Wednesday 8 May 2013

A damp arrival


We touched down at Bandaranaike airport at 12.15 am in a steady drizzle that increased as we cleared the airport and made our way to the waiting minibus. I travelled with five of our participants from Melbourne - Sue, Glennis, Jenny, Rosemary and Alan, and the flights were smooth and uneventful. At the airport we picked up the two other participants, Amanda and Lynne from Canberra.

The bus made its jolting way down to Colombo through intermittent bursts of heavy rain, the smell of Sri Lanka more potent than the sights in the blackness of night, sleep claiming our weary bodies. We alighted to the bright welcome of the Galle Face Hotel, a beacon perched on a thrashing ocean that eventually yielded us the comfort we needed.


Decorative panels at the front entrance

In the early hours a thunderstorm of tropical proportions shook the night and the rain became torrential. We woke to a grey, steamy day, mist rising from the hot, saturated ground. The buffet breakfast at the hotel is the epitome of elegance, taken on a wide verandah that looks out over manicured lawns to the sea. The food choices are endless, served from silver domed salvers. The sweetness of pineapple and papaya, every cereal you can imagine, multiple variations of eggs and bacon, a tableau of patisserie and the great Sri Lankan traditional breakfast of hoppers or egg hoppers made freshly and served with sambals and curries.




The Verandah



We delighted in the lazy meal, adjusting to the climate and anticipating the day. The hotel was originally a built by British entrepreneurs in 1864, facing a kilometer long stretch of green that borders the Indian Ocean. As children we spent time walking, flying kites and playing with balloons on this open park that has a fairground atmosphere on the weekends.


 A stormy outlook

At one o’clock we met with Christine Pearson, our travel agent and Andrea Boekel, our Sri Lankan guide and ‘girl on the ground’ who has assisted with putting visits in place here. She gave us an informed rundown of the history and culture of the country that she loves dearly although she has spent many years living overseas in France, the Middle East and Australia.


Colombo Port

The drizzle returned as we made our way in tuk tuks to have afternoon tea at the Grand Oriental Hotel that overlooks the port and harbor. The view proved to be the most interesting aspect of being there as the food was very ordinary and took a long time to arrive. We then walked through the “Fort” once a sophisticated shopping area that is now run down, the relics of establishments like “Cargills” that supplied the very best of English clothing standing like hulking ghosts amongst grubby, makeshift excuses for modern buildings. Our destination was the old Dutch Hospital, built in the 1700s when Ceylon was in their colonial possession. The long, low construction with tiled verandahs is set in a quadrangle around a cobbled courtyard and has been renovated into a dining and shopping complex that opened in 2011. Our visit was marred by the persistent rain, but we managed to enjoy some of the shops.



The Dutch Hospital

During dinner at the hotel it teemed – every gutter became a waterspout in the constant downpour and a fierce electrical storm lashed the sky. The cracks of thunder were palpable as the rain sheeted down far into the night.


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