Dateline: 2013 December 14th: Toulouse, France
We arrive in Kuala Lumpur from Sydney and head south
The Orient. Now this is the life! The Occident can wait a bit
 |
| This was such a fantastic trip to a Sri Lanka game park. The guide got a big tip |
Well, at least this one has a few
interesting bits. At least less soporific. Something to pass those long
cold winter nights when you and yours are safely tucked up in bed.
OK Class, this trip is almost over!
Listen up.
Most
of you have been to France, or don't want to hear about it anyway, so
I'll keep this as the final missive on this trip. Anything else will be
for divulging over a delightful dinner you will want to host for us as
we have all manner of tips and tricks to share about semi retirement and
the benefits of travelling the world for no particular reason for quite
long periods of time.
We can, as part of such a dining experience, also tell
you how bad your Pinot Grigio and Ontario (or Horror! both at the same
time!) wines are - all included in the dining event. Actually, I can
tell you about Ontario Pinot Grigio now.... (see last blog).
Don't be shy, but its first come, first served.
Well,
that's easy for me to type as I sit here on a hill overlooking the
green hills above and below us in Kandy, Sri Lanka, dispensing travel
knowledge and tips to all my dear readers wherever they may be.
Look out! more "insight" here.....
I think I was
so uninspired about NZ & Oz as there's very little to challenge one
(me?) there. The last time, the tour around Oz was such a blast because
we had no idea what would come next, and, in the outback the challenges
came fairly thick and fast (will we actually be able to drive across
this river?). This time, the main issues seem to be between steak and
kidney or pepper steak pies (don't get me wrong, both always
excellent!), but, well, not exactly critical to your survival.
There's certainly enough challenges outside of "normal civilised" societies since we arrived in Malaysia.
While
in Sydney, after the antipodean trek, I invested in a pile of
documenting of various things, mainly due to the NZ fracas regarding
onward flights before we are allowed on the plane in Honolulu. Now, I'm
more than a bit nervous, so I've painstakingly, with the help of my
Sheila assistant, Annie, printed off everything I can think of that
might be an issue at various borders:
Tickets, Visa's, financials, with all manner of things for
immigration folks etc 7 items of paper altogether, and so far, sitting
in Kandy after 2 flights and 5 border crossings, we've needed none of
them. Ed - final update from France, no, absolutely nothing requested
anywhere.
The airline staff at the airport, (the real problem last time), in Sydney, ask nothing.
Arriving in the evening at KL, everything below us as we fly over Malaysia, is palms for palm nut oil.
If you have seen any old David Attenborough Zoo Quests or the like, you
will know it was not always like this. It was all jungle once. BUT, people need to live, and
cooking is an essential ingredient to that. Lots of animal from the now
non existent forests now near to extinction. And of course, a few big companies make a fortune from it.
We land in a hot rain storm and walk to the arrivals.
At arrivals, the Malay immigration guy does not say anything. Nothing. Seems like its all machine read/ directed now..
Kuala Lumpur ("The meeting of two muddy rivers" I believe) airport
looks like some tin shack out of the 70's until we get outside, then we
are back in the Orient of the 20th century, complete with Burger Kings,
MacDonalds and Starbucks. For 18 Ringits apiece (about $5), the bus
takes us the 70Kms (yes really) into town, and then offloads us to a
minibus to the hotel door. WOW! So far I'm impressed.
 |
I was fascinated by the diversity, and boredom of youth
|
I'm hungry enough to tour the locale for some grub, I find what
looks to be a student haunt and, with only the common word of "curry"
between us, the waitress brings something. Not hot, but definitely
edible. $2 and no mid night crappings. I'm good
The locals are obviously used to tourists. We are totally ignored by all. There's smoking everywhere. Ugh!
Hmmmmm.
 |
I seem to remember this is our hotel reception
|
The
hotel has a complimentary shuttle, so, first, off to the National
Museum. these are always an insight into a countries official soul. This
one is no exception. They have taken a lot of care over the exhibits,
lots of good info, and dioramas of important parts of the confederations
histories (there lots of disparate bits to Malaysia - see typical class
make up outside the museum).There's some good stuff about the ancient
Tunku's or royalty, but that really only began in the 15th century, and
the entire area was captured and colonised by the Portuguese in 1580.
