Day 132

The past week has been busy and the best kind of busy. My mum came to visit and I got to spend 4 days away from work with her. I've been looking forward to this for so long. She arrived Wednesday night and although my aunt sadly couldn't come, we all still had such a grand time.

Thursday morning was our perfect kind of morning. Slept in, had a big fry up for breakfast and watched Schindler's List while still in our PJ's. 

We headed over to Water's Edge for The Good Market. We had visited the market just the week before (read here) and knew my Mum would love it. As we hoped, the market was a lot more fun this time. There were loads more stalls, and because we were there early, the food stalls were plenty and the food was so fresh.

Skipping lunch gave us great appetites. We went straight to the food section. The tables covered with icing topped cakes, gooey brownies, fruity pies, perfectly decorated cupcakes and trays of cinnamon rolls and other delicious things. We liked the 'Butter Boutique' best. Desserts that don't skimp on butter are true desserts. :) We had a lovely smooth chocolate-y pie, sticky cinnamon roll and one very rich dense brownie.

I wish I could have taken more pictures, but the desserts were too distracting and my hands full anyway. We beat the heat with some passion fruit popsicles.

We stopped at The Bread Company. We didn't buy any of those lovely rolls, but we made use of the free samples. :P We picked up some bags of ground nutmeg and cinnamon from Saaraketha and got a slab of jaggery and some Kithul treacle for my Mum to take home.

We needed something savoury to balance out all that sugar. While there was a ten minute downpour, we took shelter in a very popular stall; the toasted sandwich stall- Panino. They hot crispy toasted stuffed sandwiches were in great demand. So much so, that things got crossed of the menu while I was ordering. The hot sandwiches with oozing cheese and fresh mushrooms and veggies were definitely worth waiting in long queues for. We ended the eating spree with some polos (baby jackfruit) cutlets along with garlic+chili chutney and mango+peanut chutney. Yummy. 

The other stalls weren't as exciting as the food section. Loads of clothes, crafts, paintings, shoes, etc etc. Plenty of colour and textures, especially in the Selyn stall.

The ambiance was vibrant. A live band complete with a double bass and a harp, a lone percussionist with a drum at the percussion instrument stall (I've always wanted to own a rain stick). Little kids covered in wet smudges of colourful paint and another gang of them walking around in single file with animal faces as part of the Ecokids walk, plenty of photographers trying to capture the spirit, and loads of interesting aromas which sadly no gadget can capture yet.

This has become one of my favourite things about Colombo. Was a great afternoon spent with the mother and cousins. 

Thankfully all the food was digested fast enough to make room for our Japanese dinner that night. 

Day 124

Another weekend comes and goes.

Today we tried out a new venue for our morning jog. We went to the lake side, where we visited the Good Market last week.

It was really beautiful in the morning. The paths alongside the lake, lovely gardens with rabbits and a funny 'tail-wagging' goose and a cafe overlooking the water. Oh!, and sailboats too; two bright blue little sailboats.

I will take pictures the next time we go there. The sun was horribly harsh. I guess all the reflection made it worse. Struggled to cross the 6km mark and I think I did more walking than jogging.

I found a couple of pictures from a Sunday jog 2 weeks ago where there was a vintage car rally. I gladly took frequent breaks mid-jog to watch them show off up and down the roads. 

In the evening we went for the Colombo Book Fair. The scale was pretty impressive. Tonnes of stalls of various publishers and quite a variety of books. We browsed a lot. Unfortunately, they were more expensive than books in India, so didn't buy any. We did, however, get a poster of coral reef fish varieties of Sri Lanka. Can't wait to do some snorkeling/diving so that we are able to identify what we see.

Day 121

Every Thursday from 12-8 pm the marquees of The Good Market fill up with exciting stalls. 

We had heard about this a while ago but always assumed that it would be too late once we got home. So glad that we decided to check it out this week. 

The market is at the edge of a lake and the lights and glowing canvas tops cast reflections on the water. The whole setting created a hazy blur through the light drizzle as we drove up. 

Despite nearing closing time, we were still able to enjoy the number of exciting stalls ranging from healthy desserts (quite an oxymoron! I personally prefer full-fat desserts), handmade jewelry, spices, art, organic vegetables, hot food and some other stalls too which were packing up when we came.

