Back with a thud to reality….
from Paradise!!
Enroute to Kuwait ,hubby decided to surprise us all with a day’s stay in Srilanka.We were completely bowled over by the beauty and the hospitality of the country. Right from the immigration officer who went out of his way to hurry up getting M’s visa formalities done, the agent who fixed up our hotel, to the driver who took us around ,everyone was soo kind and welcoming.
This trip has made me come to the conclusion that no matter how beautiful a place, only its people make it a beautiful experience for the people visiting it.That we could speak in our native language and people there perfectly understood what we said made it all the more special. Pictures do not do justice to the serenity that is Srilanka.
After we finished all the formalities, and got into our car, we told our driver Mr .V that we were famished and would like to have some authentic vegetarian Srilankan food.He took us to a quaint little way side restaurant which served traditional Srilankan lunch_buffet style ,in traditional earthen pots no less!. 
Sadly I did not get the name of the place.The owner was soo friendly and explained to us what each dish was made of. Coming from the deep southern part of India, it was not very different from our own traditional food.
I loved the sweet potato curry on red rice ,the brinjal dish that reminded me so much of our own brinjal dish called Theeyal and the keerai kootu that reminded me of the one we used to eat in our grandfather’s house.
After checking into our hotel, in this little beachtown called Negombo, we went for a walk by the beach,
there was a newly wedded couple doing their photo shoots.
We watched the sunset
and then walked along the streets filled with little souvenir shops
We could not find a single restaurant selling tea…. the look on their faces when I asked for tea still makes me smile…. being teetotalers, we did not take up on their offer for a bottle of beer instead .
Then we took an auto…. and went to this place where I had the best ginger tea ever.
while I have seen only yellow and black autos in India, in Srilanka, they are red ,blue ,green and yellow , which sort of makes the road colourful.
The next day hubby and I wanted to catch the sunrise … with all the travelling and late nights catching up sessions we did with family back in India, we slept through the alarm …. we did reach the beach fairly early though and watched the fishermen mend their nets 
This darling little boy had the sweetest smile and greeting for every one who walked past him.
then we just sat there listening to sounds of the beach…. the crashing waves, the bird song , the drone of the beach cleaning truck ,happy in each other’s company
Did I mention that there was a thunder storm the previous night after we all went to bed.I love falling asleep to the sound of rain falling on the rooftops…. all tucked in and cosy.The rain had washed everything clean .The sea, the grass and the trees looked brighter and greener with the salty gentle breeze caressing the cheeks.
We hurried back to the hotel.Woke the children up,rushed through bathing, dressing and went and had a scrumptious breakfast
then packed our bags and left for Colombo.
This Church in Negombo was built in 1936
a speedboat on a canal
Clock tower
drank coconut milk on the wayside
We did a car tour of Colombo. As we had a flight to catch at 3 p.m that day,we did not get down at many places, still it was wonderful looking around and taking in the essence of the place.
In Colombo these huge balls of cloth yarn intrigued me so much as we passed by ,that we went to have a closer look at them. I did not want to lug them back with me to Kuwait so just admired them there and came away.
some remnants of the Colonial times 
the beach in front of the
Parliament house
The independence memorial
another wedding shoot. This couple was so sweet. The groom heard me telling my hubby”wait let me see the bride” just as we were getting in the car and asked her to turn and wave at me, which she did. I shouted out my best wishes to them and then we drove away.
The next destination was McDonalds.M was craving McDonalds in Colombo .So we decided to have lunch there and must add that we liked McD in Kuwait better.
With that we left for the airport to board our flight.
