Colombo - Part 4

It's been a while since my update and I couldn't help feeling that my Colombo stories are beginning to sound rather stale. With this new work assignment that has just come in, I hardly have time for anything else but go “spaced”. I hope to explain what I am doing someday. As for now, things are still in the development stage and I am not to reveal any info on what I am currently working on. Once our contract with the client is signed, like always we have to abide to the NDAs - lips are tied till project completion.

Now back to my corat coret Colombo. I am still at Day 1 of our visit….bila lah nak habis cerita ni??? When I was there I learned that Colombo is divided into 15 numbered areas for the purposes of postal services. So, adakah nak cerita sampai Part 15?? Harus Desert Rose pengsan nak follow penceritaan bersiri ni coz it no where matches the Korean soap series yang boleh membuatkan jiwa kacau, bengkak-bengkak mata leleh and usage of excessive klenex.

Anyway, I believe I stopped at the museum in my last posting. The Sri Lanka National Museum had a good collection of items during the ruling of the Portuguese, Dutch and the English. In many ways, there are similar stories of how the island received these three great explorers. Search for spice and more land got the East India Company to set sail all the way to Goa, Ceylon and Malacca later. (This little I know lah…more detailed, have to check in the old Tawarikh text; history was never my favourite subject.)

Abe was very much absorbed in what he learned in the museum. Me…?? Well, I was busy making friends with the museum's tall, dark and kinda good looking assistants. There was one guy who came to me and asked if I was from Malaysia. I said yes, and he reverted by saying, “Malaysia bagus.” Errr…okay, if you must say so.

Apparently he had worked in a steel factory in Klang many years back. He spoke some words in BM and told me he really liked working in Malaysia. Money was good, food was easy, good roads etc etc. Okay lah…I get your point. By then, Abe was giving funny looks at me…. Ohhh tak suka ke I dok peramah sangat?? Tak tau la pulak.....M.E.N…….

It was a nice day to walk around actually, not too hot plus it was very breezy. I must have been so admiring the courtyard of the museum that I didn’t realize I had dropped my travel notes – a very important document as it listed out the names and addresses of places we intended to go to. Most importantly, the list had names of shopping places which I had earlier searched on the Internet. Pucat…pucat….kejap!! How to shop if names of shops and where to head to pun tak tau. Red alert…red alert!!!

Abdul Rahman our pre-booked tuk-tuk driver was already waiting for us. I told Abe, I got to go find my notes. I was pretty sure I had dropped it somewhere in the museum courtyard. Dia kata, “Gi lah cari…good luck lah….” Duh….tak kesian kat I pun….bayangkan all the hopes to shop gone!! But never mind, if there is a will there is always a way kan (sambil pujuk diri masa tu and quickly strategizing plan B).

So…off I went to look for my folded notes and I was very, very sure I had dropped it when we were looking at Queen Victoria’s statue located close to the museum gardens. Tapi….so jauh to walk lorrr….dah lah letih and nak jalan lagi??? Ohhh…demi “N” ku gagahkan jua…..

Luck was really on my side. Wanna know where I found it? On a wheel borough used by museum gardeners for collecting litter. It was put nicely on the cart and it was the only supposedly litter the workers had picked up. Happy, happy, happy when I found it and there was colour back on my face!! And I actually didn’t have to walk that far into the gardens, fuhhh…thank you God kerana memahami hasrat yang tersirat di hati terhadap “N”.

The gardens across the museum complex.....provided good shade for those who want to take slow stroll.

Blossoming in the museum gardens...beautiful....

Standing tall statue of Queen Victoria. We have seen a similar one of her in Kolkata during our visit couple of years back.

Abe asked if I wanted to stop for local ice cream. Uhhh...ada berani ka?? With my 3rd hand stomach, I bet I'd be running to the loo minutes after the ice. I'll pass...tak sanggup sakit perut while traveling.

By the entrance of Viharamahadevi Park, Colombo's largest and most elegant and attractive green space, you'd find local artists exhibiting their work.

We just couldn't keep our eyes off this beautiful work by Naomi (pic) on pole fishing. Managed to get it for a steal and hati melonjak-lonjak gumbira :)

Plus and Minus

Stories from Colombo trip will have to wait a bit longer. Let's keep the guessing going; did I or did I not go to the gem factory? And if I did, what was the damage like "wink*. Wahh, sudah boleh buat drama bersiri my corat-coret Colombo....heh heh.

I'm still awake and still faithfully waiting for Orange to take centre field. Somehow after my FB chats, the eyes are wide awake and meddling with this new toy is making me forget about sleep for a while.

Yesterday, we celebrated Abe's birthday. Yang ke berapa??? Yang ke banyakkkkk!!! When I got the cake, I mumbled on my words when the sales person asked me how many candles I needed. But I guess budak-budak ni are so well trained to decipher mumbled words and sounds and have them translated into that secret code - the age.

Nissa merajuk coz was awaken from her deep slumber to sing Daddy that birthday song.

