18 Feb Back to Colombo

So here we are on the platform back to Colombo for a 9 hour round trip to get our visas out of the system.

The system is broken.

They replaced it two years ago, but the third party they used to build and run it were corrupt.

So they are using their old system again which is notorious for applications getting stuck.

We got a tuk tuk to the station and witnessed a near miss with two manic buses overtaking a lorry.

The bus drivers here are crazy to the point we wouldn’t get on a bus.

It’s a 3 hr journey each way and a 2.5hr process at the Immigration Centre it turns out.

We get to Weligama about 7pm and its dark. The homestay- The Paddocks Inn (£30 pn) is near the beach and had great reviews. It’s a shit hole. Pete booked it.

Dirty sink, cobeebs, dust, the purple sheet is blotchy and doesn’t fit the mattress. We get an old green and an old brown sheet to cover us.

Glasses covered in what I assume is tooth paste.

The 100 year old janitor gets shoved back in to clean it with a ropey looking brush.

It’s just 2 nights thankfully.

We venture out and land in a restaurant that has loads of surfer types. And as it turns out, fabulous food.

Too many young people here. We say its not for us.

19 Feb Beach Day and a mossie bite

In the morning we see the beach. Flat, few beach bars and loads of surfers.

Its really lovely and I get my first beach run. All the other beaches have been sloped. Or too far from our accommodation.

It’s a grower here. We have a massive storm at night and eat in the thunderstorm in the same restaurant.

Pete gets a bad mossies bite somewhere along the way.