Train ride to Kandy

 Feb.11

We got up early again and I went out hunting for breakfast.  I found a café that did cappuccinos and had pastries, but not the sweet ones we were used to.  These are called “short eats” and are pastries filled with savory vegetable and meat fillings.  I brought some back with our coffees and they made a fine breakfast.  “Short eats” often filled the gap when we needed a small meal during the day in our travels, as heat often reduced our appetites.

After breakfast, Devi and John had invited us along for a small group tour of a house built by the famous Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa.  It was only about a 15 minute walk from our hotel and so nicely handy.  The house was constructed of three former houses which he bought up and connected.  There were pools and plants everywhere with some areas built around or highlighting his favourite trees.  The rooms were all bright and filled with a variety of pieces he had collected from all over the world.  The spaces had a relaxed feeling that couldn’t be captured in pictures. It was fun exploring the house and checking out the view from the rooftop patio.  The master bedroom was available for rent (at quite a price, we’re told) so that was the only place off limits.  The tour organizer knew Devi’s family and so wouldn’t take our money.

Rentable living room in the Bawa house.

We went back to our room, checked out and then met Devi and John at the Colombo train station, which was smaller than I expected for such a large city.  They had the ticket so we were supposed to wait outside the station which really had no place to hang out.  We went to the information office and they told us we could buy tickets for 10 cents each to get in.  We did this, no one checked them and we hunkered down on a bench to wait.

They found us and we got onto a comfortable air-conditioned train with space to put our backpack on the upper rack.  On the trip we saw for the first time slums beside the tracks.  For most of our trip we encountered occasional beggars but not nearly so many as in Toronto.  We rarely saw makeshift housing but we were usually in touristic areas so I guess that wasn’t surprising. 

The trip was a nice one with the scenery improving as we got up into the mountains.  It took several hours as things move slower in Sri Lanka.  You can’t think of a 100 kms as an hour’s drive as it’s usually 3 and a half or more  here.  We chatted and snacked and enjoyed the ride.

View from the train.

On arrival we waited for their regular tuktuk driver and swatted a few mosquitoes at the station. 
They’ve eradicated malaria but dengue fever is a problem in Sri Lanka so applying deet became a regular ritual. 

We checked into their family friend Bernard’s air b’n’b, which was a large suite with a kitchenette and living room.  We walked down to the recommended restaurant which was a Sri Lankan international chain specializing in biryani. 

I was flipping through the menu and noticed that the last page was crawling with ants and so put the menu on the floor.  A waiter came by and took it before I could explain why.  He then came back with a menu that turned out to be the same one, still crawling so onto the floor it went.  He again took it before we could explain why.  Meg then went over to the cash and had to show them the ants before we got proper menus.  Another recurring theme was to be in a situation surrounded by multiple young staff who go all deer-in-headlights whenever something happens which might require them to assist someone.

Bernard's place.

Also, the biryani was just meh.  The restaurant at least was a short walk from where we were staying so we were able to fall into bed soon after dinner.