Homesickness

Hello home, hello people, hello Mia...

We're back! ... Take a deep breath first ... How clean everything is here, how quiet and how organized. How great this salad tastes right now and the fresh sandwich with salami. How empty this train is and how everyone follows all the rules that are posted everywhere in signs. ... How strange that we perceive it so intensely now, when we were 'only' away for a little over a month.

But I think I better start a little earlier:

After the storm surge in the jungle of Unawatuna and our hasty room change due to the water rushing in, the rest of the evening was rather bumpy. Probably the experiences at the Doc Care Clinic, the stomach intestinal infection, combined with the oppressive heat before the thunderstorm and the not really solid food intake in the previous forty-eight hours, shook our substance and mood. So we went to bed early and the next day, unusually, we took a taxi to Colombo.

An absurd further stage that suddenly led us on highways and motorways, past well-known warehouse stores and globally active fast food chains, to the center of Colombo. Once again, everything was different from before. Once again, one arrived in a completely new environment that had nothing in common with the ones of the last three weeks.

Colombo is a big, loud, hot and congested construction site. A city on the rise, but with many rough edges. Here you can find money, a multicultural society with a Western influence and a whole lot of Chinese investors.

Our hotel was located in the financial district, but was a small oasis with a rooftop pool, between eccentric shopping centers and countless high-rise buildings. For one night, it was okay, although in hindsight we would have preferred to stay outside the city. But well, that's just the way it is when you travel spontaneously. You don't know beforehand if you will like it afterward.

After a little shopping and a few hours of sightseeing, we also went back to the airport with a private driver. The decision for the chauffeur service was completely pragmatic this time. We still had rupees left for which we didn't know any other use. And since you are not allowed to take larger sums out of the country, we spent them on our luxury. Just over an hour through rush hour in the center and the highway feeder to the airport for about seventeen euros in total, that's fine. Finally, in just under fourteen hours by plane via Dubai back to Munich and now by train to our home.

Take a deep breath first ... How clean everything is here, how quiet and how organized. How great this salad tastes right now and the fresh sandwich with salami. How empty this train is and how everyone follows all the rules that are posted everywhere in signs. ... Yes, we're back and we're really enjoying it right now! We're extremely excited to see Mia, to take a shower, to see all of you again, to have a day without rice and even just cool weather.

Well my dears, there will be a more detailed summary later. But for now, we need a little rest first.

So see you soon and greetings, Sina and Matti!