A slow start and a lazy few hours by the pool yesterday was just what Ollie needed before his long flight home. We went to the airport together where he waited for his flight to London and I climbed aboard Sri Lanka’s finest to Colombo..
The huge contrast between Thailand and Sri Lanka was immediately apparent on landing. In Bangkok’s international airport there are designer shops a-plenty. Colombo airport has a duty free area immediately after de-planing where fridges, air con equipment, cookers and washing machines are on sale!
The hotel transport was not waiting for me but the driver was finally located and had clearly been fast asleep rather than looking for me. Exiting the chaotic car park was the next challenge but, after a few 8 point turns ,we managed it and off we went only to stop after 10 minutes to get the driver a phone card! Had we been able to buy a driver’s guide to a Toyota Prius it would have been a help as my man clearly hadn’t a clue how to operate the thing. It also transpired he hadn’t a clue where we were going despite me having emailed the full address to the car company. I think it was 2.30 am when we finally arrived at my curiously named hotel The Wunderbar.
So, it was ‘goodbye’ to the craziness of Bangkok
and ‘hello’ to the unhurried, unspoilt and tranquil island of Sri Lanka.
My hotel is not right on the beach but close enough to make little difference.
The problem is though that, to get to this beach, you have to walk across a railway line just in front of the hotel. Lovely! (I don’t recall reading any mention of this on Trip Advisor).
Sadly, it’s not a disused track either. I was proudly told by the man standing on the left of the picture whose sole job it is to escort guests over the line that 24 trains clatter past every day – the first one at 3.00am –
and I thought it was just a plane coming in to land last night. Oh dear!
When I did finally make it to the beach it was not quite what I was expecting. No beach bars or any kind of hostelry other than just a few chairs and a couple of tables for hotel guests.
The rest is just a wide open and mainly deserted space of, well, beach.
The pace of life here is slow to the point of being almost stationery. Sadly the same can be said for the speed of the internet which makes blogging more of a chore then a joy – especially when the mosquitos are winning .So I will accept defeat and continue tomorrow.
Phileas
thelasthurrahsite 