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5/25/2008 Sunday 25th May 2008I'd ordered breakfast in my room for 09:00-09:15 and it arrived bang on time. I went for the fish curry today and I have to say is was very enjoyable.
I spent most of the day pottering about on the computer, writing up some notes from the last couple of meetings at work and watching the TV. There are around two dozen TV channels to pick from at the Trans Asia. I managed to catch the highlights of the Champions League Cup Final, the highlights of the Australia Vs West Indies and then live coverage of the England Vs New Zealand test match at old Trafford.
The Trans Asia now has wireless internet access available and so I purchased a 24 hour ticket for US$12. To get the internet access sorted just ring the business center and they will send someone up to your room with the appropriate login ID and password.
I managed to get a Skype connection to my wife Helen, who is back in the UK. This should save the company some money on telephone calls as I call her every evening before I go to bed.
I ordered several pots of tea to be delivered to the room during the course of the afternoon. It usually takes around 10-15 minutes to deliver it and the pots serve about 3 cups. You have to remember to ask for cold milk otherwise it will be hot and sometimes it arrives hot even if you ask for cold but the waiters are very helpful and changed it for me with no fuss.
Around 17:30 I decided to get out of the hotel room and grab something to eat. I thought it would be nice to pop down to the Galle Face Hotel and watch the sunset. As I have mentioned several times before in my blog this is the best place I have yet found to watch a sunset. I grabbed a Bajaj just outside the Trans Asia and paid 300/- to get to the hotel, a journey of around 5 minutes. Once at the hotel I wandered down to the Seaspray restaurant only to find it did not open until 19:00 so I decided to sit out in the garden area and have a beer (330/-). I spent a very pleasant hour sipping a beer, taking a few photographs, watching the sunset and the waves breaking. There is usually slight sea spray in the air once you get anywhere near the sea at the Galle Face and today was no different. The garden area was quite busy with nearly all the tables taken. There was a musician wandering around playing the flute. I had a bit of trouble getting the bill and had to ask several times before it finally arrived, after about 20 minutes. Note that currently there is some work going on where the sea meets the land and so there is fencing and piles of stones/earth along the sea shore slightly marring the usually picturesque view.
I wandered over to the Seaspray restaurant at 19:00 but found out that they were not serving from a set menu but had a buffet on, which I didn't really fancy so I decided to pop over to the Taj Samudra, a short 5 minute walk away. Access via the front of the hotel is now restricted with the road blocked off so I took the side entrance, opposite the Holiday Inn. However, the Taj was very busy with what looked like a home coming so I thought I'd have a wander over to the Hilton Residencies and re-visit the japanese restaurant, Nihonbashi. It took around 30 minutes to walk there, passing through some fascinating streets away from the 5 star and business areas. The restaurant is wasn't busy. I had hoped to grab a Lion Lager but they only had Carlsberg or Heineken available so I opted for the healthy option and had Green (Sencha) Tea. I opted for the Sushi Funa Mori, Kappa Maki & along with the green tea the bill came to 2093/- including service charge and taxes (at around 25%). I had to ask for extra Wasabi as the sushi had very little included with it but the waiter provided it straight away.
I grabbed a Bajaj for the 5 minute journey back to the Trans Asia and paid 200/-. Another Trip To Sri LankaAnother 12 months on and I'm back out in Sri Lanka for a short (2 weeks long) business trip. I set out with some trepidation as I had been booked to stay at the Trans Asia hotel, in Colombo, only a short distance from the recent suicide blast outside the Hilton hotel. I left on Tuesday afternoon (May 20th), from Birmingham International airport. The hire car drop off was directly adjacent to the airport and I was able to walk the distance to the terminal quite easily. I came out via Dubai, as opposed the a direct flight to Colombo in an attempt to split the long journey up and allow me to stretch my legs. Dubai airport is currently undergoing a lot of building work and the bus from the airplane to the terminal building was quite long, probably around 15 minutes. Dubai airport was extremely busy and I can see why they are looking at extending it as it was pretty overcrowded compared with my first visit around 4 years ago. Both flights were poorly attended and I'd guess that only about a third of the seats were taken. I arrived in Colombo on Wednesday (21st May) morning and spent the best part of an hour getting through the passport check due to the extensive queues. The company had arranged for a driver to pick me up at the airport and drop me off at the hotel as the factory was closed due to Wesak.