It was a simple celebration with cake at midnite and followed by dinner later in the evening. Abe is still recovering from his cold, and Nissa was starting not to feel too good. Anyway, Mommy's driving kan....so semua orang could lena till we arrived at the destination.

From Kak Ezza and a few other blogger friends, I have been hearing raving remarks about this ikan bakar place in Pekan Jeram - a small town after Kapar and just before Kuala Selangor. Jauh juga lah....it took us about an hour to get there. When we arrived it was almost maghrib and the restaurant was already packed with patrons. We were lucky that we managed to get a table fast.

Siakap tiga rasa - my rating 5 out of 10.

Wait for the food was long - not at all surprising when looking at the hungry faces all around us. When our food finally came, everyone was ready to attack!! I don't think it's fair to be a food critique on the dishes we had, when it's my first time there. I liked the siakap tiga rasa, but Farah said the one at Famous Thai was tasted better (yarr lorrr..and how much pulak the same dish in Famous Thai??) But all in all we were happy with our dinner.

Then came the surprise - Abe's present. The girls and I went looking for something which we felt he really needed. A few items came to mind - a watch (nooo....coz last two years dah bagi dah), shirt (also noooo coz he has banyak yang he has not worn...thanks to my buying spree), DSLR (errr...me tak cukup budget nanti nak gi RT with friends). Ohhh...it was so tough getting his present.

After lihat sini sana, and with me so exhausted being driver for the girls, we decided to get him a new phone - a replacement that would put the N80 to its final resting place.

On Friday, I was joking with my boss in the office, asking him what's the cheapest Black Berry. His reply was, "Napa nak cari yang cheapest??? Cari lah yang latest!!" Everyone thought I was looking for a new BB, little did they know that I was getting a device for someone who is not so tech savvy (unlike me!!! cheh...puji diri sendiri)

Anyway, when I went to my favourite mobile outlet in SA Mall, the sales person showed me the new Bold2. Ohhh...macam cantik pulak...and berkenan jugak. So malas nak think much, all of us girls unanimously agreed that the ole man should be transformed into someone who is tech savvy. Nissa said she's gonna give Abe only two weeks to master the phone, or else the BB will be hers!!! Duhhh...punya lah demanding and strict nya this girl.

Guess what it is Daddy. No clues from Abe coz Farah had wrapped the phone in Astro old bill (recycle mahhh...)

Laaaa....hadiah bungkus guna bill recycle je. He must be thinking of that.

Tadaaaaaaa........your BB Daddy!!

Abe's reaction when he got the phone?? Kerut-kerut kepala nak accept Nissa's challenge...heh heh. Anyway, a note to Abe, chill lah okay. BB is not rocket science, try meddling with it first. If you really can't cope, we'll return your supposed to RIP N80 back to you and Nissa gets to keep BB, mau?? I can assure you, college calculus with all the triple differential equations yang three semesters kena buat dulu lagi susah nak pecah kepala!! The key word is CHILL :)

Well, that was the PLUS - Abe's age is plus 1 from last year's number. Wishing you all good health, rezeki yang melimpah (so that boleh selalu jadi penaja my RTs!!) and dirahmati Allah selalu.

The MINUS on the other hand is that my all so reliable, faithful relief supir has returned to Uni. Faris left this morning to embark on his degree program in the same Uni he completed his diploma. So...off he went to Melaka. But as Zen, a fellow blogger put it on FB - life goes on and I know I shouldn't be harping on this too much. (But I did feel like a hop on hop off bus driver yesterday when making drop off and pick up of the girls for their Saturday activities.)

We wish you all the best too Abang. Hope you keep up the good work as you had done in your diploma studies. Three years is not long...drive up and down Shah Alam - Melaka and before you know it, you are at your final semester.

Aaaaaa Chooooo!!

Awww no!! I am down with a cold now. Last week Abe was knocked out for several days, coughing and sok-sek-sok-sek with Kleenex in hand, clearing his nose. Awwww.....dah berjangkit lah ni!! Tak suka nya, not now, not when I have a million to do (then again...bila nya yang I don't have tonnes to do kan??)

After dinner just now, I gulped down actifed, hoping to clear the nasal congestion. It works so far, but my eyes are so, so heavy now.

We were at Subang Parade earlier. There's already a party organized at the car park area of the complex.

The blue bears dancing to the "Wavin Flag" tune. So adorable...especially the orange bear :)

Awww...this is so not good, not when the final kick-off is only hours away. I do want to watch team Orange play. Hopefully the cup will be theirs this round.

Looks like I have to catch the replay if I miss the game later......coz I can't afford going all nite long aaaaa choooooing away!!

Enjoy the game folks...

When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag........

Colombo - Part 3

Just like in any other countries, I have visited, tourist traps are many in Colombo. I read in a Tripadvisor forum thread, many tourists got ripped off when taking the three wheeler or better known as the tuk-tuk in Colombo. A lady shared her experience when she was tricked into seeing an elephant parade in the city. Approached by a soft spoken tuk-tuk driver she ended up in a place where she had no intention of going to in the first place. And it wasn't just the destination, the tuk-tuk driver demanded that she paid an unbelievable amount for use of the tuk-tuk.

