16th March

Charlie writes the diary today, rather than Paddy.

We got up in Aceh at "Oh, my God o'clock" - 4.30 a.m. to be precise!!! We had settled our bill the night before and said our goodbyes to various members of staff, who all really liked the Douwe Egberts coffee, which l had smuggled through customs!!! It was pitch black at 5.30 a.m. as we made our way to the hotel entrance to await our driver. He finaly turned up at 6.15 a.m. We loaded up the van and set off. The tropic sky blazed pink and yellow as we watched the sunrise - WOW!!!

Hairpin bends and amazing views

As we drove, the landscape was changing - small rock formations, then hills and then, suddenly, MOUNTAINS!!!, the tops of which were hidden in the clouds. We stopped for tea and coffee, fags and water, and then continued our slow ascent West, towards Kandy. I counted 18 hairpin bends - the roads were rough and the traffic varied from trucks to tuk tuks, and buses to bikes!!! The views as we climbed were amazing - terraced agriculture, waterfalls, thick jungle and regimented pine trees, all sharing the same slopes. We stopped to photograph wild monkeys, who were waiting at the roadside, looking for easy food from passers by.

Pedal to the metal

Onward and upward, stopping only for a curried snack and cold soft drinks, we flew through Kandy, barely getting a glimpse of the city!!! (Shame.) Still, the driver had the pedal to the metal and there were still MILES TO GO!!! My one consolation here was that we did pass two elephants on the road out of Kandy (so we stopped and gave them a mars bar - get it? - elephants out of Kandy - Oh never mind). We eventually started our desen towards the West coast, stopping after a while to have a delicious lunch of various curried stuff (oh for a cheese and pickle sarnie!!!) Back on the road again, and we were soon on the outskirts of Colombo and starting to recognise various landmarks....."ARE WE NEARLY THERE???" YES!! HOORAH!!!

Nice to be back

Seetha, our lovely landlady, was there to greet us as we arrived at her house in Mount Lavinia - nice to be back. We paid our driver and waved him off - back to Ampara for him, after a few hours rest, poor guy!!! The trip took 10 hours - that's a long, long time in a small van, on bumpy roads, full of curry, in the heat!!!

Shower, rest, dinner, SLEEP!!!!

Goodnight all......

CHARLIE CHUCKLES.