The whole setting was faintly reminiscent of Bangalore's Sunday Soul Sante, but a less-glam, smaller scaled and more homely version. 

One of my favorite things about food markets like this is the people. All the stall owners were extra friendly and chatty. We got to sample some of the food too (another reason I love these places); healthy kurakkan brownies, cinnamon tea (perfect for the weather) and some tangy tamarind pulp. 

The hand made jewelry stalls, aromas of coffee, crepes and egg hoppers wafting through the space, live portrait pencil drawing and the music by a banjo player created quite an exciting evening. 

After buying some cauliflower and potato tartlets, apple and cinnamon cake and some spicy banana chips we walked around the aquarium. I would much rather see fish in the ocean than in a tank, but it was a nice addition to the market entertainment. 

Looking forward to more Thursday evenings spent here. 

Day 42

I'm home! Barely 6 weeks in Sri Lanka and I've already come home for a short visit. The main reason for this is that this trip is in in transit to a really awesome 2 weeks that I will be spending in Pretoria, South Africa for a youth conference on community service. 

I was so unsure of everything falling into place because of the difficulties with getting my visa sorted. I finally only picked up my passport and visa this morning. Talk about last minute!

I went into work in the morning. I probably glanced at the time every 2 minutes waiting for lunchtime to leave. I had to wait for ages for the bus to fill up and leave on the way back. How time slows down when you want it to hurry.

Please hurry up and leave!

The waiting lounge was like starters to being back in India. Loud chatter and plenty of pushing and shoving to get into the plane, almost as if their seats would get taken if they didn't rush in. There was a big group of elderly women on the way back from what seemed like a little excursion to Sri Lanka. One of them had misplaced her boarding pass which led to a very frantic tension in the group, delaying one of the shuttles to the plane. Airports are the best places to people-watch!

Please hurry up and take off!

The plane took off over the lovely Negombo coast just as the last few colours of the sky sank into the horizon. I always chose an aisle seat. But on these short flights, I can ignore the claustrophobia and enjoy the changing landscapes from the plane. Taking off at sunset over a coastline is beautiful. City lights and a few dotted lights from ships on the shimmery water. Most of the flight was over the clouds, except for one very brief moment where I spotted the coastline of India as the clouds moved over for a bit. Landing over Bangalore city lights is the warmest feeling. You know you are back in India, when even before the front wheels of the plane hit the runway, seat belts are already off and people are pulling out their luggage and cramming the aisles. 

What's extra nice about this short trip is that it coincides with my Mum's 50th birthday weekend. My grandpa and uncle are also here and it's nice to have a house full. 

I really don't know how often I will be able to update this blog from South Africa. But there will be plenty of exciting posts when I am back.

Oh! In my last post about Paradise Road, I wanted to post a picture of the lovely bowls I bought for my Mum. But first of all, they were all wrapped up so well in bubble wrap, didn't want to have to repack just for a picture and secondly, my Mum reads this blog, so didn't want to spoil the surprise.

Here they are. They are so beautiful. Locally made and hand painted ceramic serving bowls. 

Day 38

Happy Sunday.

The morning started off listening to music practice for a wedding at church. The combination of a cello and a piano is one of the best things to listen to. 

I sneaked off to Paradise Road Store while the cousins were busy. The building that the store, restaurant and gallery is housed in was Geoffrey Bawa's studio. I didn't have enough time to check out the gallery or peep into the restaurant. I've looked at the menu of the restaurant online before, some fancy pants food with just as fancy prices. The store was pretty awesome. I could spend ages and ages browsing crockery, books, and home furnishings. If I had a house here and lots of money, I would fill it with things from there. I should have taken pictures, but I'm sure I'll visit again to do that.

My afternoon was fruitfully spent discovering new music because I came across this awesome artist- Donavan Frankenreiter. Very similar styles to Jack Johnson, in fact the two were surfing buddies. Learning to surf is on my bucket list. Can't wait to cross that off.

"Being down in the open air

Living life like we just dont care
Just doing what we want to do
Not doing what we supposed to do

It's gonna be
A lovely day"