We packed up this morning, ready to take the train to Colombo so we could catch our plane to Male this evening. We opted for the 11:30 train rather than the 6:20am because the guys at the ticket counter said it would get us there in plenty of time to make our 6:20pm flight. Though we got there with plenty of time to wait (10:00), the train did not come at 11:30…or 12:00… but closer to 12:30. And it went slow. As the ride went on we began to get more worried about reaching Colombo in time to make it to the airport. The gentlemen next to us began talking to David about our concerns and decided it would be better if we got off at an earlier stop and take a taxi to the airport because we would not make it from the Colombo station. However that stop was not a scheduled stop. They made phone calls, talked to the porter, and sent a message to the engineer to explain our situation, and the train made an unscheduled and special stop just to let us off (the train had another hour and half to Colombo then 45 min to the airport, while the taxi from this stop to the airport took 45 minutes). One gentleman also gave us his telephone number so we could have the taxi driver call him and he could explain/ translate for us. There were no taxi/vans when we got to the exit, so we had to take 2 tuk-tuks. Mommy, Cai, 4 suitcases and several backpacks piled into a normal size tuk-tuk while Daddy, the girls, and 4 suitcases piled in to one that had more room in behind the seat. Off we raced through the rain. We arrived just as they were boarding. Sigh. Mommy and Daddy started breathing again. The flight was short and Se really like the chicken biryani that they served. She also ate Cai’s. Tekla liked the yogart and ate Jael’s while Jael ate her biryanit and Teklas. Amazing what we can make work for meals.
After making our way through customs, we were met by the people from the resort. A speed boat took us on a dark ride to the island where we were warmly received and shown around (by another American – they don’t see many of us here). Dinner followed by a show…but we passed on the dock party in favor of beds. Nice soft beds.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Family Holiday (Day 26)
We packed up this morning, ready to take the train to Colombo so we could catch our plane to Male this evening. We opted for the 11:30 train rather than the 6:20am because the guys at the ticket counter said it would get us there in plenty of time to make our 6:20pm flight. Though we got there with plenty of time to wait (10:00), the train did not come at 11:30…or 12:00… but closer to 12:30. And it went slow. As the ride went on we began to get more worried about reaching Colombo in time to make it to the airport. The gentlemen next to us began talking to David about our concerns and decided it would be better if we got off at an earlier stop and take a taxi to the airport because we would not make it from the Colombo station. However that stop was not a scheduled stop. They made phone calls, talked to the porter, and sent a message to the engineer to explain our situation, and the train made an unscheduled and special stop just to let us off (the train had another hour and half to Colombo then 45 min to the airport, while the taxi from this stop to the airport took 45 minutes). One gentleman also gave us his telephone number so we could have the taxi driver call him and he could explain/ translate for us. There were no taxi/vans when we got to the exit, so we had to take 2 tuk-tuks. Mommy, Cai, 4 suitcases and several backpacks piled into a normal size tuk-tuk while Daddy, the girls, and 4 suitcases piled in to one that had more room in behind the seat. Off we raced through the rain. We arrived just as they were boarding. Sigh. Mommy and Daddy started breathing again. The flight was short and Se really like the chicken biryani that they served. She also ate Cai’s. Tekla liked the yogart and ate Jael’s while Jael ate her biryanit and Teklas. Amazing what we can make work for meals.
After making our way through customs, we were met by the people from the resort. A speed boat took us on a dark ride to the island where we were warmly received and shown around (by another American – they don’t see many of us here). Dinner followed by a show…but we passed on the dock party in favor of beds. Nice soft beds.
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