World trip 2.0

Finally the time has come, our journey continues. We had to wait for more than 1.5 years and save up the necessary money. So often our plans were on the verge of falling through due to C*****, but on 23.01.22 we finally set off again. The PCR test caused us the biggest anxieties. Will it arrive in time and, above all, is it negative? Yes, with a slight delay, we received the negative test results on the evening before the departure. The apartment is in good hands and full of excitement, we set off at 7 o'clock in the morning. Tram, ICE, suburban train, airplane. Everything went smoothly. All the documents we applied for and filled out in advance were accepted, thankfully! It's not easy to start a journey like this in times of Covid. The flights were relaxed and the food was really good. We arrived punctually in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, at 8:35 a.m. Phew, it's pretty hot here. What a change, from cold Germany to the tropics. First of all, we packed away all the thick jackets we still had on in Germany. Through all the controls and on to the backpacks. With some effort, everything fit into our 40-liter backpacks, so it's much more comfortable to travel. So the backpacks, like us, arrived safely on the beautiful island and we set off to withdraw money and buy a SIM card. It was quite cheap with 7 euros for 35 GB. Once everything was done at the airport, we set off to our first accommodation. Fully loaded, we went to the bus station. On the way, we met a few heavily armed policemen who immediately called us over. Feeling a bit uneasy, we approached them and it turned out that they just wanted to show us the way. Alright, let's get rid of this habit of seeing something bad or threatening in everything right away! We arrived at the bus station and it didn't take long for the bus to come and take us to our accommodation. Thanks to Google Maps, we also knew when to get off. You won't find a display board here on the buses. Instead, there is a screen playing loud Sinhalese (or Indian?) music. Taking a bus here is an experience, we've read that many times before. It's just great to finally experience it live. We don't understand how, but somehow the traffic here works pretty well.

Admittedly, at first glance, the accommodation didn't look great. Sure, we're spoiled by Western standards, but at least it was clean, which is absolutely not the norm here, as we will later find out. So we took a nap for 2 hours because it's always limited on the plane, and afterwards the world looked completely different. After our little nap, we went to the beach, which was about 8 kilometers away, so we took a tuk-tuk. It's probably the coolest way to get around in Sri Lanka. Tuk-tuks are always available and everywhere, and it only costs a few cents. They squeeze through everywhere, even oncoming traffic is not a problem, it somehow works.

As expected, the beach in Negombo was not a highlight, but there was a very nice sunset, and many locals also showed up. We took a tuk-tuk back and had some food first. Veggi Kottu, a chopped flatbread with lots of spicy spices and vegetables, and 2 bowls of ghee. Super spicy but also super delicious.

We had a terrace and a beautiful garden at our hostel right by the lagoon. We felt like having a little cold beer. The hosts were already expecting us and Pascal asked where we could buy some. One of the hosts said that he would go to the supermarket again soon and could bring back 2 cans for us. Done, 20 minutes later we had our beer and a dreamy end to the first day by the lagoon under beautiful coconut palms.