Then the Dutch, then the Brits, then the Japs then the Brits again. They
really didn't have much of a local culture till independence in the
1950's
From the museum, we trek to the city aviary.
 |
Who's a pretty boy then?
Kuala Lumpur Aviary. Central KL, but no sidewalks |
Its in the
Guinness book of records as the biggest something. This is all in a huge
park, and its really a lovely relaxed area to be in. Well, birds are
birds is all I can say, but the missus and I click away an afternoon.
 |
Same aviary, bird show. Quite interesting
|
 |
I thought we could just walk back from the park
Terrible idea. Only vehicles are of interest here |
We are warned several time of the petty crime here,
especially drug related (the guard at the hotel mimics a junkie
injecting into a vein). A big problem if you don't know the city, and
walk a lot.
 |
Petronas Towers, KL from
the park
|
 |
The missus modelling her need for new knees
|
KL is obviously in the middle of a huge building boom, but
not one that appears to have any planning anywhere. It's certainly a
dreadful place to (try and) walk anywhere except the parks. Come dusk,
we retire to the hotel, thankful not to have become roadkill.
 |
An indoor street market, still in KL
|
The Petronas Towers,
well, that's about all I need to do here now.
Of course, first thing in the morning, all the tickets are taken until
4:00PM, but the lady at the desk, shyly asks if I'm old enough to be
retired (55 seems to be the right number). For correctly answering this
question, we get a 50% discount. So we check out the local transit
(seems very capable), and have a pretty average (well, as good as an
Australian coffee maybe) Starbucks.
Down to Central Market. Hmm, not a
lot here to keep me interested. Ilge, well, lots of clothes to look at,
if not to actually buy. But we dine, for almost nothing, at a local
cafe, before we subway back to the towers
 |
There's a surprising amount of green space here
|
Now we can add these buildings (there's 3, but you only go up one
tower) to our list of big buildings we've gone up. Inside, its just
designer everywhere. Massive! floors and floors of them.
 |
The viewing platform between the twin Petronas towers
|
We mistakenly
buy a Body Shop lotion as we've run out of ours. Ooooops, $20 for a
small tub. More to ask, who shops in these places? Can't be just
tourists. The taxi to the market, about 5Kms, cost about $5.00. I doubt
if the driver shops here very often.
Up the tower, a wander around, and back to another shopping complex near the hotel. Another day at this tourist routine.
Even on the web sites, there some confusion over how
to get to Malacca. Next morning we shuttle to a rail station, and head
to the south bus depot. I guess right, and we end up waiting for our air
con bus in this great new bus terminal, it even has arrivals and
departure screens, way out of KL.. Shuttle, subway, walk, terminal.
Easy. Everything happens like it should
 |
Mallaca shrine of some sort
There's a lot of history arond here |
Its only about 2.5 hours in the bus. 3 seats across, so, quite luxurious. Only half full.
I've
booked a "Guest House" Homestay, not knowing exactly what I'm getting
into. Its always a bit exciting to find out exactly what you've booked
once you get there.
Wow! downmarket, but lovely. This is a place to hang out and relax. We do.
As
its still early PM, we take a sweaty walk into town, and we are in the
thick of the place.
 |
Downtown Malacca. Incredible amounts
of diversity and culture here |
Rice Chicken Balls is recommended.
There's a
constant queue here. Well, yes, we're hungry, but it is really good
too.
 |
The central meeting place in Malacca. Major tourist spot
|
The town is blanketed with these strange Rickshaws,
hundreds of them, some have boom boxes, all have some kind of display of
plastic hearts and flowers. Very Kitsch. They only go around in a
circle, but as its the week end, there are lots of tourists. apparently,
everything is twice the price in Singapore. We shall see
 |
A slow day, but very photogenic.
The place is absolutely packed with history |
There's some kind of avante garde festival on this
weekend.. Dance, mime, music, but really a bit strange. Definitely
"Art". Oh yes, and its sweaty hot too
 |
We have bikes from the homestay and take in the town
|
Malacca
reminds me a lot of Hoi An in Vietnam. Same provenance (15th/ 16th
century trading port). Lots of Chinese influences and temples, but not
as well maintained. Another UNESCO site here. The market is chaos. Ilge
sits it out.Highly recommend the local coconut smoothies here too, not
as good as Saigon, but we're not in Saigon...... There are also some old
temples etc around. We sample "Durian Puffs". Anyone been to Asia and
not know the ah, distinctive smells of Durian? Hmm, well puffs taste
much like they smell... Orrible. Be Afraid.
