Colombo - Part 1

When I was in school, I never liked Geography. Once my Geo sir told me that my Florida map looked like the Malaysian Peninsular. Other kids used tracing paper to have their maps beautifully drawn, but the lazy me, drew maps free hand. Obviously my maps looked really, really distorted and funny. But was I bothered?? Not at all.....

Sri Lanka was another country that never got justice from me. I'd struggle to draw India, and when I was done, Sri Lanka was just a tiny dot I drew at the tip of the Indian continent. My Sir said, one day, I'd regret my ignorance and dislike for Geo. And was I concerned?? At that time, of course not!!

The situation, however is very much different now. With the Internet and creative multimedia, doing Geography now is very enlightening. And it was the Internet too, that created my curiosity and interest for this beautiful isle in the sun - Sri Lanka. And much thanks to AA's RM0.00 promotion earlier this year, its good rate tickets got me to further pursuit my preoccupation on the island.

Our flight to Colombo that early Tuesday morning took off on time. Sleep deprivation had me dosing off not long after we boarded the aircraft. The head pillow I brought along helped put me into deeper slumber. If Abe didn't nudge at me, I would probably sleep till the plane landed; causing me to miss the pre-ordered Nasi Lemak Pak Nasir. We had McD's pancakes prior to our departure but I was somehow still hungry and nasi lemak at 35,000 feet was certainly the answer for my growling tummy.

It took about 3 1/5 hours to get to Colombo and when we landed at Colombo Airport, it was 7.15am. Still very early, but the place was already buzzing with activities. Colombo is approximately two and a half hours later than KL.

Upon collecting our luggage, we inquired on the best way to get to our hotel. Two options for us to chose from - train or taxi. Trying to get information was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. Obviously, language was the challenge as English was not a language spoken by all.

A clock tower located on the road to Colombo

A Buddhist temple spotted along the airport road

And another one....up on the high roof

Try reading this signage....

Fancy buying a Benz in Sri Lanka?? Show room along the airport road.

Steel furniture anyone??

Colombo is about 45 minutes drive from the airport which is located in Katunayake. We were lucky as we got help from a Sri Lankan lady who works with a Wisma Putra official in KL. Fuzlina, who's back for a short break, suggested we shared a taxi with her as her home was also in Colombo. Our taxi driver, spoke very little English but his "superb" (read: like those drivers you see in Tamil or Telegu movies) driving skills got us to our hotel safe and sound.

Fuzlina our instant guide who was such a great help. She asked to split the taxi charges. I told her, we'll pick up the bill and wished her a beautiful reunion with her 9 year old girl.