My day started very early this morning due to my jetlag. I got up around 4 a.m. and could not go back to sleep, so I decided to read until my Sri Lankan friend, Kapila, would come to pick up my colleagues from Japan at the Colombo Airport. Upon Kapila’s arrival, we had a breakfast together. When I walked into the restaurant in the hotel, I was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of curry. (I am not used to eating spicy meals in the morning….) I ordered a nice cup of milk tea, and serve a little bit of typical Sri Lankan breakfast for me. Although it was a bit strange feeling to eat the real meal in the early morning, I actually quite enjoyed it. (without knowing what would come next….)
On the way to the airport, we went through several security checks and saw quite a few young people in the military uniform. We were actually stopped couple of times, and I needed to show my passport… I was very surprised that Sri Lankans were patiently cooperating this inconvenience. For someone like me who was born and raised in Japan and currently living in the USA, it was very scary scene to see military solders with machine guns pointed toward the regular roads. After going through the heavy security process, we were finally able to get into the airport to welcome our team members.
As soon as our team members arrived at Sri Lanka, all of us got into a car for another 7 hours drive to the village where we are working on the project. I remember that it was about 30 min after we left the airport, I started having motion sickness caused by the multiple reasons, breakfast curry, incredibly bumpy road, rough driving, and chaotic traffic flow. I told Kapila that I needed to use a bathroom, and he called his professor’s home and asked if I could use their bathroom. Of course, they were so kind to let me use their bathroom and also prepared medicine for me. This was one the most embarrassing moments for me… I greeted and introduced myself for 2 seconds and went straight into their bathroom, and threw up…. Honestly, I developed a “breakfast curry forbia” symptom. (I do not think I can try curry for breakfast anymore….)
Our 7 hours trip was quite eventful. I started being sick first, then we encounter the Hindu ritual—some men had hock in their backs, and witnessed a traffic accident. The episode of the traffic accident was quite funny (of course, nobody gotten hurt). A man was running to cross a local dirt road, and a small track hit him slightly. The man stood up and complained to the driver. While they were talking, a police arrived and scold the man (pedestrian) that he was not careful enough to cross the road, then let the car go without any warning. If this happened in Japan or the USA, I am sure that pedestrian would be fully protected and the driver would be in trouble. However, it did not seem to be the case in Sri Lanka.
By the time we arrived at the hotel in Bandaravela after the 7 hours drive, we were quite exhausted. The great news is that we are staying at such a beautiful historical hotel. The colonial style architecture and garden are well kept, and it gives me a nice flavor of the life from 150 years ago in this area. We just finished the dinner and came back to my room, I do not think I can stay up more than 20 min….
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