We hire bikes and traverse the town and
around.
We try to get to the shore, but everything is blocked, and the
one way street system, even when you go the wrong way, appears to be set
up specifically to direct you away from everywhere you want to go. The
place is certainly old, and very quaint. I take in the Istana Kesultanan
museum. Supposedly a modern rebuild of an ancient palace.
 |
there's a surprising amount of documented
history in the centre |
 |
Its a very friendly and haphazard place
|
Seems like
there was only about 170 years of so called independence for these
folks, and I'm not sure they did a particularly good job of running the
place if these exhibits are anything to go by.
 |
I think these were potato chip sticks
|
Look Ma, Hands free!
A final time in the market, and
check out chips on a stick, and its back to relax at our home and stay,
which is a real delight. Very cheap, but lots of garden to hang out in.
We even get a free breakfast.
 |
It was very hot, but incredibly relaxing. 60's Hippy style
|
 |
It was incredibly cheap, and extremely pretty and relaxed
A really sweaty bike ride into town though |
Next day we're off to Singapore. The bus from Malacca is a
pleasant enough experience. Once again, just 3 seats across, not 4, so
there's lots of room, including leg room. Once again, on the highway we
see every piece of spare earth is planted with Nut Palms for palm oil
Everything super modern at the Malaysian exit, and Singapore is also
a breeze without anyone needing onward flights, cash statements etc.
 |
Our hotel was one of the cheapest, but very expensive
No one wants Durian stench in their lives |
 |
Everything is really expensive here
We eat at the market or at student
food courts |
I
convert my left over Ringits to Singapore dollars (better rate in
Malaysia folks), and check in. It's certainly not the best hotel we've
stayed in, but it will do.
 |
There's some incredible architecture here
A lot of it over the top, all of it catering
to those with the money |
It's getting dark, so we decide to take the tourist
bus around the town. It starts to totally chuck it down, but we're on
board for an hour, and get off near the hotel, where as luck would have
it, there's a food court.
We were both pretty apprehensive about the costs
here, hearing horror stories about prices along the lines of drug
addicts needing to steal from you in Malaysia. Fortunately, neither
story has panned out as we dig into some really amazing food. Really
cheap to, just not restaurant style.
We eventually take all 3 of the bus tours, stopping
in China town for some clothes, the Indian section for a fantastic
mutton masala. Strange and incredible architecture here. We seem to
specialise in doing these trips during the monsoons.....
 |
It rained most of the time here.
Condo's, for the rich all over downtow |
This really is one real economists dream state. Its
all market based. If you want a car say, you have to pay 100% (maybe
more) in tax, plus, you enter a lottery for the hundred or so import
licences allotted monthly. So, if you are in the top 100 bids, voila!
you can pay to get your car (any car) in.
 |
Singapore is only worth going to
so you can say that you have been |
Plus, as Singapore is trying
to wean everyone off of personal vehicles in favour of public transit
(is Rob Ford listening to this?), there are also HEAVY road tolls around
the city. For example, Sing$3.00 to be able to go down a heavily
congested road during rush hour. Its all automatic, and take from your
account as you enter the road.
Also, burnishing its social credentials, apparently 80% of the population live in subsidised accommodation. WOW!
As
part of our final few hours, we stop for a pint for me, and of course, a
Singapore Sling for Ilgs on one of the wharves. Its quite special here.
It pisses down all the time we are drinking. Perfect timing.
Another down market area Bugis is where we end up
for snacks and shakes. These places are a lot of fun, and typically,
almost as cheap as KL. We feel very safe and everyone is helpful and
pretty much some English speaking. We like it here
For our departing flight, we hear the hotel has a
shuttle, some indicated free. Hah! after such professional everything,
this is a bit of a low. Reception simply give me a piece of scrap paper
with a number on.
 |
I love this. Adjusted for congestion, the price you pay
|
 |
Singapore is too large for the missus to
walk around, (note walking stick), so we do the bus tour
This at the end of the line so we have a beer |
Would this ever happen in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam? No
Way! Anyway, I call, and guess what? I need to call 2 hours before we
need the pick up. As this needs to be 8AM, that means I have to wake up
at 6. WHAT?
