I'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 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.