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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. |
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