I was assigned room 410, located on the north side of the hotel with a view over towards the docks overlooking Beria Lake. As it was around lunchtime by the time I had unpacked I slipped down to the Sushi Bar and ordered the Maki Zushi Sampler (430/-). The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up on my sleep as I managed only a few hours during the journey over. In the evening I thought I'd check out one of the restaurants at the Trans Asia. I immediately decided on the The Terrace because they had a seafood menu. I opted for the Paraw (994/-) and went with the chef's suggestion to grill it. It was served with vegetables. I also had a 3 Coins Lager (360/-) whilst I watch the IPL on the big screen. The meal was excellent and the surroundings very pleasant. 5/21/2007 Sat 19th MayMy alarm went off at 02:00 and I was able to get a cup of tea and watch the news before my wakeup call arrived bang on time at 02:30. It took just 10 minutes to check out and arrange a taxi to the airport; the taxi service being free for residents. The staff behind the desk at the Taj tried to convince me I was going to the airport too early. However, I insisted on leaving at 02:40 and was at the airport for 02:50. The airport was open but quiet. I was able to walk straight up to the check in desk and check in my luggage. I filled in my embarkation form and the queues were only a couple of people deep where you hand your embarkation form in. I headed straight up to the Palm Strip restaurant and bought a carton of orange. It cost just over 200/ - they do take SL Rupees. Be aware that some shops in the airport do not. Fri 18th MayI have to say the breakfast this morning, which arrived promptly at 06:45, was a bit grim. My choice of beef curry proved to be uninspired as the beef was as tough as old boots. I contented myself with eating the milk rice with sauce from the curry poured over it. However, the King Coconut and tea were excellent.
I went downstairs around 07:15 as I needed to checkout as tonight I was booked into the Taj Airport Gardens, a hotel much closer to the airport. It took around 10 minutes to complete the formalities.
Martyn picked me up at 07:30 at the TransAsia. The journey into work today revealed a lorry had turned over on its side and crashed into a house at the side of the road. Whether anyone was hurt we couldn't make out as we drove passed.
In the morning I briefed the local IT team on the new server and .NET 2005 plans and then Saman took me to the new factory we have just purchased. It is also located at Katunayake, a short drive from our two other Katunayake factories (CMK & CMG). The new factory is huge. It must be as big as all of our other three SL factories put together. However, there is a lot of work to do before it can become operational.
Around 12:00 I made the short 45 minutes drive to our Wathupitiwalla factory (CMW). Martyn had kindly agreed for me to use his driver for the trip. The road between Katunayake aqnd Wathupitiwalla was still a nice quiet run. I still can't get over the traffice lights at the crossing of the Kandy Road at Nittabuwa. It has transformed what was previously a death defying experience! It was great to see some old friends and work colleagues such a Damika, Mervyn , Bandara and Kalum as well as Gareth, an expat I had met when I worked out in Morocco. Since my last visit here most of the office staff have moved from our Wathupitiwalla factory into our new Katunayake factory and so the upstairs area was practically deserted. I proved the Skype was working at CMW and found out from Kalum a few issues with the scanning system which I will correct next week. I managed to call in the works canteen for lunch and anjoyed some fish curry accompanied by rice, beetroot and salad. Around 15:15 we made the trip back to CMK.
Martyn dropped me off at the Taj around 18:15. I checked in within a few minutes, arranging for a wakeup call at 02:30. taxi to the airport when I came down to check out. After dropping my stuff off in my room (414) I walked down to the main road (a walk of about 0.5km) as I wanted to see if I could get some Zesta green tea from the Food City that is located just by the entrance to the Taj. I was in luck and I bought four boxes, each with 25 tea bags. These cost 125/- each.
Once I got back to the hotel I decided to grab something to eat. I thought I'd try and get some of the excellent samosas that are on the bar menu but which, sadly, they seem to seldom do. There were no mutton Samosas avaiable but the vegetable ones were. Howver, they were different to the ones they used to do as the old ones were huge and you got two of them. The new ones were much smaller and you got six. To be fair though they were swtill very tasty and I ordered a second lot after the first :) I also had a Lion Lager to accompany the meal. Whilst eating I watched some of the SL vs Pakistan cricket and chatted to one of the other guests and his wife. I called it a night at 20:15 as I wanted to get a few hours sleep before my wakeup call. I left the England vs West Indies cricket match on the TV as I dozed. Thu 17th MayBreakfast arrived in my room promptly at 07:00. Slight mistake in bananas arriving instead of banana milkshake but I had ordered tea as well so I wasn't too bothered. The chicken curry and string hoppers were excllent and I polished them all off.
Martyn picked me up from the hotel. We had arranged for 07:30 but Martyn was already in the lobby when I got down at 07:20.
The canteen had curried pork, which I think is one of the best meals they do. I managed to have a quick chat on the phone to my old boss in Sri Lanka, Jawaid, who has since left the company.
Martyn dropped me back at the hotel and as England were playing the West Indies I decided to pop down to the Cricket Club Cafe to watch the match. AS yesterday I grabbed a Bajaj outside the Trans Asia and agreed a fee of 250/- to get there. The CCC had not changed at all and one of the waiters still remembered me from my time as a "regular" here. I grabbed one of the round barrel tables in the main bar, ordered my "usual", a Lion Lager and my old favorite the Chilli Crab. The menu appeared to be the same to the one I remember from when I used to live here. Unfortunately Lords was affected by bad light and so the players were off the pitch so I just read a newspaper I had brought from the hotel and soaked up the atmosphere. Shaun Walsh (the CMI CEO in SL) and Paul Gregory (who was the CEO when I first moved to SL) turned up a bit later on and joined me for a couple of drinks and a most enjoyable chat.
We called it a day around 23:00 and I hailed a Bajaj on Alfred House Gardens, agreeing a 250/- fee back to the Trans Asia. Wed 16th MayI decided to grab an orange juice, a cup of tea and some samosas from the breakfast buffet. Crystalene had arranged for a driver to pick me up from the hotel and he arrived right on time at 07:30.
