The new journey

The big waves on Hikaduwa beach. The best place for surfers

at Galle Fort

I think I was totally unprepared for this journey. Indeed I had heard that Sri Lanka is more expensive, and definitely not a place for backpackers. I also heard Sri Lankans escape their homeland through the dangerous waters to India, to find a better life.
What we found on this little island though is far from what I had known before about this island.

It brings no surprise that we had quite a difficulty in getting  to Colombo. Our flight from Madurai was canceled-  Incredible India ;) so they got us on a flight Madurai- Chennai, and then Chennai – Colombo. The fortunate thing however was we booked the return flight for the 31st day of our trip, however our visa were only for 30 days. Since the delay, we were lucky enough to reach Sri Lanka a day later hence we are staying here exactly for the duration of the visa.

By the way, even though Sri Lanka is only 20 kilometers away from the coast of India, there are no boats between the two countries. Because of the big confict between people from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lankans, the government stopped the ferries. And as it happens, from time to time there is a lost Indian fisherman who sails too far into the Sri Lankan's waters and the local Navy simply shots him down.

We had indeed a warm welcome from the state-of-the-art airport in Colombo. They ripped of our Chinese friend right after we passed the immigration office. It is still a bit of a mystery for me how he managed to pay so much money for a free sim card …?? (even the ads all around the airport reminded us that there are FREE sim cards at the airport), and moreover the card didn't work. At the next kiosk they somehow persuaded him to pay even more, this time they made it work. It reminded me so much of Nepal where people smile and talk to you with good English and in the end they rip you off three times more than could ever happen in India.

All this was happening between two and five o'clock in the morning. My eyes felt so heavy yet the excitement from the new adventure kept me awake. The first bus, I've been told, leaves the airport at 6 am. The train station is only 2,5 kilometers away (at least Sri Lankans are more precise about the distance, and two kilometers really means two kilometers here, and three is really three. While in India you need to multiple the number, always!)

So Tom said we should take the train. Okay why not. We left the airport, and my jaw dropped. New road, good cars, beautifully greenery.. where are the cows? And what is more on every tenth meter was a police officer. I am not even exaggerating! Every ten meters, literally the first kilometer was full of police, then they appeared a bit more sporadically. But really, so much police! One cannot even spark a bloody joint there :P not that I'd care ;) just saying, just saying...

We reached the train station and my jaw touched the floor (fucking clean floor I might add). I was back in Europe. Maybe like Spain, or somewhere with dark people. But Europe. People were civilized, didn't stare so much (or later we found out they did, but in disguise!) women wore western clothes, none of them walked behind their men. There was no litter, and no people on the floor either. And the price for the food was also equivalent to European. 

The first night in Colombo was a nightmare. Apart from the fact that the cars were stopping at the zebra crossing (at first I waved them off, not understanding what on earth are they trying to sell me...) . Okay, maybe the cars was not that much of a problem in Colombo ;) The prices for the accommodation were overwhelming. But once again I managed to find the cheapest room possible, probably the cheapest in the whole history of Colombo …