"Mrs. Colombo, she'd love one of these!"
Sri Lankan Airways is one of the nicest airlines that I have ever used though I've not really used that many outside of the low-cost bracket. I flew economy from Delhi to Colombo and they gave us curry for dinner, and it was nice, steel cutlery even though the chaps at the airport had gone to extraordinary lengths to take my cricket ball off me, and unlimited booze. This last point always bonds me to something. Arriving in Colombo I was pleasantly surprised to see that my baggage arrived with me and that I was not ripped off on the taxi fare from the airport to my guesthouse. The guesthouse is really nice too! Instantly all my pent up aggression and ball-of-hatred that Delhi had put inside me melted away and I slept like a baby.
Colombo is the only place I have been in Sri Lanka so far and it is pretty nice. As far as Asian capitals go it is remarkably sane and clean, though I have been to only a few and Kathmandu was not bad. I even managed to walk to most of the places that I needed to go to which was a novelty. Colombo is not big and there are pavements that are not blocked. The locals also either ignore you or if they say "Good morning," they mean it. I can even take the busses around the place as the road system is not complex and they bother to number them. This means that I do not have to use a taxi! Bliss.
I have spent a couple of days here getting my Indian Visa sorted out and my plane ticket back to Delhi on July the 6th, so my time here now has nothing left to fill it, which is the purpose of a holiday, I guess. Being on my own for the first time in ages is also quite liberating as I can pretty much please myself all the time which so far has involved reading books and walking around a little to see what the town has to offer.
I managed to walk on the beach for about 2 kilometers on my first day here and it is not a bad beach, being sandy, though apparently the beaches on the East of the island are nicer. The weather here is a little wet at the moment. It looks as though I have managed to hit a monsoon at long last.
Sri Lanka has two monsoon seasons. One affects the West of the island, where I am now, and the other affects the East. The West one runs from about May to September and the Eastern monsoon runs over the Winter months; December to April I think. This means that no matter when you come to Sri Lanka there will always be a monsoon-free place to go and most of the coastal towns are pleasant. Needless to say I am heading East today. I plan to stop at Kandy which is up in the tea-hills for a few days then go on to somewhere called "Little England". Not sure if this means warm beer and bad teeth or that there are a lot of colonial building there. From there I then head off to the East coast for the beach/gin/lady thing which should be nice.
For the first time in a few weeks I am looking forward to my travels with some anticipation. I hope the weather holds.
Colombo is the only place I have been in Sri Lanka so far and it is pretty nice. As far as Asian capitals go it is remarkably sane and clean, though I have been to only a few and Kathmandu was not bad. I even managed to walk to most of the places that I needed to go to which was a novelty. Colombo is not big and there are pavements that are not blocked. The locals also either ignore you or if they say "Good morning," they mean it. I can even take the busses around the place as the road system is not complex and they bother to number them. This means that I do not have to use a taxi! Bliss.
I have spent a couple of days here getting my Indian Visa sorted out and my plane ticket back to Delhi on July the 6th, so my time here now has nothing left to fill it, which is the purpose of a holiday, I guess. Being on my own for the first time in ages is also quite liberating as I can pretty much please myself all the time which so far has involved reading books and walking around a little to see what the town has to offer.
I managed to walk on the beach for about 2 kilometers on my first day here and it is not a bad beach, being sandy, though apparently the beaches on the East of the island are nicer. The weather here is a little wet at the moment. It looks as though I have managed to hit a monsoon at long last.
Sri Lanka has two monsoon seasons. One affects the West of the island, where I am now, and the other affects the East. The West one runs from about May to September and the Eastern monsoon runs over the Winter months; December to April I think. This means that no matter when you come to Sri Lanka there will always be a monsoon-free place to go and most of the coastal towns are pleasant. Needless to say I am heading East today. I plan to stop at Kandy which is up in the tea-hills for a few days then go on to somewhere called "Little England". Not sure if this means warm beer and bad teeth or that there are a lot of colonial building there. From there I then head off to the East coast for the beach/gin/lady thing which should be nice.
For the first time in a few weeks I am looking forward to my travels with some anticipation. I hope the weather holds.