Day 331

I've had quite an eventful past few weeks. One of the highlights was definitely a big trip with 4 of my friends from college. 

We've been planning a big girly trip for ages (have been discussing it all through college) and it finally happened. The many hours of planning over google hangouts, the 101 changes to the itinerary and many pictures of beach clothes trials at home and then they were here. 

It was the craziest of all itineraries- 7 destinations, all possible modes of transport, places from beaches to the city to the mountains across the country in just 5 days. 

It's kind of hard to summarize. The first leg of the trip covered the south western coast- the beaches, Dutch fort and Geoffrey Bawa's hotels in our luxury van. 

After a day in Colombo, we set off to the East coast on the overnight train and spent a glorious day snorkeling with the sharks off Pigeon Island. Once we got back we immediately left by bus to the mountains in Nuwara Eliya to cool off from all that sun and humidity in our very own cottage with a fireplace.

(Shall save all the exciting details for the exclusive blogposts once I have time to sort through my pictures) 

Aside from the actual site seeing and traveling we spent a good amount of time taking pictures of ourselves and talking endlessly and making monkey faces in the mirror with face packs on :)

Another highlight from the past few weeks is all the music and drama! Last weekend we had our Easter musical. All those choir practices are now over, sadly, but it came out really well. We had another musical programme in the evening for which we did a hand mime with white gloves and UV lights- enough reasons for a super weekend. 

And then the ultimate highlight (and probably one of the highlights of the whole Sri Lanka year)-- the three of us auditioned for roles in the Colombo version of The Phantom of the Opera. 

Only a few of you or less will actually get why this is a highlight. It is the greatest musical of all time, the craziest set design and the most amazing score ever and The Workshop Players were going to stage it. Now, I knew that I wouldn't even be here in October for the performance, but even being a part of the audition process was exciting enough. 

Once we chose which roles we could try out for, we struggled with difficult tracks and the horribly difficult vocal ranges required that we almost chickened out of going. But, for the sake of having fun, we went to audition for the ensemble cast. 

To summarize the few hours we spent there- insanely talented people, super energy, fun vocal exercises and some scary ballet lessons-- and the three of us got through the auditions to be part of the ensemble. Not just general singing ensemble, but (believe it or not) singing and dancing ensemble!!!

We came back singing all the songs and walking with pointed toes. It's just really sad that I can't be part of it. Oh well. :(

So, my year here is coming to an end. A few more weeks to enjoy this lovely country. Probably only time to squeeze in one more trip. :) More about that coming soon. 

Day 104

100 days already! More than a quarter over?!! This is going so fast.

The past week has been nice. More fancy cooking at home. Last week's cuisine was Mexican. We made burritos with home made tortillas, soya mince and kidney bean chili, salsa, sour cream and salad. We also made cheese stuffed deep-fried jalapenos. What we used wasn't actually jalapenos, but it tasted really good. I spent a lot of that evening with my hands soaking in cold water because cleaning those chilies had really burned my skin.

Over the weekend, we went for a trip. Was pretty unplanned because we only decided to go late on Friday evening.

I've always loved road trips and this was a super fun one.

I managed to get the hang of the camera thankfully except for pictures in low light.

As usual, I have a lot of pictures and lots to write and this time had to split the post into 2 sections.

I managed to finish part one today.

Southern Escapades (part 1)

Day 32

The weekend came and went and then it was Monday again. But somehow one month of work is not enough to start Monday blues. 

Sunday morning, the snooze button got the better of us and we made it to Freedom park for the 'jog' almost two hours after we planned to. The warm sun was already in full blaze and I will blame that entirely for my inability to actually jog more than 1 1/2 rounds in the park. Sigh. I am back to feeling unfit. How I miss my swimming days.

The park was quite beautiful. Here is picture I took last year on my holiday when we visited the park at night. The place was beautifully lit.

Sunday's picture is not as cool, because I took it while briskly walking (so brisk it was almost jogging! Hehe)  

We were at Galle Face as the sun sank below the horizon. Phone pictures don't do justice to the golden colours in the sky. The breeze left my hair in a tangled mess and my skin sticky and sandy, but it's all part of seaside enjoyment. The street food however, didn't look appetising to me.

Day 17

The weekend came and went so fast. I have a busy week ahead. Lots of work at the office and some annoying visa things to sort out.

I finally finished putting together my write up for Vesak. Read HERE. Taking pictures at night was not that easy. So many blurry ones. :( Managed to get enough good ones for a blog post.

Today we went into the centre of colombo. We drove down Galle Face Drive up to the World Trade Centre. Fanciest part of town- all the posh hotels and big offices are in this bit of the city.  We had lunch at The Dragon. Sri Lankan Chinese food is definitely different to the Indian version. I enjoyed the meal except for the Chinese Tea. Bleeah. The Dutch Hospital building is a beautiful contrast to the modern high-risers. Can't wait to visit the little cafe there with an empty stomach.

Day 13

Got to go on my first site visit today. Six hours in total in the car, but a beautiful drive up the coast to the Puttalam lagoon, especially driving with water on both sides. It was quite hot and sticky. I'd have much rather been there with my sunblock, swimsuit and camera than on a site visit. 

I really should have taken my camera. The sand was so fine that my feet sank in till my ankles as I walked. But I got to try out a Leica M9 with a wide angle lens. What a fab camera. Don't have those pictures with me, so I'll have to stick with my photoshoped phone camera picture to upload here- you can see the line of ocean far in the distance.

Also got to try out a Sri Lankan dessert today- Watalappan. It was like a Sri Lankan take on caramel custard. A steamed pudding made with jaggery, cardamon, cinnamon and nutmeg. It was nice, despite cardamon and nutmeg being my least favourite spices. Was too shy to take a phone picture in front of everyone at the table.