OK, so at 6AM, I call. "Can you call back in 30 minutes? I
have lost the bus at the airport" Get outahere. I think its time we try
out the local public transit, especially as it now being 6:30AM, we
still have 3.5 hours before our flight.
As we have only been in town, busing around tourist
spots, its good to see the volk in their element. And what an element. I
saw one stick of litter during our entire trip. Super clean, super
organised. Even the subway (protective walls along all the platforms),
driverless, and there are red lines that line up with the doors and
everyone actually queues behind them to let on board passengers leave
first. And it works too. Amazing. Think TTC and laugh
 |
The subway is incredible clean and organised
Note orderly queues awaiting the outgoing |
The nice lady at the airport departure desk
asks if I have an onward ticket from Sri Lanka, I say I do and she's
happy enough (we actually do, but does she just trust me?). Changi is
supposed to be "the best airport in the world". I can believe it. I only
see a small crowd at our check in, but lots of aircraft are taking off.
Where are all the passengers?
I do like the security idea, you pass through immigration
(no domestic flights on a 30 x 20Km island folks), then its just duty
free, and individualised security at each gate. Much more controlled and
human. Yes, I like it. Very much
Hey! Air Sri Lanka is pretty good. glad to know as we travel on these guys to Rome
"The possession of Narcotics will result in Death"
Sri
Lankan immigration notice. These folks really mean business. Once
again, not a word from the immigration guy. We're through, I have a
bunch of very soiled money from an ATM (lots as the largest note is less
than $20), and within 45 minutes, I have my phone loaded with a new SIM
& data plan, (the minimum reload amount is 20 cents), and we are on
the express air con bus to Colombo. Not bad, 1 hour 20 from landing to
bus trip
Colombo: Holy Shit! Places like this still exist? Compare & contrast with Singapore
I
see one guy without hands (from a Saudi Arabian court sentence
perhaps?) pushing a cart through the market the like of which I last saw
attached to a bullock in Thailand, the market place reminds me of the
outback of Malawi 40 years ago, and the bus station is total chaos.
Bedlam, just like something out of Mad Max.
 |
Fort station, Colombo.
Direct from the airport, via a wild Tuk ride
Peter A actually called me as we were
heading around a roundabout. Maximum cool |
YES!!!! I'm back. Ilge has a complete culture shock when
we arrive at the bus station in Colombo and then drive in the tuk tuk to Fort, the main train station for Kandy. Well, coming from the land
of total advancement, probably one of the most civilised places on the planet, Singapore to here.... Well, lets say it is very
different here. Reminiscent of the lower social reaches of Mozambique
about 20 years ago maybe?
Thankfully, I've done my homework, (
seat61.com
for you similar travelers out there), so I know we need the InterCity
Express train to Kandy. Once at Fort, the Colombo train station, its all
over bar the sourcing of dubious looking samosas from an even more
dubious looking cafe handed to me by a, well, you get the picture I'm
sure.....
 |
After Singapore, Fort station is
almost like home to me
The missus freaked out when we got into town |
Well, I could compare the station to Nairobi 40 years ago, but, no, that would not come close. Dar Es Salaam maybe.....
 |
I do love this lifestyle
|
The
Observation carriage is the recommended mode of travel, but its full,
so, I lash out, and fulfill Ilges dream of travelling "First Class". So
its on a railway and cost $20, so what? First class is first class. And
the Tea was truly fantastic at 40 cents a cup. Incredible views of
valleys and distant hills with the sun setting behind them on the way up
into the hill.
 |
Ilge gets sucked into a guru prayer meeting
what could I do? |
 |
Kandy is a lot of fun. Lots of familiar stuff here
|
Finally, we are at our Guest House. For some reason
"hotels" are very pricey, and Guest houses are very cheap. Overlooking
the Kandy hills and rivers, about 2Km out of the city, is perfect for
some true R&R. Now, finally (with my trusty smart phone and data
plan), the remaining Oz blog is shipped out to bore law abiding citizens
around the planet. We laze away most of our first day here.
