We enjoyed another English breakfast on Wednesday morning. The Brits from Singapore had mentioned a few days earlier that the walk to and from Norwood (another of the Tea Trails bungalows) was beautiful. We thought it would be good to stretch our legs after the previous day's adventure, but we also thought it would be going a bit overboard to walk both ways, as it was about a 13 mile round trip. So we got a ride there and then walked back - it was indeed beautiful.
Bear in front of Norwood's giant bamboo
Chickens in a little village we walked through
Graves next to the trail
The trail
The view from the trail
Early on our walk, we passed a girl from New York who was walking to Norwood and getting a ride back. We all arrived back at Castlereagh at around the same time, so we had lunch together (which was vegetable soup, prawns with salad, and custard with cherries). We enjoyed talking to our new friend from NY so much that we chatted with her all through tea (we opted for ginger spice tea with cheese and crackers instead of the whole shebang) and then after tea we moved into the sitting room and asked the staff to make a fire for us in the fireplace. We had some prosecco and little spring rolls, and then went out to the veranda for dinner where we sat with our NY friend again, as well as another British couple who were on their honeymoon. They said things like "smart clobber" and... other Britishisms. We lingered over another Sri Lankan dinner and long conversation, which was delightful.
In the morning, we ordered bed tea in the room, and packed. At breakfast, we chatted with our NY friend again and said our goodbyes.
The drive back to Colombo was nice, and our driver wanted to know if they put the steering wheel on the other side of the car in America, and whether we'd ever seen Michael Jackson in concert. We stopped at a hotel on the way for a look around their museum of cars and a cup of tea on their so-perfect-it-might-as-well-be-Disney-Sri-Lanka patio by the water.
Traffic in Colombo was horrendous. It rivals DC traffic on a relatively bad day. We finally got to our hotel after what felt like weeks during which the driver's conversation devolved into complaints about the government, which sounded remarkably similar to our own country's complaints about its government.
When we arrived at Casa Colombo, I was initially impressed. The building is a restored home, over 200 years old. It would be beautiful, but the decor... it's... it's so ostentatious. The ceilings, which would have been just short of over the top had they been white, were in some rooms painted bright glittering gold. Our bedroom had a phone that looked like bright red lips and a red neon light under the bed. The centerpieces on all of the tables in the restaurant had live fish in them, which I am fairly certain had very short lives. I ordered chicken curry and got a full Sri Lankan meal with 5 or 6 dishes.
The dining room with the gold ceiling, the dangly...thing, and the fishbowl centerpiece.
We tried to go for a walk and a bit of shopping in Colombo, but the city is so very loud, and so very un-pedestrian-friendly that we gave up and went back to our weirdly garish but quieter hotel.
But it was a nice stay, nevertheless. It was nice to lie in a bed and watch TV after such a long drive, and after not having watched TV for the better part of 6 months. And the staff was friendly, as are all Sri Lankans as far as we can tell. We ordered another Sri Lankan meal for dinner in the room, watched the National Geographic channel, and thoroughly enjoyed the Indian commercials.
So, as I said, I love Sri Lanka. I recommend a visit to anyone - just not necessarily Colombo. Here are all of our Sri Lanka pictures if you're interested.
One year ago: thoughts
Two years ago: funny little aside
Bear in front of Norwood's giant bamboo
Chickens in a little village we walked through
Graves next to the trail
The trail
The view from the trailEarly on our walk, we passed a girl from New York who was walking to Norwood and getting a ride back. We all arrived back at Castlereagh at around the same time, so we had lunch together (which was vegetable soup, prawns with salad, and custard with cherries). We enjoyed talking to our new friend from NY so much that we chatted with her all through tea (we opted for ginger spice tea with cheese and crackers instead of the whole shebang) and then after tea we moved into the sitting room and asked the staff to make a fire for us in the fireplace. We had some prosecco and little spring rolls, and then went out to the veranda for dinner where we sat with our NY friend again, as well as another British couple who were on their honeymoon. They said things like "smart clobber" and... other Britishisms. We lingered over another Sri Lankan dinner and long conversation, which was delightful.
In the morning, we ordered bed tea in the room, and packed. At breakfast, we chatted with our NY friend again and said our goodbyes.
The drive back to Colombo was nice, and our driver wanted to know if they put the steering wheel on the other side of the car in America, and whether we'd ever seen Michael Jackson in concert. We stopped at a hotel on the way for a look around their museum of cars and a cup of tea on their so-perfect-it-might-as-well-be-Disney-Sri-Lanka patio by the water.
Traffic in Colombo was horrendous. It rivals DC traffic on a relatively bad day. We finally got to our hotel after what felt like weeks during which the driver's conversation devolved into complaints about the government, which sounded remarkably similar to our own country's complaints about its government.
When we arrived at Casa Colombo, I was initially impressed. The building is a restored home, over 200 years old. It would be beautiful, but the decor... it's... it's so ostentatious. The ceilings, which would have been just short of over the top had they been white, were in some rooms painted bright glittering gold. Our bedroom had a phone that looked like bright red lips and a red neon light under the bed. The centerpieces on all of the tables in the restaurant had live fish in them, which I am fairly certain had very short lives. I ordered chicken curry and got a full Sri Lankan meal with 5 or 6 dishes.
The dining room with the gold ceiling, the dangly...thing, and the fishbowl centerpiece. We tried to go for a walk and a bit of shopping in Colombo, but the city is so very loud, and so very un-pedestrian-friendly that we gave up and went back to our weirdly garish but quieter hotel.
But it was a nice stay, nevertheless. It was nice to lie in a bed and watch TV after such a long drive, and after not having watched TV for the better part of 6 months. And the staff was friendly, as are all Sri Lankans as far as we can tell. We ordered another Sri Lankan meal for dinner in the room, watched the National Geographic channel, and thoroughly enjoyed the Indian commercials.
So, as I said, I love Sri Lanka. I recommend a visit to anyone - just not necessarily Colombo. Here are all of our Sri Lanka pictures if you're interested.
One year ago: thoughts
Two years ago: funny little aside
1 comment:
I'm so envious and wish I could be on all your adventures! I'm so proud that you both are getting to see so much of the world! Do it while you can!
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