Most of the day was spent getting the new server up and running. I did get to try the canteen food again.
Crystalene arranged for a driver to drop me back at my hotel and we left around 18:00, getting back in Colombo just before 19:00.
I had a quick shower when I got back to the room, filled in the request form for breakfast in my room for Thu morning and decided to re-visit Sakuras, a Japanese restaurant I used to frequent often with my wife, Helen, when I previously lived in Sri Lanka. I walked down to the entrance to the Trans Asia and took one of the Bajajs waiting outside. Although the driver didn't know Sakuras I mentioned the MacDonalds on Galle Road (Just 2 minutes walk from Sakuras) which he did know and I agreed to a fee of 250/- to get there.
Sakuras itself had changed little. Even most of the staff I recognised. However, the menu had changed. The main menu now has 101 items, all still with pictures, but Sushi is now only listed on a separate menu. There is also an accompanying sheet with English descriptions of the dishes. I sat at the bar, ordered a bottle of Lion Lager, some Sushi and Kappa Makki. As always, the meal was excellent. I paid by master card. I walked up to the top of the street where Sakuras is situated and agreed a fee of 250/- with a Bajaj driver waiting on the corner of Galle Road (the driver started at 300 I went to 200 and so we met in the middle). I got back to the hotel around 21:00, ordered a 3 coins beer on room service and rang my wife, Helen. Tue 15th MayMartyn, an ex-pat who runs the cutting room operation and is currently in charge of IT in CMI SL, dropped me off at the hotel. This time I had a front facing room (528) from where I looked over the sports ground opposite towards the sea, which was visible about half a km away. One difference I noticed i the room from last time I stayed here is they now have a card you can put on your bed to say you don't need the linen changing. All part an eco drive. Whilst I had seem this practice in some hotels I had stayed at in the interior of Colombo it was the first time I had seen it in Colombo.
I had picked up a leaflet from the check in desk that showed that there was an Indian buffet on at the Saffron Restaurant at the Trans Asia at the moment. As I had never been to this restaurant before I decided to give it ago and I was not disappointed. When I arrived around 19:30 the restaurant was fairly empty and I was easily able to grab a table. I ordered a bottle of the 3 Coins Irish Dark and once it had arrived at the table I investigated the buffet. The waiters were extremely helpful explaining what dishes were what and I went up several times to try the different dishes on offer. I ordered another Irish Dark and read a Travel Sri Lanka magazine I had brought down from the room. 5/16/2007 Back In Sri LankaI arrived back in Sri Lanka yesterday at around 08:00 in the morning. The flight was only about 10% full and I managed to sleep for most of the journey. Bandaranaike airport was pretty much the same as last time I used it in January and there was little evidence to suggest the problems regarding the air attacks that had occurred since then. I went straight into work from the airport, a journey of only a few minutes. Most of the morning was spent saying heelo to old friends and work colleagues and it wasn't until after lunch that I was able to get stuck into sorting a few of the outstanding problems out. I also managed to have a look around our new CMG factory, which was still being refurbished when I was last over. I have to say the progress and results are very impressive. 5/14/2007 Ready To Leave For Sri LankaMy return flight has been confirmed for a daylight flight on Saturday 19th May so the Sri Lanka trip has been confirmed. I have a hire car to get me to London, Heathrow and I will leave in just over an hour. I have three nights in the Trans Asia Hotel and then one night in the Taj Airport Gardens (because it is only a short distance from the airport). I texted my old boss, Jawaid, who has since left Crystal Martin, and we'll try and meet up for a chat one evening. I haven't much packing to do as for 4 nights I'm just taking a rucksack. 5/4/2007 Colombo Airport Closes At Night For Three MonthsI see that Colombo airport closes at night for three months. While this doesn't affect my flight out to Sri Lanka it does affect my flight back so we are currently looking at my options. From a personal point of view its a real nuisance as the 02:05 flight was ideal as it got me back into London, Heathrow at about 09:00 which meant that I could be back home in Ripley by lunchtime. Maybe it will mean I get another evening in Sri Lanka as I can't really cut my trip any shorter as the schedule is a bit tight already. 5/1/2007 Another Trip Back To Sri Lanka!I have just had my flights confirmed for another trip out to Sri Lanka. Sadly it is just for a short visit this time :( I fly out on Mon 14th May and return on Sat 19th May. That is assuming that flights are operational. Today it was announced that, after the most recent Tamil Tiger air strike, several airlines were suspending flights to Sri Lanka although Emirates have already announced they will restart them on May 4th. However, I am booked on a Sri Lankan Airlines direct flight between Heathrow and
Colombo Bandaranaike airports and Sri Lankan airlines have not suspended their flights at all as far as I can tell. Anyway, as long as the situation doesn't deteriorate any more I'll be looking forward to getting back to Sri Lanka as I really do miss living out there. It was certainly a lot more enjoyable than living in Morocco, where I moved onto after Sri Lanka, or even back in the UK where I live now. My trip has three objectives.
