January 15th
our day started with a very hearty breakfast in our Guesthouse – Glen Falls Resort. Pancakes with coconut honey, rotti, a large plate of fruit, eggs of our choice followed by toast and jam and all washed down with a pot of tea.
It has been very cold here overnight and the air still was very crisp. Our waiter served our breakfast with his black woolly gloves on. When I commented he told me he was cold.
We then set out to explore the town.
First port of call was the shopping centre. In the basement are lots of stalls all selling the seconds from the local factories with brand names such as North Face, Brasher, Colombo, Jack Wolfskin, Slazenger and many more. The prices are only a fraction of the cost of an original in U.K.
All the stall holders want you to be their customer and go out of their way to get you to try something on. If it doesn’t fit they give you another one (possibly in the same size but a different colour) and ask you to try it on. You start looking for a fleece and because they can’t suit your requirements they move onto a windstopper or a raincoat. Anything for a sale.
We walked down a road leading out of the town and beyond some buildings I could see what looked like a market. We set off to investigate.
The market traders were selling mostly fruit and spices with the odd household items and very few clothes.
The stall holders were happy to answer our questions when we asked what product names were.
At some point I turned round to find Paul talking to a lady selling rat poison and insect repellent. She started to tell us how she was a maid in a grand house where the owner was an airline pilot for Jordan Airlines. Having worked there for four years she felt she needed to return to Sri Lanka to marry. This she has done and now makes and packages her own products. She apologised that she couldn’t invite us back to her house for some food, but she had to work. Sri Lankan people are so friendly.
Our next port of call was a traditional English Pub (the first we have seen in our travels). Paul had heard that it possibly served Lion Stout. Sure enough they had it on the pumps so that was him happy.
We started talking to the two men next to us and spent a very pleasant time chatting with them. The younger man is waiting to hear whether or not he has got his first job in pharmacy. We wish him luck. The other gentleman is working in Switzerland with computers and is here making his annual visit.
They have very kindly invited us to stay at their home on our way back to Negombo airport. This sort of invitation is unusual for us and I asked how much they rent the room for but they said no money they were inviting us as guests. When Paul asked the waiter for our bill, they very kindly took it and paid it for us. Thank you very much. A very kind thing to do.
Leaving the Pub we decided to visit Victoria Park and Gardens as advertised in the Lonely Planet. It cost 300r each to go in which is a bit annoying when the price structure advertises that this is the price for tourists and locals only pay 40r.
We met two Chinese visitors at the pay station who agreed it didn’t seem fair but also paid to enter. The park was full of Sri Lankan families as today is a poya day celebrating Harvest Festival and they all have they day off.
Very soon some young lads started talking to us and then introduced us to their Grandfather. An uncle came over and just stood there so Grandfather told him to get his hands out of his pockets and shake hands with us. Next came cousins and friends all shaking hands and chatting with us. When we said it was time to move on the Grandfather shook hands with us which started a procession of twelve to fourteen people all shaking hands and saying goodbye.
I just love the flowers in these parks. Such vibrant colours. It is also interesting to see plants that in the U.K. We only grow inside the house and yet they grow here in parks and gardens. English roses are another surprise to me but we have seen plenty of them.
We met the head gardener of the park who again just started chatting to us, asking which country we came from and were we enjoying Sri Lanka. He then started explaining about some of the plants. He picked one that smelt of bananas, leaves from The camphor tree which when crushed smelt lovely. He spent a long time taking us round the park and explaining about the plants and trees. His dream is to go to Kew Gardens in London. He has the Kew Garden book of flowers which he referred to often. I hope one day his dreams come true and he gets to see Kew Gardens.
The two Chinese lads followed us around and we explained more about the flowers. Sadly they had to leave because they had a car and driver waiting for them.
Head gardener for the park. Such an interesting man who knew the names for all the plants and their English names and nicknames. Thank you for giving up your time to show us your beautiful park. I look forward to receiving my seeds.