On the Worst Flight EVER

Tim and I left Sri Lanka early. Don't ask. Just know that when we are back we will go off on this topic.

Anyhow, we are now safe and sound here in Singapore. This is a WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL place, esp. after what we've been through. We came back safe and sound (no mines or bombings), parasite free and diarrhea free as well. We were very excited to come back to the first world, but before we did, there was a little obstacle: flying Sri Lankan Air.

Now, our flight to Sri Lanka was quite alright, but coming back...

It all started when we smelled curry on the plane. Now I've flown Asian airlines before, and it would after seeing my peeps bring WATERMELLON (and NO, not the seedless kind, so on top of being ghetto like that they would also spit out the seeds on the trays), so it would not have surprised me if somebody on the plane had brought curry from home in a tupperware. However, much to our surprise, they served curry on the plane. WHO THE HELL SERVES CURRY ON THE PLANE ON A MIDNIGHT FLIGHT, AT 2 IN THE MORNING????!!!! Apparently they do.

And the lights remained on for the 3 out of the 4 hrs of the flight. Anyhow, we made it. I LOVE Singapore...

On the Worst Train Ride Ever

After being caccooned within the safe walls of our marvelous hotel for a couple of days, Diesel and I decided to venture out and visit the beach town of Unawatuna, a known hippie/surfer hangout, one of the only places in this country that has anything close to a night life (and by "night life" I mean single bar that stays open till 2am). In a bold (and stupid) move, we decided to do as the Sri Lankans do and take the train. The trains here a ancient machines, which never ever have any room to sit down. Diesel and I stayed between the two carts, enjoying a open air ride. The ride to Unawatuna was rather fun and interesting, but it was on the way back that I started to curse the Sri Lankan trains. We were lucky enough to find a spot to stand right next to the bathroom. Just to have an idea of the dire hygienic situation, consider this: the plumbing on the bathroom at the main station was "disconnected" and it did NOT smell as bad as the one on the train. The intense heat, merciless humidity and the BO tthat engulfed us, was unbearable.
After that experience, Club Villa seemed even better than it was before.

On Tuk-Tuks

When one first arrives in Sri Lanka, he is fascinated by little cute 3-wheel cars called tuk-tuk (they have a cute name as well). Upon embarking on one of the colorful little cars covered in cartoo charater and flower stickers, one comes to realize that the cute little cars are in fact, little death machines. Everybody here is a bad driver and life is elusive when one is on the road, but danger reaches its extreme when you find yourself in the middle of these merciless, crazy drivers while in a tuk tuk. Here they are considered to be a convenient means of transport, but I will dare to say that it's also an effective way of population control.

On My Scrabble Revenge

This slow pace of life has allowed us to read lots and just take lots of naps and swims during the day...and eat, of course eat with no restraint nor guilt. It has also given us enough time to master the art of playing Scrabble. The first game was the most unbelievable and most of all, the most unfair game ever in the history of Scrabble matches. Diesel won with words like "not," "yes," and "bay," whereas I had beautiful (and if not beautiful, at least words longer than 1 syllable) words such as "escrow" and "raiding." What the !()$*!@#$!????? Needless to say, in a rematch, I beat him.

Diesel also tried to talk me into learning chess again. I told him that I had a bad experience as a kid. He asked me what this horrible experience was, and when I told him, "being lost and confused and hating it," he said it didn't qualify.

So I was forced to play again and to speed up the game, I committed suicide on the chess board. Diesel was less than excited about this, but at least he can't say I didn't give it another shot.

On Eating Curry Every Day

All you need to know about Sri Lankan cuisine is that they eat curry every day and for every single meal. Curry and rice, curry and hoppers (thin noodles), curry and roti (a rather bland coconut pancake).

So it is no surprise that we've had curry every single days, usually for more than more meal since we got here. This culinary experiece culminated in the last couple of days where we had curry even for breakfast. Good stuff. Diesel and I will try our hands at making curry whe we get back.

On Turning Cushions All Day Long

Our first stop in Sri Lanka was Bentota, one of the beach towns in the southern part of the country. The town is known for its beautiful beaches--which I would have to say were a let down, but taht's a different story--but the place we stayed at, Club Villa, was amazing. It was one of the smaller hotels (as opposed to one of the big resorts full of hoards of Germans) and the staff was just perfect. Being low season and all, I did notice that the staff spends an awful large chunk of their time moving and flipping the cushions on the beach and lawn chairs. It's quite a spectacle to see. They start off the day by flipping them a couple of times before placing them on the chairs. My guess is they're fluffing them up for guests. Then, at the first threat of rain (and there have been some torrential storms around these parts), they will quickly stack them up on one side of the pool. Several times during the afternoon, they will again make their rounds and flip the cushions again.

On the Sri Lankan "Enterpreneurial Spirit"

Our friend Gabe traveled to Vietnam last year. Being the adventurer he is, he loved it there, but did say that it seemed that all the people there wanted somehow to make money off of him. This is how it feels here in Sri Lanka. Every time we are out and about and some friendly stranger strikes up a seemingly innocent conversation with us, we invariably end up at a gem shop, at some tourist office where they try to sell travel packages, being asked by some random dude to buy him booze, etc.

On Our Way to Sri Lanka!

So I have lots to tell about the wedding, but since I only got 4 more min on the Internet, just wanted to let you all know that Diesel and I made it to Singapore (after 17 hrs of flying and 20 hrs of travelling) safe and sound.

The awesome thing was that we travelled BUSINESS CLASS. We were checking in and the lady at the counter was confirming our reservations: Tim Sale and Kelly Chow, business class. My eyes grew really big. BUSINESS CLASS!!!

Anyhow, besides the fine china and the fact that they offer you TWO, not just one drink, you also get tons of legroom and a chair that leans back almost all the way...

More to come later. We're now going to catch our plane to Sri Lanka.

By the way, thanks to all of you who were at the wedding! It was the happiest day of my life and you were all part of the reason.

Lots of Love!

Kelly