Lesson learned - always be careful when using the service of tuk-tuk drivers; this I paid extra caution the entire time I was in Colombo. (A similar incident happened to the three of us - Jupe, Muni and I when we were in Bangkok some time ago. Will blog about this next time.)

In the city of Colombo, there are so, so many tuk-tuks. There is no waiting time or queuing of these three wheelers, which most of the time are ever so willing to be at your service.

As we walked the main street in Colombo, hoards of these tuk-tuk drivers approached us. Each one has a story to tell. One guy wanted to take us on a tour of the city and promised good rates for using his service. There was another one who said that we should go to the local handicraft factories. Such great selling skills and so much determination.

After covering some distance in the city on foot, we decided to take a tuk-tuk to Sri Lanka National Museum located in Colombo 7. (Notice the distinct difference in my travel itinerary when I travel with Abe, compared to when traveling with my friends. With Abe it's museums... museums...museums..... but when I am with my girlfriends it's shop...shop...shop till you drop)

It was tough getting a good and trustworthy tuk-tuk driver, I must say. Some couldn't understand English...so no go with him. Some had really unpleasant dispositions, like those crooks seen in Tamil movies. Also no go.....takuttttt!!!

My interview with Abdul Rahman, our tuk-tuk driver that afternoon

We took our time in getting a tuk-tuk. I can't remember how many we flagged down in such a short time span. In the end, we settled with a big sized guy who greeted us with a salam before taking the liberty to explain the routes he was going to take us. In his explanation, he told us that we should go visit a gem factory. Ahah....I smelled fish already!! We insisted that we were not interested in buying gems. He was smart with his reply. He said, "No obligations Maam. No pay to look." Smart huh? And so cleaver playing with words to a person whose heart was already at the shops. Anyway, it's the museum that we want to go visit. My firm insistence made him give in but he did say, perhaps after our museum visit, if we still want to go visit the gem factory, he would be very happy to take us. Okay lahhh...when he put it that way, I sensed the honesty in him. Plus in my heart meluap-luap juga nak pi gem factory as I tried my level best to hide the excitement from Abe.

After bargaining how much we should pay for the trip (yessss...U MUST BARGAIN, else dia akan bagi rate yang suka hati dia je and bargain before you sit in the tuk-tuk), we got into his tuk-tuk and headed to the museum.

The museum established in 1877, was founded by built by Sir William Henry Gregory the British Governor of Ceylon at the time.

Directions to the various section in the museum

School children on an educational trip

All girls museum visit...notice their school uniform - all white!!

Side shot of the museum. Photography is not allowed in the building (errr...boleh but must pay, a common practice in India too)

In the museum gardens, one can find huge trees like this one.

The bus - a mobile museum

Dah penat....lepak bawah these huge rooted trees

Colombo - Part 2

During my early days of doing free and easy travel, I was pretty apprehensive about making bookings on the Internet. You just can't be too sure if such deals are genuine or fraud. Be it bookings for hotel rooms or ground travel arrangements, there was always that fear of being possibly conned, resulting being left on a lurch - high and dry and lost.

I did quite a bit of research on Colombo, from hotels to mode of transport to shopping places to tourist traps. After much research and reading long comments, I finally decided on Colombo City Hotel (CCH) as our hotel during the four days in Colombo. Located in the business area and main city center, CCH was a modest local hotel next to the World Trade Centre building and Colombo Hilton. Security around the hotel area was tight. Police personnels were stationed on the main streets to ensure everything was in orderly manner.

It was only 10.30am when we got to our room. Since zohor was at 12.15pm we decided to rest in our room before venturing the streets. After some light refreshments (read: Maggie tomyam and raisin bread) and performing our solat jamak and with so much delight, readily armed with my research notes on Colombo visit sites, I was ready to explore the city.

Stark contrast - the World Trade Centre (back) and old shop buildings

Colombo Hilton just distance from CCH

Recognize this?? Yes you'll find BATA shoes all over Colombo

Red building that houses Cargills of Ceylon - a well known retail food outlet & supermarket. This pride of the nation was built by the Dutch.

The walk way at Cargills

Government office (department of criminal justice..if I recall well) and on York Street

Reminds me of what used to be the State Secretariat building in Seremban. This building which houses Bank of Ceylon was built by the British.

GOH - the Grand Oriental Hotel

Old and new....Cargills and Colombo's WTC

Since he can't decide on a tuk-tuk...I went on snapping pictures

(*posted just as the Netherlands jumped with joy after qualifying the WC finals)

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.

Ayubowan Colombo

"Ayubowan Maam," said the young doorman to us.

"Good bye...I had a beautiful time here. And do take care, " I smiled at him, moments before I entered our waiting taxi.

Hi folks....I'm back from Colombo. It was a very, very good trip. Will blog about it, hopefully soon. But right now, it's back to the usual weekend routine - trip to the market, house keeping and catching up with the girl's school work.

The unforgettable Ceylon cuppa tea

So...wait just a bit okay for the stories to appear :)

*Ayubowan - Goodbye in Sinhala language