Serendib

18 September 2013  

We landed safely in Sri Lanka at 12:50 local time after a long flight with not much sleep.  

We both spent the 30-minute drive staring out the window. We saw multiple guys casually having a slash against various vertical objects. Shanty huts lined the streets along with stray dogs and cats.  

Whilst pulled up at a junction waiting for a huge train to pass—with people hanging out of any open space—the guy driving the truck next to us was drinking something (which looked suspiciously like neat vodka) straight out of the bottle, before happily continuing on his very merry way.  

We checked into Serendip Guesthouse and were greeted by a rather cautious owner who sat us down and gave us lots of travel dos and don'ts.  

The whole town of Negombo was suffering from a power cut, so our plan to check out some top local attractions on the Nexus was immediately flawed but happily replaced with a well-needed nap.  

We ventured off into the town, had a stroll on the beach, and grabbed a couple of Lion beers and some fresh seafood on the strip—all cooked sans electricity.  

Still very sleepy, we returned to Serendip and were introduced to Arrak (a smooth whiskey-type drink made from coconut) and formulated a plan for day two... cab and train to Kandy.

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