nei ho ma from Hong Kong

Even before we could get sad about Preeti's swift departure from Colombo, M and I jetted off for a quick 2 week break (from our break) to Hong Kong.

We've been here just under a week now and are both quite impressed by the amazing skyline, and I can't get over how high all the buildings are. It is also very very clean in comparison to London or New York, or as M put it, it looks like a larger version of Canary Wharf!

My cousin took us to a market, where I had to step aside each time after I'd selected things to purchase, since I couldn't keep a straight face while she haggled with the vendors (I guess I've got a long way to go before I can shop like a pro in Asia!).

We also managed to catch up with some friends who've moved to Hong Kong from London and Tokyo! It's so great to see some familiar faces after being a newbie in Colombo for the past few months...

Am waiting for a clear evening before I can post some pictures of the pretty night-time skyline, or even a daytime shot of the harbour!

Little England...

As Preeti is only here for a short while, we decided to take her to the heart of the country to see the picturesque hill country... some pictures courtesy of P Jha!

Sister Act Part 2...

Preeti finally arrived in Colombo for her very short visit this morning!

Day 1
As with all the other times that M and I have gone to receive her at the airport, usually at Heathrow, after her many sojourns to her various backpacker destinations and GAP years etc, we were late... her flight arrived on time, and even though M had given her a long list of items to buy from the duty free shop, she was out within half an hour of landing, while we were still on the way there!!! But she said she was kind of expecting us to be late since it was 8am, and I am not really a morning person ;-)...

After much debating between M and I, we took her to the Gallery Cafe for lunch, which I think has pretty decent, if somewhat overpriced food, but a beautiful building and a great setting to just relax and catch up - which is what I wanted. M's reservations were that the service is slow, (in this instance it wasn't too bad), and that in an article a couple of months ago there was some controversy about how the maitre de had been rude to a couple of Indian patrons and said that their-type were not welcome, but I don't necessarily think he meant Indians as such, for why would they have Indian Butter Chicken on their menu? Maybe the guests had been particulary difficult and annoying to deal with???

Its so cool to have the first visitor from my family with us ;-). Preeti was suitably impressed by our new home, and by the fact that we now have food in our fridge unlike London - I think the most telling statement was when she told my mom, yes Ma they actually eat properly now, not like in London - where they survived only on take-outs!!!

We ended the first day with some dinner at the Galle Face Hotel, at the Sea Spray restaurant which is a great way to spend the evening listening to the waves washing in against the walls...

Chalk & Cheese

Opposites attract is an often used phrase, however what is it that makes people stay together, after that initial attraction changes into something more long-lasting and permanent? So it makes me wonder what it is that keeps two people together day after day, year after year?

M is definitely the neater/tidier one out of the two of us and is borderline analy-retentive, but I probably have bouts of anal-ness that I think must have rubbed off from him over the years! In any case, the most recent event that has sparked this blog entry is that in an attempt to be caring and helpful (I'm sure the intentions are noble), M decided to draw me up a blank time-table for the week, breaking the day up into 2-4 hour slots, so that I can note down what I'm eating at what time. The idea being, that I can keep track of the portions of fruit and veg intake I get daily! But then this is also the same guy who when he wants to make a point of how I'm not pulling my weight, sends me an Excel spreadsheet listing the things on our joint TO-DO list that he's completed, vs. the ones that I still have pending... But you've got to give it to him for being persistent in his goal to constantly improve me ;-). Most of the time its quite amusing and endearing, but on occasion I think he crosses the line. Even at the moment I think I must have at least 10 emails in my inbox from him with links to on-line calendars/to-do lists, self improvement sites, and exercise sites!!!

Anyway, despite all these foibles, we're still together and I am sure my lack of interest in tidying up and keeping things at right angles must drive him mad too!

Coffee at Crescat

At the time it seemed like a good idea to go for an after dinner coffee and dessert so we headed of to our favourite Cinnamon Grand for a post-dinner coffee.

The lobby was buzzing even more than usual, since it happened to be the evening when the South African team was heading back home post their decision to return due to security concerns...

We had a some great desserts and coffees and just as we started to relax, the band decided to start singing, which would be ok if it were background music, but the way hotels like to entertain their guests in Sri Lanka (and much of the sub-continent) is by having live bands in their lobby areas playing blaring music, so its good enough to put an end to all conversations... after a while, if you go to the same place often enough, you tend to hear them sing their same repertoire over and over. So as we were listening to ABBA numbers and some UB40, we were really entertained by some of the hotel guests who decided to get up and dance. I wish I had my camera with me, it was definitely a performance worthy of google videos ;-), not just the dancing, but the attire of a wife-beater and knee-length shorts, amused us to no end.

Just as we were leaving we managed to see the entire South African team, who were being interviewed by the press before they boarded their team bus to leave. Unfortunately, there was some sort of road block, and we were forced to wait over an hour before Galle Road was opened up to vehicles again. The SA team managed to leave after a 45 minute wait once they kicked up a fuss, but following their departure, there was another 30 minute wait before we could finally get home... next time we'll stick to having dessert at home I think ;-)!

The wretched rain...

