In many ways, yesterday was our last real day in Sri Lanka. Today we had to be transferred from our lovely Aditya on the south coast to a hotel on the west coast near the airport. It was a long ride and there was not much to do when we arrived other than to go to bed early. Today is really just preparation for the trip to Dubai.
We got up early, determined to enjoy our last moments on the sea coast. We saw an sea bird with bright green legs. It was a little hard to get a good photo here, but you can see that the legs are great camouflage.
We walked down the beach a little further to a quiet spot where I splashed about in the waves. The water is so warm here. I could swim in this part of the Indian Ocean for days.
While I was swimming, John made some canine friends. Dogs run wild on Sri Lanka, but most of them appear to have some kind of caregiver and many have collars on. There are only a few that seem absolutely feral, and those are more to be pitied than feared. The two John met today seemed well-cared for.
They were young lads and one they found some cloth on the beach they wanted to play tug of war with each other.
John went into the sea for a while.
As he was coming out, a steady stream of young Sri Lankan came jogging down the beach. We could not figure out if they were connected to the military or an athletic team or just seemed obsessed with fitness. We encouraged them and they responded happily.
Our final day did bring a memorable culinary moments. Aditya has a fantastic kitchen. They cook a wide variety of foods with complete integrity. And they are the only hotel we have stayed at which is willing to cook the quintessential Sri Lanka breakfast, hoppers and curry.
Hoppers come in two forms. “String hoppers” are made from rice flour noodles. They look almost like crocheted drink coasters except that they are deliciously edible. A regular hopper is a bowl like pancake made of rice flour. A fried egg is typically put in the center though if you request additional hoppers they usually do not have the egg.
The hopper is an edible bowl. Hoppers are served with a variety of curries and dahls.
If you look in the center of the table you can see the curries and various condiments. Although some silver was provided, it is customary to eat all of this with your fingers. And that makes it even more fun!
After we ate, we lazed around the pool for a bit, then went back to our room to finish packing. We are hoping that we will be able to pack most of our stuff through to Los Angeles and only take a couple day bags into Dubai. We have heard the Dubai customs can be really strict on prescription medication and John has a lot of that.
We said good bye to our attentive staff. The general manager was there this morning and he was pleasant in an “I’m the boss” kind of way. John said goodbye to the daily flower arrangement. Each day this bowl of water features different picked petals floating on the surface.
Our driver showed up in a large van. He was an avuncular older gentleman. I am sure had his English been better he would have happily talked to us for the whole five hours of the trip.
We were dropped off at the Wallawwa hotel. This is sort of the ultimate airport hotel. It is about 15 minutes from the airport, so travel agents book you there if you fly in late or have to fly out early. We had to fly out EARLY! The government decided schedule new runway construction during the height of tourist season! As a result, a flights can only leave or arrive in the night. It is chaotic. Our hotel assured us that we would have to be there at least FIVE hours early or might miss our flight. We decided we would chance it with three hours before. That meant we had to be picked up at 2:00 AM.
The Wallawwa is lovely. A colonial building, it features room arranged around beautiful beautiful courtyard gardens.
Grounds are extensive and lots of games are available such was croquet and cricket.
Interior rooms are tastefully decorated.
There was a nice pool there. It would have been perfect had there not been a British family there. They were straight out of a Roald Dahl book. I just knew that the father ran a crooked car dealership somewhere in the Midlands.
When the awful Brit Brats weren’t around, we could appreciate the thought that had gone into planning this pool The colors are awesomely coordinated, aren’t they?
I’m already passed my eight o’clock bed time. Adventures in Arabia await tomorrow.
