The flight is fully booked and as we didn't check in online we are unable to get seats together. Luckily with the meet and greet and quick check in they didn't weigh our carry on bags.
With just a quick stop at the bookshop to buy a book each for the flight, we are aboard the plane in no time.
I'm sitting next to the window in a narrow row of three so my co-flyers have to stand up a few times as I get in and out during the flight. I opt to spend a lot of the time standing at the back of the plane. Even though it's only a four and a half hour flight, it still gets uncomfortable.
I had forgotten to order my 'special' meal, vegeterian, but the menu for the flight had a vege curry available so it wasn't a problem. I manage to watch one movie but as often happens, miss the end due to the prolonged landing announcements - a negative when the message is repeated in several languages.
A very relaxed airport awaits us and we are through immigration in no time. I stop to buy a SIM card for my phone, only to find out that they give us free ones. But mine has credit, free overseas & local calls and data. This will be useful to book hotels or B&Bs as I have only booked the first two nights.
A quick stop at duty free to purchase a bottle of Baileys for the trip and some wine for my friend, well it was supposed to be quick. My friend realises that she doesn't have her handbag and we have to go back through customs and search for it. After a few frantic minutes with many staff involved, I find it sitting on the seat by the phone kiosk. Thankful, we head back to duty free to complete the purchases.
Friends were just in Sri Lanka and I have arranged to use their driver. It is reasurring to find him waiting with a sign with my name on it. As we follow him out of the airport we are assailed by the heat. Now I'm coming from Abu Dhabi so you'd think I'd be used to the heat. But no, this is hot, sticky heat and I'm dripping while we wait for the driver to bring the car around. I'm glad that we are not trying to compete with the language and the heat to find a nights accomodation and quickly settle into the airconditioned comfort to watch the world go by on our drive to our guest house/hotel.
I chose Negombo, a beach settlement close to the airport, for our first night. Using Booking.com I had researched the place. Two sets of friends used only guest houses while travelling and paid less than $25 US per night so that was my benchmark.
On arrival at Windmill Beach Hotel I was left wondering what I'd booked. We get a welcome glass of lemonade but wonder if we should drink it due to the overall impression of less than cleanliness. However, we do, with a lot of eye contact between us. I'd booked seperate rooms. They looked lovely online but the reality was very different. I paid for a room for the driver which was a similar price to ours.
One double room had a mosquito net. Mine had twin beds and I couldn't change as they were full. No mosquito net and anyone who knows me knows how much they love biting me. The bathroom was unpleasant and I had several unwelcome visitors in the form of cockroaches. The sheets were ripped and I didn't welcome spending the night there.
So first stop was the nearby mini supermarket to buy mosquito coils and spray. Then onto the Banana Bar to down a cheap beer before heading back to the 'hotel' to drink some wine and Baileys. Next morning left us wondering how cheap that beer was as my friend found herself short of her US dollars. Was it some slick handywork by the 'Russian' that sat briefly with us and held us rapt with his intense conversation about NZ? Or was it some extremely overpriced ice paid for in US dollars rather than Sri Lankan rupees? We will never know.
Breakfast the next morning consisted of scrambled eggs and toast with tea or coffee. Even then we were doing lots of the eye contact to see if we would eat it, but we did.
We were relieved when our driver showed up to take us out of our misery and onto Kandy, our stop for the night.
With just a quick stop at the bookshop to buy a book each for the flight, we are aboard the plane in no time.
I'm sitting next to the window in a narrow row of three so my co-flyers have to stand up a few times as I get in and out during the flight. I opt to spend a lot of the time standing at the back of the plane. Even though it's only a four and a half hour flight, it still gets uncomfortable.
I had forgotten to order my 'special' meal, vegeterian, but the menu for the flight had a vege curry available so it wasn't a problem. I manage to watch one movie but as often happens, miss the end due to the prolonged landing announcements - a negative when the message is repeated in several languages.
A very relaxed airport awaits us and we are through immigration in no time. I stop to buy a SIM card for my phone, only to find out that they give us free ones. But mine has credit, free overseas & local calls and data. This will be useful to book hotels or B&Bs as I have only booked the first two nights.
A quick stop at duty free to purchase a bottle of Baileys for the trip and some wine for my friend, well it was supposed to be quick. My friend realises that she doesn't have her handbag and we have to go back through customs and search for it. After a few frantic minutes with many staff involved, I find it sitting on the seat by the phone kiosk. Thankful, we head back to duty free to complete the purchases.
Friends were just in Sri Lanka and I have arranged to use their driver. It is reasurring to find him waiting with a sign with my name on it. As we follow him out of the airport we are assailed by the heat. Now I'm coming from Abu Dhabi so you'd think I'd be used to the heat. But no, this is hot, sticky heat and I'm dripping while we wait for the driver to bring the car around. I'm glad that we are not trying to compete with the language and the heat to find a nights accomodation and quickly settle into the airconditioned comfort to watch the world go by on our drive to our guest house/hotel.
I chose Negombo, a beach settlement close to the airport, for our first night. Using Booking.com I had researched the place. Two sets of friends used only guest houses while travelling and paid less than $25 US per night so that was my benchmark.
On arrival at Windmill Beach Hotel I was left wondering what I'd booked. We get a welcome glass of lemonade but wonder if we should drink it due to the overall impression of less than cleanliness. However, we do, with a lot of eye contact between us. I'd booked seperate rooms. They looked lovely online but the reality was very different. I paid for a room for the driver which was a similar price to ours.
Image from Booking.com website
Reality!
So first stop was the nearby mini supermarket to buy mosquito coils and spray. Then onto the Banana Bar to down a cheap beer before heading back to the 'hotel' to drink some wine and Baileys. Next morning left us wondering how cheap that beer was as my friend found herself short of her US dollars. Was it some slick handywork by the 'Russian' that sat briefly with us and held us rapt with his intense conversation about NZ? Or was it some extremely overpriced ice paid for in US dollars rather than Sri Lankan rupees? We will never know.
Breakfast the next morning consisted of scrambled eggs and toast with tea or coffee. Even then we were doing lots of the eye contact to see if we would eat it, but we did.
We were relieved when our driver showed up to take us out of our misery and onto Kandy, our stop for the night.
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