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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Serendip Road Trip

We just got back from our roadtrip to Srilanka and it was the first real family holiday just the 3 of us. The trip was short, only 6 but packed with activities and new firsts for the little boy.

First elephant at a temple in Colombo;
First picnic
First picnic at sunset on the Galle Fort ramparts;
First time sleeping in his travel cot and soundly too (Thanks to Aunty Z);
First visit to the site of Lanka Project yay !

Looking back, I haven't actually been back to SL for more than a year now and noticed plenty of change. Since the war ended, the military presence on the streets of Colombo has diminished almost entirely. The city is undergoing a major makeover and new roads have sprung up. The highway that cuts through the island will be completed in a few months which will reduce our driving time by 50%.

An air taxi service has started to the highlands and down south and J who tried it for the first time said it was definitely worth it. He flew from Colombo to Dickwella lake which would normally take 5 hours on the road but only took 45 minutes.

Here are his photos.




J was the only guy on the flight and when he tried to sit in the front row, he was told to sit in the middle of the plane to even the weight distribution. Hmmmm. The plane is only little, and will take no more than 15 passengers at any go.



Here's the plane approaching Tangalle and it landed about 5 minutes after he took this pic.

We spent the first couple of nights at a house nearby called Kurumba and it was very sweet. We had a Srilankan mother and daughter team who made delicious meals and made our stay very comfortable.






We spent most of our time at the site, surveying the work and talking to the contractors. T and J had plenty of questions while I took Z around for a stroll.



I don't have the photo but there was a local farmer who brought his herd of water buffalos to graze on the land every Monday. Quite wonderful.

Anyway, the brick walls are only 30% done and we are another 6 months away from completion which is much longer than we anticipated. Still, we are hoping it will be done before Christmas. Fingers crossed.

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