I've asked to stay at a hotel in Colombo although I may review that request depending on how the situation pans out over the next week or so. 1/29/2007 Sun 21st JanuaryI had set no alarm for Sunday morning as I was feeling pretty tired last night so it was just after 11:00 when I finally got up. I just grabbed a cup of tea for breakfast and decided to have a stroll around Colombo - a favorite passtime of mine when I previously lived here. I headed off towards Crescat (one of the more modern shopping centers in Colombo and situated next to the Cinnamon Grand), taking some of the back streets as they are much more interesting than sticking to the main throughfares. I took some pictures of Beira Lake on the way. It was nice to see the Pelicans were still there. Sadly I found as I passed by that Mollies, one of our favorite bars in Colombo, had closed down. I had to ask a soldier the way at one point because a lot of the roads around Beira Lake were closed off to traffic. At Crescat I had hoped to buy some Mlesna green tea for Lina, a Sri Lankan friend of mine in the UK. However, although Crescat was open the Mlesna tea shop was not. Coincidentally I met Carl and Angie in Crescat. Angie suggested I try Odels (a department store) as they had a tea shop situated within it.
However, first I headed down to Keells, situated underneath Liberty Plaza, an older but bigger shopping center. This is where I used to do most of my shopping once Helen had left for the UK in Nov 2005. They have a good selection of teas but no Mlesna. However, I bought some Dilmah tea and some other Green teas for myself.
My intention had been to walk down to Shanti Vihar to grab some lunch. For some reason I was under the impression that Amarvathis was closed on a Sunday but I called in just on the off chance and luckily it was open. Amarvathis had been one of my favorite eating places in Colombo. Thankfully, little had changed and I had an excellent 14 dish Maharaja Thali (250/-) and a salt lassi (100/-). If you ask (which I did) they will also supply extra rice. I'd remembered to bring along the paper left outside my door at the hotel, a Sunday Observer and so I read this whilst eating.
Next was to try and find a jewellers. I had bought Helen, my wife, a ring with a Sri Lankan sapphire in when we were here but unfortunately the sapphire had fallen out when we were in the UK and its now lost forever. I had the ring and wanted to try and get a replacement sapphire fitted. However, I failed to find any jewellers open on Galle Road, presumably because it was Sunday. A word of warning here. We are not the only people to find that the setting of jewels in rings is not that good in Sri Lanka. A friend of ours who visited us also had a jewel fall out of her ring once she got back to the UK.
I called in at Majestic City next. This is the largest and probably the best shopping center in Colombo. My mission here was to buy some DVDs off a list supplied by my wife. I got about 75% of the ones she wanted. I paid 200/- each for the DVDs and got 1 free for evey 10 I bought. It was a short walk to my next port of call, the CCC. When we lived at the back of the CCC, at St. James Court Helen and myself used to enjoy counting the number of Bajaj drivers who asked us if we wanted a taxi on the 10 minutes walk between Majestic City and our apartment. Our record was about 12 I think but today it was just 4. I called in at a cashpoint (there are several available on duplication road close to the CCC) to get some rupees out as the DVDs had cleaned me out. At the CCC I had one of their excellent smoothies (150/-) and a bottle of Lion (225/-) and watched some of the West Indies/India one day match on one of the many TVs dotted around the CCC. Feeling refreshed I set off to walk to Odels.
The walk to Odels took me up Duplication Road and the change in the road system became very apparent. When I used to live here Duplication and Galle Roads were both two way. Now the section between Bambalapitia junction and the Liberty Plaza junction is one way. North on Galle Road and south on Duplication Road. I was stopped by two policeman on the way. I am a little unsure what they wanted as my Singalese is non existant and their English was difficult to understand. After showing them my room key for the TransAsia I tried to offer to show them my passport and at that point they just waved me on. It took almost an hour to walk to Odels and I grabbed a fresh water melon juice (80/-) at a kiosk just outside the Odels entrance. Unfortunately the Odels tea shop only sold Dilmal tea.
From Odels I walked back up passed the Hilton Residences, passing Rohans (another excellent restaurant I found towards the end of my stay in SL). I again had to alter my route back being asked to cross to the other side of the road leading up to the Trans Asia by a soldier. All very different from my previous stay here. By the time I got back to the TransAsia, at around 18:00, I have to confess I was pretty shattered so a shower was the priority. I rang my wife Helen and made a quick call to my father to let him know I was OK. Then Dave Rodgers, a colleague of mine, rang to let me know he had arrived. We arranged to meet up in the bar at 19:00. We decided to have a meal at Summerfield's cafe. It was a buffet and I had an excellent bean salad, Thai and Mutton curries and Wattatan to finish. At 21:30 we called it a night and I went to bed. Sat 20th JanuaryThis morning opted for an extra 30 minutes in bed rather than breakfast and so I went to stand down in front of the entrance to the Trans Asia jut before 09:00 ready for my lift to arrive, which it duly did at the promised time of 09:00. It took just over an hour to get to our factory at Wathupitiwala; the traffic being suprisingly light. The day in the office was a mixture of frustration with setting up the scanning for next week and success with sorting out a problem dating back 10 months from my last stay in Sri Lanka and helping one of the local IT guys get at some data for the new invoicing system he is working on. I had lunch in the canteen. I left around 16:30 - the journey back taking longer than the journey in due to the traffic. I got in aound 18:00 and rang Carl to see if anyone was going out this evening. Fortunately they were and so I arranged to meet them in Cheers; a bar at the Cinnamon Grand - giving Helen a quick phone call first. In Cheers I met up with Carl, his wife Angie and Gareth. We watched the Liverpool - Chelsea game, sank a few beers and enjoyed a meal. I got a Baja from the Trans Asia to the Cinnamon Grand and this cost me 200/-. Cheers has few discernable changes since I was last in Sri Lanka; A second big screen and a new menu. In times gone by we generally came into Cheers for the the food. It was the closest we could get to English food in Sri Lanka. However, as I have been living in England the last 6 months I opted for the chicken curry from the specials board. I have to say it was excellent.
