Southeast Asia - Week of May 14: Sri Lanka Week 4
It's the week of May 14th. Warm welcome to the first full week of David's east coast beach tour!
Blue Sands Beach Resort
Traveled by tuk tuk to my new hotel on Monday - checked in at 11 am. Yes, I was anxious to change hotels. And what a difference a hotel makes in enjoying my time. While I was a little further from the beach, I was discovering there were choices to be made to satisfy what I thought was comfortablr. The needs certainly do go beyond just clean. My new room has a kettle, coffee, tea, North American style bathroom, better lighting - just plain comfortable in my world.
My initial reservation was for three days. I decided on morning of the second day that I would extend my stay by another three days. My due diligence involved going through a full day at the resort including a night's sleep before making the decision. Everything was kind of too good to be true from the time I checked in. I had a great Sri Lankan dinner at the hotel on Monday night and great Sri Lankan breakie on Tuesday am. Yup. This is the hotel experience for me. Satisfied this need I had to be in one place for an 'extended' period. BTW - this 'resort' was much closer to my definition of what resort meant! 🙋
This was the week I decided that I should travel to Malaysia as my next destination. The plan is to fly to Malaysia from Bangkok in mid June, stay for 30 days, then travel to the Philippines for 30 days in mid July. The impetus for going to Malaysia came out of the lunch hour discussion during the Wilpattu safari with this guy from the Netherlands. He had just spent three months in Malaysia and loved his time in the country. Discovered Canadians can enter and stay in the country for 30 days without a visa. That's for me. My initial research has me very excited about the different places I have the chance to visit including the iconic twin Petronas towers in Kuala Lampur. I've scoped out a Shangri-La Hotel that to stay at that has a stunning view of the towers.
I continued my daily routine - up at 5:30 am to catch the sunrise and get my beach walk in before the heat and UVs made being in the sun uncomfortable. I had modified my original walk which was walking the beach's full length (about 6 km one way) because of the number of feral dogs that would approach me barking. I have this fear that a dog may bite me and that would be serious trouble. All this barking disturbed my peace of mind/my zen. New plan was to walk 6 km in the morning and 6 km in the afternoon which avoided the section of beach with the most dogs.
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My eating routine was focused around the hotel restaurant. I ate breakfast was around 8 am. The senior waiter (Jadeeshan) and I had a discussion the previous evening, after dinner, about what Sri Lankan food was being prepared for breakfast the following morning. Not so much a discussion as it was Jadeeshan telling me what I was going to have. After all, what do I know about Sri Lankan breakfast options. Embrace what is offered and enjoy. Dinner was at 7 pm. I had the pleasure of eating my dinner on the beach, listening to the surf - see photo below. I typically want to try different restaurants around where I'm staying. Changed my preferences for this location. The restaurant staff were so kind, thoughtful and very well trained in the art of serving. Being in the restaurant was an all encompassing experience!
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| Breakfast napkin |
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| Dinner on the beach |
I'm spending time in the morning travel planning and research for the upcoming months. I'd be back on the beach, lying on a lounger under a beach umbrella, around 1 pm. I'd head out for my afternoon walk around 3 pm when the UVs were low.
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| Getting early dibs on the beach loungers |
Leave the beach around 5 pm. Chill in my room - that's the word for the experience given how hot it gets during the day. Dinner at 7ish.
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| Housekeeping artists at work |
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| Anna and Nishanthan |
As there were few guests in the hotel, I did get extra attention from my housekeeping friends!
Feral dogs, flies and crows
My beach tour introduced me to three new experiences - feral dogs, endless flies and enormous crows.
- You were guaranteed to encounter at least three or four packs of dogs on the beach daily. Sometimes they would ignore me; most of the times they were approaching me and barking. Unnerving for me. I think part of my uneasiness was that I was bitten by a dog as a kid. An experience that has stayed with me for a lifetime.
- Black flies were omnipresent. First encountered the flies sitting outside my room at the Golden Beaches location. So very annoying. They were in my room. The flies would be present eating breakfast. Unhealthy! Different hotels had different approaches for dealing with the flies. Golden Beaches did absolutely nothing. Blue Sands ensured there were fans on when you were eating.
- Black crows were everywhere and there are loud. I was first warned about them when sitting outside my Golden Sands room. An employee cautioned me about eating biscuits outside as the crows would swoop down and take them if left unattended.
Staying in touch
I've been very blessed to have family and friends I've been staying in touch with in my travels. I've appreciated the chance to keep in touch with what is happening in their lives, share what I'm experiencing and feel connected with the world while I'm traveling on my own. The other benefit is helping me come back from the edge when I forget my mantra about embracing and engaging with the situation I am presented. There are times that I fondly refer as 'David moments' where I seem to misplace my focus. While I recognize what is happening in my thinking when these moments happen, always good to talk these moments through.
- I have a daily special gift to speak with my older brother Richard through WhatsApp. Most days we have a call in the morning and in the evening.
- My younger brother Jim and I will Facetime once or twice weekly.
- Sajee and her sister Lakshi are my constant companions during my time in Sri Lanka. We have a WhatsApp chat that I use to keep them informed about my travels. Feels very much like being with family; ensuring I reassure them I am safe and reach out when I need help.
- My good friend Mike and I connect once every ten days or so.
- TJXC friends monthly video call
- I use email and WhatsApp to reach out to friends and acquaintances to learn what's happening in their lives and share what's going on with me. Apologies in advance if I omit mentioning specific names. You know who you are!
- I'm using this blog as another method to stay in touch. I know many people are hesitant to travel for many reasons including a basic reason like ability to communicate. I am hoping, through sharing, I am able to open new doors for the reader's travel plans. I also benefit from sharing as I have a second chance to relive my experiences and potentially develop a deeper understanding for myself!
- Finally, I should also mention my new BNS friends who I am in regular contact with. 😜
Banking Update
The new debit was delivered during the week. We discovered, unfortunately, the wrong card was shipped when I tried to activate the card through the Contact Centre. The centre agent committed to following up with Private Banking to address the issue. The correct card was received on May 19. I then spent time on the phone with the Contact Centre to activate the card and then sort through the 2 factor authentication that had become messed up. The contact centre agent was amazing in her support. I shared my positive experience with the Private Banking and the Escalated Concerns manager. The good news - I now have access to my business banking accounts. Yippee!
One last matter to address. I want to modify my Scotia Connect facility to add the capability to transfer money from my business account. Sadly, this requirement was missed in the original agreement. Someone is to contact me next week.
Next Week
I'll be back on the road on Sunday. While I intended to travel to Batticaloa, I was unable to find suitable accommodation. I will be going to the beaches in Kalkuda which is about 35 km north of Batticaloa. After three nights I'll be off to Arugam Bay - surfer's paradise!
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