After my food poisoning incident, it was a slow recovery. I managed to make my flights, and landed in Colombo, Sri Lanka at about midnight. I had booked a room in the nearby little beach town of Negombo to avoid facing the traffic, cluster f&*$ of Colombo. Technology came to may aid on my first ride as my taxi driver had no clue where he was going. I had cached the map on my phone, with the location of the Villa, and we managed to make our way.
Still being in a dilapidated state of body and mind, I quickly found my room and had a long sleep, relieved to be in a comfy place. It’s always a bit nerve wracking for me to go to new countries and new cities until I get there and get my bearings. This is part of the excitement of travel, but becomes a bit more challenging when you are sick.
The next morning, I awoke a bit confused, in a beautiful large bedroom. My place is a room in a beautiful villa owned and run by two amazing local hosts. They were my first taste of the genuine hospitality and friendliness of the Sri Lankan people. I nibbled on some breakfast, and told them my tales, but could only manage a small sampling of the meal they prepared.
I set out on a bicycle to have a look around Negombo. A ramshackle little coast town, I found the main beach road, and started to soak up the sites of this strange new land I was in. Children waved, and men said hello as I passed. Tuk tuks buzzed around like flies, and soon I found the beach and plopped myself down for a rest. Cycling the massive 1.5km took it out me!
I soon realized there really isn’t anything to do in Negombo, nor a great deal of tourist infrastructure. I did manage to get a massage, and compare the offerings that Sri Lanka has compared to others, as I consider myself an expert in this now. Reasonable but expensive! I was eager to find the famous beaches of the south west coast, but alas I had to remain for one extra to day to find some strength. A 6 hour train ride filled with people was a bit daunting still.
I passed the next day again, peacefully, taking a walk around. I saw things that seem normal to me now, but perhaps once would not. Screeching horns, random goats walking the street, locals fascinated by my white skin. That evening the owner of the Villa took me on his motorbike to grab some cash at the ATM and dropped me to try some local food. I stuffed as much as I could into my piehole, but again, my appetite was tiny. On the way back he informed me that the previous evening, one of the female guests had requested to sleep with me. Now, I’m not sure where in the line of Russian-Sinhalese-English this got lost in translation, but some thing doesn’t sound right here? Or maybe she just really like me. I dunno. He told me his wife thought we should not bother me, so who knows!
The next day, I hopped in a tuk tuk to the nearby train station, and began my journey south bound to Hikkaduwa. A famous beach town.
See you on the beach!