We head off to town around 4PM, and land in a
local monastery. Ilge, trusting soul that she is, get ushered into a
back room with a monk, full robes etc and gets a blessing. I come in
just in time to be given a piece of wool, be fanned and chanted over for
about a minute, and be given the bill for $20. Apparently bad knees
chants are not cheap these days. OK, it's obviously my Karma catching up
to me when I have cheaped on all those church donation boxes in the
past. The way I look at it, that a fair few donations taken care of in
the future too. Maybe even a few future lives too, but this is a Hindu
dude, not Buddhist.
 |
Downtown Kandy. Rather quaint.
Sri Lanka has a hell of a lot of history |
Barking dogs woke me up this morning at 3:30 (yes, AM), and withing
15 minutes, the first chantings began, then over the next 20 minutes, 3
more, all chants, but all recognisably different in their own right.
They went on till just before the dawn, nearly 2 hours. I just lay in
bed and drank it in.......
I've been checking flights back to Canada for about 3
weeks, and they vary by up to $200 a piece. Sometimes the prices change
every few hours by $100. This AM, I finally snag tickets for the two of
us at a fair price. So, unfortunately, this adventure now has (as Mr.
Sinatra would say) reached "the final curtain" :(
We are at the "Kandy Holiday Home", like just about everything else, this one was found over the net.
I
use 3 - 4 sites now, Lonely Planet, while being great for a fantastic
flights portal, is such crap at hotels. They are very much into pushing
their own recommendations, without much in the way of reviews.
TripAdvisor is still up there for the recommendations, but especially
the reviews of other travelers
 |
It's fabulous here. we are the only ones in the hotel,
and maybe the only tourists in town
The absolutely best ever part is we are in a valley
outside of Kandy. There's about 5 monasteries around
The chanting starts about 3:30AM and continues till
just before dawn. It's mind bogglingly incredible |
(I always update our experiences here),
and then book either direct from there, or use
booking.com,
HotelTravel, Agoda or for lower market stuff, HostelBookers. There's
always a deal at one of them, even in the remotest places. If you are in
places where demand is slack, then wait till the day you need a place.
Typically, another 20% off on the same day as booking. Careful the other
way around though. This will NOT work.
Of course, you need net for this, and, as mentioned,
lots of time before, invest in a modern UNLOCKED smart phone. Here for
example, the hotels wifi is crap, but I can turn on my local phone wifi
portal, and using 3G telecoms, I have speeds approaching what I use in
my office in Toronto. If this is meaningless to you, then all can be
explained during dinner (at your place) before you travel. With this
little trick, and my trusty laptop (not essential), I can also phone
anyone using my google phone process, typically for about 1 - 3 cents
per minute (for info, see above). Plus of course, I hook up to clients
with this tech, and that's how I support them AND pay for all these
trips (for info etc etc etc, see above re dinner guests)
 |
I think this is the guy I fired. Total jerk
|
Anyway, sometimes these places can be gems. The
trick is to find about 10 times more Great or Excellents to bad or
dreadful's. The one REALLY important thing to look out for, is whether
management has responded to the complaints, and if it makes sense. From
there, well, happy Serendibing folks
 |
First stop is a tourist tea plantation.
We buy something, the driver gets his cut of tea |
As in, here I am, surrounded by the green hills,
trees of frangipanis around me on this veranda, the sun rising over the
hills, the birds twittering, the monks chants, long since finished, and a
Sri Lankan breakfast, including freshly pressed squeezed fruit juice,
hard boiled eggs, tea and of all things, curry and dhal... (its great!).
 |
The gardens still have first class gardeners I'd guess
|
 |
The local Botanical Gardens.
It's lovely, and relatively well maintained |
 |
Kandy is such a laid back and friendly place
This in the main square near the central museum |
 |
The Kandy museum manager
What a lovely guy. We had a personalised
guided tour. I gave him a big tip |
 |
The Kandy museum was cozy, but full of incredible stuff
|
 |
The local cultural show as recommended by a local. Fun
|
Yesterday,
we took in the Botanic gardens, a tea
factory and the national museum. For the first time I remember, having a
guide, he was actually a guard, but took us around and explained
everything, from items of Sanskrit "books" to the British, from the
local rulers of the 14th century to the wooden doors with no
hinges. What a fantastic experience. Then after it closed, he personally
escorted us to a nearby Cultural show of old Sri Lankan dances and
music, including fire walking on (REALLY!) hot coals. A great day, only
marred by the original Tuk driver being a total incompetent. I fired him half way through and let him know why in my own compassionate manner
 |
Just another typical meal out. It's usually very good
|
 |
I have got in the habit of documenting possible
shady operators. Hence pix of us and random tuk
driver. Note Tuk licence plate number. Just in case
The Tuk guy did exactly as he said he would. Very happy with our trip |
 |
We just fit into the Tuk with out suitcase
These Hindu temples are everywhere |
 |
I ask out Tuk driver to stop for coconuts
I'm pleasantly surprised that the price
is the same as locals get them for |
 |
The proof of the pudding etc?