Once the match was finished the others headed back to their apartments but I headed on down to the Cricket Club Cafe grabbing a Bajaj outside DeliFrance for 200/-. The traffic was queuing to get onto Galle Road as the police appeared to have closed access onto it. However, within only a minute or so the traffic was allowed back onto the road. The changes here were mainly in the staff, although a few of the waiters from when I used to come in here on a regular basis were still there and recognised me. One other noticable change was that the CCC now has Lion on draught and I am sure it never used to have.
After a swift beer I walked passed the old apartment and grabbed a Bajaj off Alfred House Gardens. It cost me 300/-. The Bajaj driver had to take a couple of detours due to closed roads but it added little time onto the journey. Fri 19th JanuaryThe morning started with me checking out of the Tamarind Tree. It was a very pleasent hotel but I had asked to be moved to the TransAsia in Colombo. Although the service was excellent at the Tamarind Tree I found it a nuisance that I couldn't make international phone calls from the room and the mobile coverage was very patchy. There was also no mini bar - not even any bottled water in the room. It was also very isolated. Nice if you wanted to get away from it all which I like for a couple of days but I soon get bored.
The day was spent at our Katunayake factory sorting out a few issues with the new implementation of the scanning system. As usual I had lunch in the canteen.
The evening was spent at the Taj Airport Gardens where we had a meal at the chinese restaurant. By we I mean Mark, Mario, Lucky, Isaac, Shaun, Carl, Emma, Gareth, Martyn, Jawaid, Paul, and two ladies who were new additions to the management team since I left and whose names I have to confess I have forgotten :(
Martyn gave me a lift to the TransAsia, the hotel I have been booked into for the weekend. I checked in, dropped by bags off at the apartment and tried to ring my wife Helen but got no answer so I decided to go for a beer in the bar in the foyer. This cost 420/-, quite expensive for a beer in Sri Lanka and reminded me why we seldom came to the Trans Asia when we lived in Colombo. Fortunately I managed to get hold of Helen when I got back to the apartment. 1/19/2007 Second Day Back In Sri LankaI struggled sleeping last night. Went out like a light aound 21:30 and woke up at 00:30 feeling fresh as a daisy. I read a book for an hour and it took me another hour to get to sleep. When my alarm went off at 07:00 I was knackered so I decided to miss breakfast and grab another 30 minutes sleep which I managed quite easily.
The driver was waiting for me outside at 08:00 and today we managed to get to the BOI at Katunayake via the most direct route on the main Nittambuwa to Katunayake road after the driver waved his pass and yabbled away in Singhalese to a couple of soldiers guarding a road block.
After a successful installation of my scanning software on the client PCs at our Katunayake factory in the morning I arranged for a driver to take myself and Kanishka, one of the Sri Lankan IT team to our Wathupitiwala factory in the afternoon. We had lunch first though and I went to the works canteen. The local staff seem to always insist on me having a china plate rather than the plastic ones usual in the canteen and although I'm not bothered I don't like to kick up a fuss. On offer today was prawn curry (something I had never seen served in the works canteen during my time as an expat here) along with some undefinable, but tasty enough, vegetable dishes and the obligatory rice. The local kitchen staff insisted on producing some non spicy chicken bits as well.
The afternoon drive from Katunayake to Wathupitiwala was, as usual, interesting. It is a fairly quiet road and one I always enjoyed driving in daylight hours; At night is another story. I got to see my first elephant since arriving. It was in the back of an open truck parked at the side of the road. Not a sight that common even in Sri Lanka! Another (as far as I know) Sri Lankan quirk I witnessed was a section of the road which had white flags placed down either side. This usually signifies the route of a funeral procession and I did notice the coffin lying on a table on a veranda where the white flags stopped. The crossing of the main (only) Colombo - Kandy road came as a huge shock. This area had been in various stages of chaos for I would guess a good 12 months before I left. However, not any more and the reason for the previous chaos was very much in evidence. Traffic lights! Before crossing the Colombo - Kandy Road at Nittambuwa could be a fairly hair raising experience. As there was seldom a gap of any significance in the traffic you had to keep edging out into the main traffic until someone with right of way finally lost their bottle and let you go. Now you just pull up to the lights, wait for the counter to count down and go when the light turns green. Sri Lankan drivers nowadays don't know how good they have it ;-)
Our Wathupitiwala factory has changed very little in the 10 months since I last saw it. Plenty of new people and a few minor desk changes but that was about it. Again it was great to see my old work colleagues. Shaun Wals, who runs our Sri Lankan operation has invited the expats and managers out to dinner tomorrow evening at the Airport Gardens, an old favorite haunting ground of mine. As a visitor I got an invite too so I'm looking forward to that. I worked until 19:00 and then decided to call it a day. A driver was waiting to take me back to the Tamarind Tree at Katunayake.
