Wednesday 22nd January - Arrived in Sri Lanka

Apologies for today's lack of photos. Will try to do better tomorrow.

Flight EK024 was only a few minutes late into Dubai where the plane taxied several miles into the desert so we could be bussed to the terminal. We had a special Business Class bus with leather upholstery and plenty of seats for everyone. Back in the terminal the very helpful chap on the Connections desk was able to rebook our seats for the second leg so that we had a pair by the window.

The flight onto Sri Lanka boarded at around 5 a.m. UK time and we had barely settled into our seats before the young lady came round with the Moet & Chandon. This service is a bit of an oddity as it goes via Male in the Maldives. This holiday destination is a collection of very low lying, windswept islands and reefs. The island across the water from the airport has a fairly sizeable city on it, but all modern buildings and not very attractive from where we were looking. The clincher was that you are not allowed to take alcohol onto the Maldives.

Clearly we hold a minority opinion about the place as the plane virtually emptied. They were replaced by a thirsty looking bunch. The driver got his heavy boots on for the 500 mile, one hour hop to Colombo, where we arrived just as dusk fell. Our plan worked like a dream. We got a Sri Lankan SIM card for the phone in the arrivals hall, got our f.o.c. 30 day visas at the desk, changed some currency at a reasonable rate and found the hotel driver without a problem.

The airport is 30km from central Colombo and most of the first 25km is travelled on a beautifully engineered expressway by well behaved drivers and not a horn to be heard. This runs out 5km short of the centre and South Asian normality is restored. Three wheelers, overloaded motorbikes, trucks and honking taxis jockey for position in the congealing mass of traffic. The Expressway extension is under construction but seems year's off completion.

The Fairway is a modern, mid range hotel. We like the look of our third floor room. It is clean, with effective AC and a comfortable looking bed, exactly what we need right now.

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