hours where we were greeted by Anuma, the owner, and offered breakfast, and this time is was not beer, but eggs, toast, juices and an assortment of cut fruit...oh yea...coffee.....
We all went to our assigned rooms, on the pretence of getting some sleep, but none of really couldn't, so we went and walked about the town, where I was enamoured by the smell...the smell of cooking food (most food is cooked on open fires) and burning garbage. As odd as it sounds, there is something unique about the odor, with not even a hint of being repulsive in any way....but is a smell my nostrils first experienced so many years ago during my trip to Africa, and certainly a smell that never truly leaves you....mystical is a good word to use, given my limited vocabulary....
Thats pretty much it for now, and I will endeavour to catch up on the posts, but I have been hampered by a few things out my control, mostly a spotty internet connection, and I suppose secondly (and I mean a far second) that I succumb to peer pressure and must have a couple of beers......which vary in price, depending where you buy them, but so far the best deal is on the beach where you can get a 750 ml bottle for about $4 Cdn....but I have been told by others in the group (who have been here multiple times) that prices have effectively doubled since their last visit 2 years ago.......
No comments:
Post a Comment