|
Oh well, everything panned out eventually,
especially, as once again, Ilgs trusting nature resulted in us taking a
tuk tuk driven by the guy who took us back that night from the cultural
gig.We booked him to take us all the way to Sigiriya, an ancient hill
fort, or disused Buddhist monastery (you choose) about 95Kms north.
 |
Tuk with a view? Lots of fun hiking around
between Kandy and Sigiriya |
 |
This place is a highlight apparently
There was a possibly huge climb
but is was wet, so we just headed ut |
 |
This Buddha thing can and usually does
get completely out of hand |
What
fun this was. It took nearly 4 hours, but was a great experience.
Actually, it was a very efficient way to get there. Trains didn't work,
and busses are totally out to lunch here. On the way, the driver stops
at an alternate medicine shack/ factory. It's all a bit high pressure,
but they have a bog, and gave us a cup of tea. All very informative too.
No, we didn't buy anything here..... but sounded like we needed most of
the stuff they were peddling.
 |
Just before we desperately need a piss, we stop at a
pharmacopia garden centre. bit of a scam for donations
No thanks, just the bog please |
 |
The Tuk eventually finds our lodge
We update the driver school kids exercise book
showering him with our own superlatives and a decent tip |
 |
We get there. It's all about 10 - 20 metres up
No one is here and were pretty much stuck
here for (expensive and poor) food
There's just about internet connection up here
BUT! what a cool anecdote |
 |
Have you heard of room with a view. This is it. Sigiria style
|
 |
As ever, I go walk about.
It's actually pretty mundane here
|
 |
We are about 10 - 15 metres up in the trees
But we do get phone signal, and internet here |
We stayed at "The Thick Forest" hotel cum hostel. Very close to the hill (an old Volcano plug). We were the only ones
there, so had our personal waiter cum manager all to ourselves. The
rooms are about 5 metres off the ground, and its best not to inspect the
construction too closely, or at all actually.
There are also a few
scuttery mice (didn't see any snakes, but this is quite literally in the
jungle folks). Somehow, there's a big room and a functioning toilet and
hot shower up here
 |
The view. Ilge didn't come and with her
knees, she wouldn't have made it anyway |
 |
The hotel owner recommends a local with a Land Rover
It all works out. Mainly because the Sri Lankans are hones |
Then, even though its the wet season, we head off to a game park to see elephants, possibly wild. We did, a fantastic outing. We get soaked standing up in the back of a the 4 x 4. Our guide spotted two herds of elephants which required some severe 4 x 4 ing to get to, including getting totally bogged down. Lots of birds, monkeys etc there and back - good spotting! The guide got quite a tip and our driver too - perfect day in the wilds. Anyone need a reference for a 4 x 4 tour in Sri Lanka, I'm your man to provide it
 |
We hire a ranger. It's relatively expensive, but really
quite cheap for what we get.
He's mercyless with the driver "Just go there!"
We did. He gets a big tip too |
We arrive in Colombo, and this time, we have
no culture clash issues at all. As we are Tuk'ing to our hotel, Peter,
from France calls. It's quite amusing as we are bobbing and weaving
through Colombo's rush hour traffic, and I'm on an international call in
a motorised pram.
 |
We take the bus back to Colombo
As I said, public transit is not
well established here
They also charge for our bags |
 |
We have a few days left. I walk everywhere
around Colombo town. Of course |
 |
This guy just parks his truck on a side street
|
We hack around. There's still vestiges of the Tamil
war. Sandbags around the Presidents and ministry places. Hardly any mid
level finances places around the capital. No wonder the rest of the
country looks 1920's destitute..... A few, very few places for even our
level of travel, except of course, the big hotel chains
People here: friendly (if you are not a Tamil), glad
the war is over, overwhelmingly poor. Cost of living, miniscule,
income, likewise. Cheapest coconuts (to drink) I've ever had: 25 cents
each.