This evening I had pumpkin and orange soup, a selection of curries (green ladies fingers, potato, and cashew, carrot and pea ) wih rice, pineapple and pappad and finally some chocolate sponge, coconut sponge and a small bannana; washed down with a three coins beer. The restaurant was a lot busier than last night and I guess around 20 people must have eaten there. The waiter produced my bill for yesterday's meal for me to sign along with todays. I'd thought it a bit odd I wasn't asked to sign yesterday as Sri Lankan's are generally sticklers for you signing for your bills. I have to say the service at the Tamarind Tree is excellent.
Afer dinner I went for a walk around the perimeter of the hotel grounds. Unfortunately a barred gate prevented me from making it all the way around but I managed a decent stretch of my legs. I am sitting out on the veranda whilst typing this up, although I won't be able to publish it as the hotel has no internet access. 1/18/2007 First Day Back In Sri LankaAlready, within 24 hours of being back in Sri Lanka I have noticed a big difference. The number of soldiers visible on the roads has increased dramatically. The main road between Nittambuwa and Katunayake is also closed just before the airport. To get into work from The Tamarind Tree hotel to our factory on the EPZ at Katunayake involved a detour around the perimeter of the EPZ and through Katunayake village itself.
The day at work was most enjoyable. The renovations at our Katunayake factory since I had last been here 10 months ago were impressive. I also had a look around the new factory we had purchased next door and already within 6 weeks the renovation work was starting to take shape. It was great to see so many of my old work colleagues again and to once again sample the delights of the works canteen. I managed to update the database structure despite some electrical problems that knocked the external network access out a couple of times along with the a/c unit in the office.
I got dropped back at the hotel around 18:30 The standard of driving has not improved since I was last in Sri Lanka!
I managed to get one of those electric mosquito repellent devices working. Not as straight forward as you would expect as the device left in my room had a two pronged electrical plug and all the sockets in the room were three vertical holes - a type of socket I had never previously encountered. However, a chat with the receptionist and a visit from a maintenance guy solved the problem with an extension lead with a three pronged plug and both three and two sockets on it.
I went up to the dining area around 19:10 but was told dinner was not served until 19:30 so I investigated the bar and decided to have a Lion Beer whilst I waited. The evening meal was excellent. There was soup, salad, 3 main courses and an assortment of sweets available on a buffet table. I had the onion soup, skipped the salad and went straight onto the Sri Lankan curry assortment. There was white and yellow (ghee fried) rice, chicken currey, Dal & two other dishes (I think one was called Rampala - the other was tempered beetroot). I finished the meal off with a brown, blamanche type sweet that I think is made from Jaggery. We used to have it sometimes in the canteen and I have acquired a taste for it. 1/17/2007 Back In Sri LankaI arrived back in Sri Lanka around 03:00 this morning. I flew from London, Heathrow direct to Colombo using Sri Lanka airlines. Work had provided a hire car for mr to drive from my home in Ripley to Heathrow. I set off around 04:45 and arrived at Heathrow around 08:15. The only real problem was at the Europcar depot where he terminal 4 ferry bus pulled up at the terminal 1, 2 & 3 stop. I was at the terminal 4 stop and it was only when the terminal 1, 2 & 3 ferry bus pulled up at the terminal 4 stop and I fortunately checked with the driver as I got on that I realised. Needless to say as I was getting on the wrong the bus the correct one pulled away. Why have signs clearly stating which stop is which when the bus drivers ignore them?
I have to say, apart from when I got upgraded to business class, I had probably the best flight I have experienced. I had two seats to myself as the airplane was only half full and the food served was excellent. I read Geoffrey Boycott's autobiography for most of the way over; a book I can throughly recommend to any cricket fan.
The Tamarind hotel had sorted out transport between the airport and the hotel and the drive is only about 10-15 minutes. Once I had filled in the obligatory signing in form at the hotel I was shown to my room. As I had no mobile signal I tried to dial out from my room but after trying unsucessfully a few times I contacted the reception and was told I had to ring from the reception to get an outside line. Fortunately it was only a few minutes walk and so I popped up and contacted my wife, Helen, just to let her know I had arrived. The charge was 180/- per minute. I arranged an alarm call for 07:30.
The Tamarind has chalet style rooms. The chalet I was in had a lounge/dining/kitchen area, a bedroom and a bathroom. Unfortunately there was no ceiling fan in the bedroom so I had to put the a/c on. Normally I don't bother with the a/c and just have a ceiling fan on - I never quite managed to sleep very successfully without one or the other - its simply too hot for me! I managed to get to bed around 04:30.
