Negombo was my final stop before leaving Sri Lanka. I only visited as it was close to the airport and the road to Colombo was notorious for traffic jams and a journey time of 2 hours plus to cover the 50 kms or so.


Negombo is very much a tourist strip similar to Kuta Beach in Bali, but perhaps less developed . The street I lived in was a just a line of guesthouses, the odd temple and restaurants. But anyway it was just for a day and most of that I planned on the laptop. I arrived in the evening and found a restaurant offering ‘authentic’ Sri Lankan food. It was though nowhere near as good as what I had eaten in the guesthouses, was twice the price and they had watered down the spices for the tourists.


I did though plan to visit the fish markets in the morning and watch the boats arrive at 6.00am, so it was an early bed. At 4 o’clock I was awoken by an almighty tropical storm which went on with driving rain for hours, I decided against seeing the boats. At seven in the morning I realized that a massive power cut had struck Negombo and I found out that the storm blew something in the local power station. It stayed off until 5.00pm, hampering my planned internet visit.


However, as it continued to rain I still managed to write somethings on the battery . At lunch I found another little place which this time did not hold back on the spice content. Unfortunately their roof was damaged so it was not the most pleasant experience, with the drizzle, but I felt sorry for them. The waiter explained later that two Russians staying in their rooms above, had been fighting last night and one fell out of the room, drunk and smashed the restaurant roof causing expensive damage. They were unhurt but at some point last night had refused to pay. And I thought it was storm damage. Later, after my meal, the Russians emerged, and refused again much to the owner’s obvious distress. He would not call the police either, saying they would not be interested. I was appalled.  


In the afternoon I bought some Camomile lotion for my heat rash as it would not go away. I had now suffered this for a week, but it was not painful and did not itch so I was not so concerned. The chemist promised this lotion was “a modern miracle” . At 5.00 with the power on I could watch the cricket until an early bed. I was up at 4.30 and went by tuk tuk to the airport. The flight was uneventful and I arrived for my 40 hours stay in Bangkok.


I checked into the Atlanta Hotel in Sukumvit Road. I had stayed at this hotel over ten times in the 1980s and 90s and was interested to amble down memory lane. I had recently recommended it to a good friend of mine in April who said it was very unfriendly, so I was quite worried but felt, as it was only for two nights - it was worth trying. The hotel was opened in the 1950s and has fabulous art deco designs especially in the lobby. It has a great vegetarian restaurant and a great art deco swimming pool which is surrounded by a jungle like garden. However within minutes the front of house girl was confirming my friends experience as I had internet issues. She was pretty unhelpfully and could have been considered rude.


It was then that I met Michelle Vacheron, a semi-retired, Canadian Journalist, who explained that this girl was always like this and the regulars overlooked her, as the rest of the staff were lovely and I was to give it a second chance, as i was quite put out. I did and found that Michelle was right. Michelle actually bypassed this worker and contacted the wifi company direct and sorted out my problem. Michelle turned out to live in Phnom Penh so we arranged to meet for a coffee when I arrived there. The rest of the staff were so considerate towards my rash, and slowly I started to feel at home again, with the 17 cats, three dogs and old 1950s decor. Unfortunately this rash was now disgusting and my legs swelling.


Bangkok had changed dramatically since my last visit in 2006 and my last visit to the Atlanta in 1998. The city was more modern, more expensive and just as crowded. It still flooded though, and it rained a lot during this stay of mine. It was also very hot and muggy and my prickly heat spread, looked revolting and started making me feel unwell. I did not think it was worth going to a doctor, so i visited Boots the chemists. He gave me some cortisone cream that made it worse. Luckily I bumped into an Australian lady, who immediately told me it was my Primark socks that were the problem. “Throw that cheap polyester away and get cotton, and some prickly heat powder from the supermarket.”  It tuned out to be great advice and I noticed an improvement as I left for Phnom Penh.


I picked up some essentials in Sukumvit Road, sorted out the finances etc, but did not do much as I felt still unwell and had lost my appetite, which I put down to this rash. I left for Phnom Penh on Air Asia, the Asian equivalent of Ryan Air except with customer service, no hidden charges and smiling staff. In the end I was pleased I had stayed at the Atlanta, even managed to illicit a smile from the grumpy front of house lady at the end.