Thursday Posting from Sri Lanka

Tuesday morning, go to Chennai's State Museum, there are some fine works of art.There is a print of a Monet in a frame, I wonder if the real thing has been stolen. There is a floor of Bronze statues of Hindu Gods etc, they are gorgeous I would like to take them all home with me. Parvati features a lot. needless to say

Just so my Kids know that I am having a good time. I watched mega sized black ants 15mm long take someones dropped lunch to bits in minutes.

Apparently India has more mobile phones than toilets.

Go to a Rajastani Restaurant,  its food is exquisite, gourd curry, ie floured strips of gourd deep fried, definitely a must. "Worship the Gourd" (Life of Brian). Coffee is poured from a great height from goblet to cup to froth it, best coffee of the trip, Kubarkonam Degree Coffee.

Wednesday 24th, Chennai.

Wake early and pack, Chennai is cloudy and cool. I am leaving India reluctantly. Flight normal. Arrive excitedly in Colombo. Taxi drives me straight to Angela and Nina's house (and school). Angela is waiting at the gate. Its good to see her, coming up to nearly two years since we all worked together in Ipswich.

A few cool beers go down, then we go out to eat, first a few more beers, then to a beach cafe. Just beyond  our table  the waves break in the inky darkness of the night with a muffled crash. We all order onion soup, I have battered prawns and tartare sauce, there must be a boat full on my plate. We return home for some arak, the local antifreeze.


Its Thursday, the school programme is in full swing, I relax on the first floor patio reading. From my vantage point I can peruse the locality. Its quieter than India, less people, less noise, no traffic. Tall coconut trees sway 20 or 30ft high, with bright yellow nut clusters and many mango trees burdened with green fruit. Small stripped squirrels dart and scamper about. Between the trees painted houses with tiled hipped roofs juxtaposition themselves against the green of the trees and the blue sky. In the distance, a school ground resonates to the sound of boys playing cricket. Bird calls fill the air with jungle whooping and howling. Swifts carve the air, their double  cry is different from the single scream of our English visitors.More deep chocolate butterflies.

I have hired a car for 10 days to enable me to get about. I drive down to the harbour just in time to see 20 + prawn narrow boats with outriggers and big square cut sails, glide across the horizon, heading for port, just before the storm breaks.