The alarm call was bang on time at 07:30 and I felt suprisingly refreshed considering I had only had a few hours sleep in the last 24 hours. I slipped up to the main building for breakfast and had a fruit juice, cup of tea and some vegatable and dhal curry. There was "western" food available too. 1/11/2007 A Short Trip Back To Sri LankaIts been a long, long time (almost a year) since I last updated my Sri Lanka blog. Since then I spent 5 months in Morocco and 5 months in the UK. The good news is that I am returning to Sri Lanka and the bad news is that it is sadly only for just over a week.
The company I work for, Crystal Martin International, want me to upgrade the factory scanning system I orignally wrote when I was living and working in Sri Lanka to the same version as I have implemented in Morocco and also to implement the system in our sub contract factories. Consequently I am arriving in Sri Lanka on Wed 17th Jan and leaving again on Thu 25th Jan.
I must admit I can't wait to see Sri Lanka again as Morocco was a huge disappointment and living in the UK again has lost its attraction after what I saw of South Asia during the two years I was living and working in Sri Lanka.
I gather I am staying in the Tamarind Hotel, close to our Katunayake factories (we now have two having opened another one since I left Sri Lanka), during the week but hopefully can get to a hotel in Colombo or Negombo on Saturday & Sunday night so I can see a few of my old haunts.
I've been following events in Sri Lanka quite closely since I left and the recent spate of bomb attacks have saddened me very much. There was a bomb blast on a bus at Nittambuwa, close to our Wathupitiwala factory which came as a shock. I used to fill my car up at a petrol station in Nittambuwa and have travelled through it on many, many occasions.
3/2/2006 My Last Day In Sri LankaSo my last day in Sri Lanka. I woke up pretty early, around 06:00 and manage to get out on the balcony as the sun came up. The dawn chorus of bird song was truely magnificant. I then messed around on the computer for a few hours, having my now standard cup of green tea.
Around 14:00 I made a move up to Odells via Bajaj and had a late lunch at Nihonbashis sushi bar (I wish I tried this place a lot earlier in my stay in Sri Lanka as I must admit I'm really taken with it). I then managed to get 3 small locks for my suitcases from one of the small stalls dotted around De Soysa Circus.
I decided to walk back to the apartment at Alfred House Gardens to take in one last blast of Colombo. On my way back I passed the National Museum and so decided to call in as this was another thing I had never quite got around to during my stay in Sri Lanka. It costs 500/- to get in. I found the museum mildly interesting. Not anywhere close to my list of favorite places to visit but I thought it worth a couple of hours wandering around. My favorite exhibits were the water colours painted in the 1800s showing Sri Lanka as it was then.
I walked the rest of the way home, savouring the unique atmosphere of Colombo, the constant honking of horns, the armed soldiers standing watch over the start of the rush hour traffic.
I showered at the apartment and then headed off to Majestic City to get a few DVDs my wife had requested. I managed to get 4 of the 7 she wanted and paid 180/- each for them. I had a last walk back up Galle Road as far as Alfred House Gardens, passed the Green Cabin that we never got round to eating at. I was only asked if I wanted a taxi by 3 Bajaj drivers - significantly down on the record of 12 or so during the 10 minute walk.
The rest of the day was spent doing last minute packing. This will be final entry on my Sri Lanka blog from Sri Lanka. The end of an era for me. I will make a few other entries from the UK.
I have mixed emotions. Very sad to be going but looking forward to seeing Blighty again. I certainly need the break at the moment. Ah, so many things I never got around to doing but then again so many things I did.
So a phone call to my wife Helen and then I'll pack the computer away and await the driver who is due to take me to the airport. Tasty Food Centre, MiriswatthaOne morning this week I was feeling peckish on the way into work and so stopped off at the Tasty Food Centre at Miriswattha. They advertise breakfast and lunch and having passed the place many times I decided to give it a try. It is fairly basic with the restaurant open to the road with just some screens in place. There were a couple of ceiling fans but no a/c. There are around half a dozen tables and half of these were occupied when I arrived. I asked the guy behind the counter if he spoke English and after getting an affirmative answer we started negotiations. It became apparent that I was too late for breakfast (it was about 11:00) but I there was some fish curry available so I ordered that. I was motioned to a seat and after a few minutes a waiter brought over a bottle of water which I declined. He then came back a couple of minutes with a glass of water which I also declined. I asked for Coca Cola but there was obviously confusion with this. A couple of minutes later the original guy behind the counter appeared to check if I wanted Coca Cola and he immediately brought one over once I confirmed that was indeed what I was after. The fish curry arrived soon after and although was cold was quite spicy and quite nice. A loaf of sliced bread appeared too and I used that to eat the curry with (no cutlery was in evidence). I actually quite like eating this style! The guy from behind the counter popped out after a few minutes and asked me if I wanted to try the potato curry which I readily agreed to. It arrived shortly afterwards and was also cold but was to die for! Not spicy at all but quite sweet. I had no problem of getting the bill which came to 165/-. I gave them 200/- and let them keep the change. Awesome value for money and no after effects from trying out one of the more downmarket places I have eaten in. Again, in reflection this is something I wish I had done more often! The Works Farwell PartyI had an excellent works farewell party last night. Many thanks for Lesley, Bandara, Ruwan, Saman, Dilantha, Krishantha, Kanishka, Mervyn, Lina, Shaun & Jawaid for all turning up. Hope you had a good time! We went to the Taj, Airport Gardens Chinese restaurant. We got a selection of starters and main courses and I even found room for a dessert. I got some fabulous presents, a book on Yala (I sadly never got to go to Yala in person), an excellent tourquise shirt and a beautiful engraving of two elephants which will take pride of place on my wall back in Ripley (Pictures of these will be posted shortly!). Many thanks for Lina offering her driver to take me back to Colombo so I could have a few beers! 