Our only visit we want to do here is the museum.
It's amazingly full of good stuff, from ancient to pretty modern, and
well curated and displayed. (Anyone spot the goddess with the new false
teeth?). A full half day, followed by some unexpectedly good, iced
coffees.
 |
And for the highlights, I invite my companion
|
 |
Well before the Nazi's grabbed this as a symbol of
"Aryan Purity", the Hindus were using it 2000 years back |
Of course, its now a tradition that towards the end
of each of these, I crack a tooth. This time, a molar on some mutton
bone in a mess of pottage called a mutton massala, it was NOT! So, a bit
of broken tooth still dangling inside, well, you don't need to hear
that do you....
 |
I think this is the Colombo museum
|
 |
Sunset on the main (Tuk) drag on the seafront. Colombo
|
 |
Prime real estate, right on the ocean. victoria Brit style
|
 |
I love this as long as I don't need to travel this way
|
As Ilgs tries to Christmas shop in the only place we
can find in Colombo, even for our cheap tastes, I do a final tour of
Colombo wander. Its quite salutatory. Happy, friendly and honest people
living in something close to abject poverty, or maybe ignorance. Again,
we feel very safe and cared for here
 |
We head a lovely old colonial outpost for tea & scones
|
 |
A taste of Jolly old England?
And possibly, Ireland |
 |
We leave tonight.
Time to take in the atmosphere
|
 |
I know. Far too predictable. Our waiter obliges the stupid tourists. I love it. We leave tomorrow
|
Because I complained to the manager at our hotel, (I
think), he's offered us a lifesaver shower and some down time in a room
before we leave on out 1:20AM flight. GOD! Its marvelous, and maybe,
has a lot to do with the power of the internet....... Watch TripAdvisor
for all my hotel etc reviews coming soon to a travelogue near you.
 |
Bastards! First thing in Europe, jetlagged
This jerk tries to rip me off with the wrong change
Welcome to the Occident |
Time was, when if you had a crap experience on
your travels, it was just tough luck. The internet has drastically
changed that in favour of the customer. Now, there is an easy way to let
potentially, every other traveller in the world know your opinions.
Several of our recent hotels are very keen to boost
their business and this means getting people like me to recommend them.
The last place even gave us a box of tea in the hope that that would
help with a good rating (it won't)
 |
France. What a hike. Colombo - Rome - Toulouse - Gaillac
|
Heading off to the airport: The taxi driver
appears, just like the bus driver, to have a death wish. its 31Km, and
takes an hour, and this at 8:30PM. There are 3 security checks
here...... PLUS, never seen this before, 2 guys inspecting (like with
magnifying glasses), each passport. looks like ours are real. We depart
on time, Sri Lanka airways are actually pretty good.
 |
We start doing our own laundry again. Sigh
|
We arrive in Rome, and, welcome! The coffee shop tries to rip me off by short changing these dim witted jet lagged dimwits. This after not being ripped off for about 3 months.
You bastards!
Oh well, The Occident is here again. Shields up.
France, tres bon, Oysters, pate, cheeses, wines. Yes,
with the Ozzy pies, wine and this stuff, I think I've put on a pound a
week on this trip as opposed to loosing that much in Asia. Ho Hum. 'Nuff
Said
 |
Even in December, it's lovely to be here again
|
 |
I never tire of Club Shem Paradisio
|
 |
Albi cathedral steps. I already miss the orient
|
 |
Can't remember Alex taking part, but a bracing ride into town
|
 |
It's winter, but not a real one.
That will come soon enough
|
 |
The back road to the Club Shem. In the distance
The vineyards are taking a break |
Epilogue
 |
We head down to Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val for our cheeses
|
This time, from the frigid
vineyards of southern France where we are slowly getting used to (if not
coming to terms with), the great white North.
Finally, we need several
layers of clothing which we've lugged around deserts and tropics for
just such a time.
Another adventure is pretty much over, this time
with no more than a cracked tooth, for health. Very little rip offs,
lots of happy friendly people, some lovely places, certainly lots of
excellent wine and eastern foods and markets.
 |
What a life you say. Yep! I'd recommend it for all those who are not too feint hearted
|
A lovely time to be alive, again.......
Tomorrow, Pearson, the family, catching up, and Christmas.
See you as and when.
From Your Correspondent
