Day 5


Our second last day in Colombo started with a lovely foot pampering massage at the local parlour - Aaron had organised the treat for all of us and it was certainly a very relaxing and pleasant way to start the day . Trevor decided he didn't need any pampering so was entrusted to take a photo of the four of us lined up in our massage chairs. Unfortunately, Trev has now been banned from taking any more group photographs as all three photos he took are "fuzzy" (Just quietly I think he's pleased about being banned!)

 
Today Nellie had to work so Aaron was our tour guide for the day taking us first to the Australian High Commission where he and Nellie both work, then a Hindu Temple complete with its own resident elephant.  Unfortunately this was to be our last day in Colombo with Aaron and Nellie as apparently I had mistakenly informed Aaron we would be leaving Colombo on Saturday - when in actual fact it will be Sunday as we depart after midnight. Based on the information I had given Aaron he and Nellie had planned a three day surfing safari to the east coast with some friends so due to my oversight we would now be spending our last day in Colombo without them . Fortunately we will be returning to Colombo for a brief visit on our way home so we will get to see them again soon.

For our final dinner with Aaron and Janelle they chose to take us to their favourite Japanese Restaurant which was very close by to their apartment - this proved to be a huge hit with all of us. Although Trevor and I are not sushi fans there were plenty of other tasty morsels on the menu for us enjoy.  

 
Day 6 


Before leaving on their trip Aaron and Nellie provided us with a list of emergency phone contact numbers in case we got into difficulties and also a warning not to engage in conversation with the street hawkers who would pray on our vulnerability if we weren't alert. Aaron and Nellie left for their coast trip at 4.30am. We decided a "sleep-in" was in order as tonight we are all booked on overnight flights - so sleep may be hard to come by . Over breakfast we discussed how we would spend our final day in Colombo now that we would be "unchaperoned".  


Before setting off, Sal was getting dressed after taking a shower only to be interrupted by an unfamiliar sound coming from outside her window - she looked up and was startled to be looking into the eyes of two men who were looking back at her through the window. Sal wasn't sure who got the bigger shock - she or the men! It appears it was "window cleaning day" and the men were on board their cleaning gondola which just happened to be descending outside Sal's window. Sal was pleased that their timing was impeccable otherwise they would have found her in a very different state of dress (or undress) had they arrived slightly earlier. Sal decided she needed a photo to record her chance encounter so through sign language she managed to get the consent of her subjects who dutifully posed for this snapshot.    

 
After setting off from the apartment, we managed to find our way to the local shopping centre and then the gem store where we viewed some beautiful Sri Lankan Sapphires .  It was then time to enjoy lunch in the Lounge Cafe in the Cinnamon Grand Hotel before heading back to the apartment. Along the way back we happened upon a colourful street parade courtesy of the local Hindu community so we lingered to watch the festivities which was a welcome diversion before facing the inevitable task of re-packing our cases. We were fortunate that our clothes had all been beautifully laundered, ironed and neatly folded - courtesy of Elizabeth - one could get very used to this type of service as it made our packing task so much easier.  


In the evening Sal, Leesa and I ventured out to take a stroll along the esplanade adjacent to Galle Face Green to watch the locals fly kites and partake in the many local cuisines sold from the street stalls. We then walked to the Cinnamon Grand Hotel's Italian Restaurant for dinner. We thought Trevor might have joined us for dinner - even if only to be our gallant protector - but no he was happy to stay at the apartment . Perhaps he thought no one would be game to mess with us - and he was right - no one did. Fortunately we had taken Aaron's advice and avoided engaging with the pesky hawkers who ply their trade outside the major hotels. Its amazing how they didn't come near us when we were with Aaron and Nellie but honed in on us once we were on our own! Perhaps the demeanor we project as "tourists" is more easy to spot than we realise!

 
Before leaving on his surfing safari Aaron had arranged for the lovely Mr. Shyma to drive us to the airport.   Leesa's flight to Singapore was scheduled for 1.30am and our flight to Copenhagen via Dubai was scheduled for 3.15am - which was not a very dignified hour for us seniors! Mr. Shyma duly arrived at 10pm to pick us up and was accompanied by his lovely 13 year old daughter who he told us was going to keep him company on the journey to and from the airport.    

 
Arriving at the airport we had our first taste of local officialdom. The four of us lined up ready to book in for our flights – Leesa went through the barrier first and it was at this point a uniformed guard prevented Trev, Sal and I from progressing any further. Apparently our flight details were not yet posted on the departure screen therefore we had to stay beyond the barrier until they appeared. This was a really sad way to leave Leesa after the great week we had all shared - none of us got to say goodbye! Sal was hoping we would be processed in time to at least wave goodbye to Leesa however despite finally booking in and rushing to Leesa’s boarding gate we were too late .   Feeling a little frustrated and dejected we decided to drown our sorrows in coffee then head to the boarding gate to await our Emirates flight to Dubai.

 
The long wait in departures gave us time to reflect on our first visit to Sri Lanka. It was interesting to hear Trevor’s comments as he had been the most vocal about not wanting to visit Sri Lanka.  Trevor voted that Sri Lanka was a great place to visit and he would gladly return there anytime. Sally and I had similar views as we had both enjoyed our time there immensely. We all felt that Aaron and Nellie had greatly enhanced the "enjoyment factor" of our visit as they had been very gracious hosts and tour guides and we were fortunate indeed to be the benefactors of their generous hospitality – especially when we had added an extra guest for them to accommodate at such short notice!    

 
What we will also take away from our visit to Sri Lanka is the generous nature of the Sri Lankan people (with the exception of the airport guards!) who helped to make our trip such a memorable experience.   I now understand when Aaron says he won’t know how to open a door when he returns home as we feel the same after only a week.