2/25/2006 Buying A Suitcase And Getting It HomeI managed to get myself a big suitcase to fit the remainder of the stuff at my apartment in. I opted not to take the car but grabbed a Bajaj. My first port of call was Odell's, a department store in Colombo. However the prices were around 16,000/- so after consulting Helen, my wife, about this via text messages she advised me to try Pettah. I caught a Bajaj right outside Odells and paid the driver 200/- to take me to Pettah. There I knew there was a road where most of the shops sold bags. I stopped off for a King Coconut drink from one of the sellers (15/-) and found penty of small shacks which sold bags. I found a suitcase I liked in the first shack I entered. The shopkeeper wanted 6500/- for it and I really hadn't the inclination to bargain so I paid him the money and hauled the suitcase in the direction of the Hilton. It took me 10-15 minutes to get there and was accosted by a number of Bajaj drivers who couldn't quite grasp why I would want to haul a suitcase around without their help!
The doorman at the Hilton was equally baffled as to why he couldn't get me some help with my suitcase. I managed to make it to the echelon bar where sadly they had none of their excellent strawberry pils on. I opted for the Hilton brew (150/- for half a pint) and sat and watched the Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh ODI cricket match for 30 minutes or so. It was a great shame they had none of the strawberry pils. Although the Echelon was not a regular of ours Helen and myself have had spent many happy hours here and I will have fond memories of it. I managed to change a 1000/- note for some smaller notes at the reception desk and then got one of the Take Me To The Hilton taxis. The taxi cost me 620/- as opposed to 200/- in a Bajaj but I didn't want the hassle of trying to fit the suitcase into a Bajaj.
About 10 minutes after I got back to the apartment I got a phone call from the security guards saying that the taxi driver had returned with my hat that I had, apparently left in the taxi! For this I was extremely grateful. It was my England 2003 tour of Sri Lanka cricket hat and I would have been a bit upset to have lost it! Nihonbashi Sushi Bar, Odells : ReviewThis lunchtime I called in at the Nihonbashi Sushi Bar which is located within Odell's department store. This was my first visit here, despite spotting this bar on my first visit to Odells in Dec 2003. Quite why we never came here is beyond me. Possibly because as Helen did the shopping during the week I rarely (if ever) came to Odells with her again.
Anyway, I was in Odells suitcase hunting and decided that it was a case of better late than never. I grabbed a stool at the bar (there are also a handful of tables available too). The bar was pretty busy and seats were rarely empty for long. It took me a few minutes to catch someones attention to get served. I ordered the Nihonbashi Tei (920/-) and had a 10-15 minute wait for it. The menu had pictures of all the dishes which I always find handy. The Nihonbashi Tei included sushi: 2 pieces of tuna on top of rice, 2 pieces of what I think was Sea Bream on top of rice, another 8 or so pieces of various fish on their own, pasta salid, glass noodles (or something very similar), 3 Tekka Maki, miso soup and ginger and woosabi. It was excellent. Again I wish we'd called here two years ago when I first spotted it as I'm sure we would have come here quite often. C'est la vie.
A plus for me is when all prices are inclusive. Although more expensive than Sakuras I have to say its a nice lunchtime venue with plenty of people passing by which if, like me, you like to people watch, makes the meal more interesting! 2/24/2006 Farwell Party Moved To Next WednesdayThe farewell party has been moved to next Wednesday so I am now at a loose end tonight. I have to call in at the factory at CMK to pick up some money from the accounts department so I think I may opt to have a meal at the CCC and possibly a few quiet drinks on the balcony, get an early night and try and getaway early tomorrow morning. As yet destination unknown! Packing, Done And DustedThe packers turned up bang on 10:00 (I am suitably impressed) and seemed a nice bunch of guys. There were three of them including the supervisor. In the great Sri Lankan tradition the supervisor's supervisor turned up to supervise them for a short while. They finished just after 13:00 which I thought was a pretty good effort. I gave them a 1000/- to split between them which I hope was a suitable tip.
The wooden elephant and mask had their photographs taken and then got packed. I gather there should now be no issue exporting them to the UK. When they are finally unpacked I'll upload a picture of them so that you'll know what all the fuss was about. Possibly that will be a fitting final post to this blog!
I have to admit getting the packing done and out of the way has been a huge relief and a great weight off my mind. It is now also starting to really hit me that I am actually leaving SL. Up until this point I don't think I'd fully taken the fact in. |
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