The Journey
The plane flight was long, after some delay at Heathrow we eventually left about half an hour late, and just my luck half the plane is full of a school trip, and I’m sat in the middle of them. Thankfully I managed to swap seats with a girl who wanted to sit by her boyfriend, so I got a window seat after all.
We stopped in Male on the way, just long enough for them to hoover the plane, and make us all wish that we were getting of there as well. The views of the Maldives as we can in to land were beautiful, the water is so blue, and you can see strings of little huts on stilts sticking out into the bay. Male itself looks as though someone has taken a bit of central London, and dropped it in the sea, it’s a very small island and from what I can see it is full of buildings right up to the waters edge.
The waves barrelling in next to the runway looked fantastic, the Maldives would make a great surf trip, maybe next time I’ll stop off here on the way home.
Colombo airport is not very exciting, but it is pleasant enough. Spent a few hours here reading a book, and waiting for my delayed plane.
I arrived in Trivandrum at about 8pm, only an hour late, which I guess is not bad for a 24 hour journey. As we got into the arrivals area, everyone is given forms to fill in, except me, apparently I don’t need one. So I go up to the passport control counter and promptly get told off and sent back to fill in a form like everyone else. I got the form, but no pen, eventually persuaded a guard to lend me a pen, and I’m in.
Upon going through customs, where four people check that I have written my name on a piece of paper, but no one cares about my luggage, there is a very short corridor to and then you are faced with a sea of people waiting at arrivals, no idea who they are waiting for, as I’m about the last person off the plane, and there wasn’t another one behind us.
Thankfully, just as I am explaining to an over eager taxi driver that I am being met, I hear Shashi calling my name. He and Arun have come to meet me, which is just as well as I would have had no idea where to go or what to do.
The Taxi ride to the Lodge is the same Kamikazee run that I remember from my previous trip here. The horn is for letting people know that you are coming, and the other side of the road is for over taking the car that just overtook us, even if there is a very sharp bend coming up.
The driver flashes his lights, and sounds the horn constantly, even when there is no one to get out of the way. And we arrive at the lodge.
I’m not really sure what I was expecting from the lodge, but I was relieved to see that it is a pretty normal building with floor ceilings and walls. My room is like a room in a university halls of residence, I have my own loo and shower, a bed, a desk and a chair.
After I unpack, Shashi, Arun and I wade down the road to a restaurant for some dinner, I have Dosa, as I know what that is, and is very good. [Dosa is a rice flour pancake, served with a couple of dips, one is rather like curry sauce, the other one is white, it looks like horse radish sauce, but is not so hot. ]The Lemon Juice and Ginger drink is also very welcome and refreshing. The water that we are served has been boiled apparently, it is still warm, which doesn’t seem to bother anyone else, so I stay quiet.
We stopped in Male on the way, just long enough for them to hoover the plane, and make us all wish that we were getting of there as well. The views of the Maldives as we can in to land were beautiful, the water is so blue, and you can see strings of little huts on stilts sticking out into the bay. Male itself looks as though someone has taken a bit of central London, and dropped it in the sea, it’s a very small island and from what I can see it is full of buildings right up to the waters edge.
The waves barrelling in next to the runway looked fantastic, the Maldives would make a great surf trip, maybe next time I’ll stop off here on the way home.
Colombo airport is not very exciting, but it is pleasant enough. Spent a few hours here reading a book, and waiting for my delayed plane.
I arrived in Trivandrum at about 8pm, only an hour late, which I guess is not bad for a 24 hour journey. As we got into the arrivals area, everyone is given forms to fill in, except me, apparently I don’t need one. So I go up to the passport control counter and promptly get told off and sent back to fill in a form like everyone else. I got the form, but no pen, eventually persuaded a guard to lend me a pen, and I’m in.
Upon going through customs, where four people check that I have written my name on a piece of paper, but no one cares about my luggage, there is a very short corridor to and then you are faced with a sea of people waiting at arrivals, no idea who they are waiting for, as I’m about the last person off the plane, and there wasn’t another one behind us.
Thankfully, just as I am explaining to an over eager taxi driver that I am being met, I hear Shashi calling my name. He and Arun have come to meet me, which is just as well as I would have had no idea where to go or what to do.
The Taxi ride to the Lodge is the same Kamikazee run that I remember from my previous trip here. The horn is for letting people know that you are coming, and the other side of the road is for over taking the car that just overtook us, even if there is a very sharp bend coming up.
The driver flashes his lights, and sounds the horn constantly, even when there is no one to get out of the way. And we arrive at the lodge.
I’m not really sure what I was expecting from the lodge, but I was relieved to see that it is a pretty normal building with floor ceilings and walls. My room is like a room in a university halls of residence, I have my own loo and shower, a bed, a desk and a chair.
After I unpack, Shashi, Arun and I wade down the road to a restaurant for some dinner, I have Dosa, as I know what that is, and is very good. [Dosa is a rice flour pancake, served with a couple of dips, one is rather like curry sauce, the other one is white, it looks like horse radish sauce, but is not so hot. ]The Lemon Juice and Ginger drink is also very welcome and refreshing. The water that we are served has been boiled apparently, it is still warm, which doesn’t seem to bother anyone else, so I stay quiet.
posted by Mike Fosker | 10:36 AM
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