Anil, seven women and a ring

Today we are going on another trip to Galle.

It's the weekend and I'm going again, otherwise I'll go crazy here. 🤪 And that can happen even in paradise.

Tina&Ellina from Hamburg will start their tour of Sri Lanka for the next 3 weeks and want to have fun with us again. 🥳

Anil, our driver, will bring us seven women to the charming old town in his calm manner. The beauty only really reveals itself to me on the second visit. Maybe it's simply because of the history that we experience at the end.

Or maybe it's because of my first double espresso, ☕️ which I enjoy in a colonial venerable café on Church Cross Street. Only when I sit down do I realize that I've ended up in a bar. Typical. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Yes, I admit, I've already had one of the most delicious ice creams I've ever eaten. "Island Coconut"🥥. Not even the price of 850 rupees, about 2 €, could stop me. And certainly not my guilty conscience, which, after 3 weeks of abstinence from any indulgence, didn't even dare to come up.

My loot from my shopping trip once again consisted of countless postcards that I won't carry around here, as they would be on the road for too long. The conversations in the shops were quite amusing. When the locals heard that I come from Germany, they started small talk with me about the best cars from Germany. 🙄 BMW was highly regarded by them.

It was already 5pm and Anil started moving us again towards Balapitiya. We had already taken our seats when Tina began to excitedly tell us about her encounter with a beautiful ring in one of the countless jewelry stores that were almost in every city. It would be incredibly difficult for her to find a ring that fits her properly and that she likes, and this ring fulfilled all the requirements. She was also firmly convinced that this store would be nearby. We all immediately agreed that this story had to be concluded and we consented to Anil driving us there. One must imagine that the streets in Galle are very narrow and not every street can be entered. So we wandered through the streets accompanied by the chatter of our group. By now, Tina&Ellina were so confused that every store looked the same to them. (They actually do). After driving in circles for what felt like 15 minutes, we asked Anil, who must have been meditating in between, to let us out in the hope of having a better view on foot.

Actually, we found this one store and the seven women confidently entered the store, which was occupied by only four men. However, as it turned out later, these were Muslims and quite strange. We were now infected by the two girls and tried on rings wildly. We negotiated like crazy. It was a sight to behold how we made the men sweat. Until the point where we asked for a scale. For a brief moment, it was quiet and suddenly the big shot said only two words: "Go out"! In order not to lose face 😶 and of course hoping that the men would call us back as soon as we were outside, we left "our" store with our heads held high. Unfortunately, our plan did not work out and so we set off for home with the unpleasant feeling of having been outsmarted.

Tina looked sad,🥲 as she had set her mind on taking this ring home. Of course, at her price. Our fighting spirit had now awakened and we entered the store again for the second time.

This time both agreed and the big shot handed Tina the ring with the best wishes for her future. 🍀 In addition, the pink sapphire is a symbol of luck in her life. 🍀

In the end, everything turned out well and we had so much fun that even Anil, who patiently waited for over an hour, couldn't be mad at us.

I just want to wish Tina&Ellina a safe journey onward! 🙏🏼

(Your encounter was very inspiring and refreshing for me) 😉