...alas the clash between the Lankans and the Indians has been postponed for yet another couple of days. The triangular series has now become a bilateral 3 match series instead. The only silver lining on this cloud is that all 3 matches are to be played at the SSC which is a stones throw away from our house rather than Premadasa which I hear is at quite a distance away...and even if we can't get tickets (which I am certain won't be the case...) we can always go to the members bar and watch the match from the comfort of the a/c and a ready supply of beverages and eats!

Tea with Sanath, Chaminda & Murali

If the heavens are kind and the rain is kept at bay, then we are going to watch the first game of the Unitech Cup at the Premadasa Stadium this afternoon, to watch the clash between India and the home team and favourites Sri Lanka.

None other than the Sri Lankan medium paced bowler Chaminda Vaas got our tickets for us - which was pretty cool. I was sent as chaperone to M's cousin Shiv who made friends with Chaminda, Sanath and a few other of the Sri Lankan squad while they were in Holland earlier this year. We decided to have a coffee at the Taj Coffee Shop instead of looking like groupies in the foyer while we waited for Chaminda to get there with the tickets. He joined us shortly, for a tea, and Sanath was also there a few minutes later. The waiter who up until then had been taking his time to bring our order, suddenly perked up and speedily brought our beverages. A short while later the famous Muttiah Muralitharan also appeared and said hello, Sanath calmly introduced him as Murali (as if we wouldn't recognise that toothy grin anywhere!). I guess living in Sri Lanka does have its upsides, since I can't imagine ever having a chat and a coffee with any of the Indian cricket team, what with their iconic status in India, which is quite mad about hero-worshipping their cricket players, who are akin to the bollywood stars! Considering their achievements in their chosen profession, they were all very polite and down-to-earth! However some poor Indian tourists looking for a picture with Sanath were curtly and politely refused by him saying they were in a "meeting", which I guess made Shiv and me feel important for those few seconds, although I felt a bit bad for the little kids who wanted to get a picture, and it was amusing to watch them persist with their desire to take a picture by sneaking photos from the pillar behind where we were sitting.

I also spotted Ajit Agarkar while I was there, but didn't want to go up to chat with him.

The whole experience was a bit surreal and like I was telling Shiv later, I'd love to see the Indian team but I think I'd be too start-struck to actually be able to speak to them! In any case we've both decided to hang out as groupies at the Taj so we can catch some more of the players.

As we left, I wished Chaminda & Sanath luck for the match, obviously pointing out that I would be rooting for the opposition ;-)...

Watch this space for some photos if I get round to it... M told me to play it cool and not take any pictures with them, which looking back at those poor Indian tourists, I'm glad I didn't pull out my camera!

Home Sweet Home!!!

After leading a nomadic life for just under 4 months, we finally moved into our own place!!!
The moving in was pretty much handled by M and his cousin as I wasn't able to help much at all with the heavy lifting etc. In fact we spent the first night sleeping with all the boxes still half unpacked in our rooms... luckily we managed to find some help after the first couple of days, and the place finally looks like home, although I have cheated a little by just putting things into wardrobes without organising them, but I guess that's the next challenge!!! I even managed to cook my first meal here on Saturday!

been a bit lame with the blogging recently, but that's mainly because nothing much has been going on that's new, as well as the fact that we've been away from Sri Lanka for the first time since we got here in May to Bangalore for about 10 days... and despite the fact that it is the supposed Silicon valley equivalent in India, believe it or not, I didn't have access to the net during my entire time there...

Anyway, it was fun, great catching up with my cousins and it also made me realise how much I was missing bihari/indian style cooking. For the less discerning, I know you may think rice and curry all tastes the same, but I beg to differ. So I think I ate more than I have done in a long while, and I totally agree with Appu di that she makes amazing paratha's (well they're definitely the best I've ever tasted ;-)).

As this was my third trip to Bangalore I wasn't much into sight-seeing, so M was sent with one of our cousins to see the sights, I couldn't beleive that the guy who finds some of the most amazing museums in the world boring... (and beleive me I've dragged him to quite a few) actually went to the museum in Bangalore!

The weather in Bangalore was a welcome relief after the heat in Colombo! Highlight of the trip was my niece Aakriti's 14th birthday party - check out the chaat!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Just wanted to wish a very Happy Anniversary to Amma & Thatha... 35 years, and still going strong.


Also, a special thank you to both of them for actually spending this special day apart, just so Thatha can help M & I to move into their house here in Colombo!!!

Thank you both, and hope you have a good celebration when Thatha gets back to Geneva!

weekend in the hill country...

Just got back from a weekend break to Nuwara Eliya (also known as the little England of Sri Lanka). It took us 6 hours to get there, on some pretty bad roads for the last two hour stretch, I was grateful it was dark, so we couldn't see how steep the slopes were on the sides of the roads. We stayed at a real Tea Factory, that has been converted to a hotel, which looks on majestically to rolling hills of tea-plantations. It was quite quaint, and the whole of Nuwara Eliya really brings home the influence and impact of the Raj! There's the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club, which has a public footpath running through it, which means that you often get some nutter running through the footpath and getting walloped on the head with a golf ball! M & B spent the morning golfing, or attempting to golf...I think they played 9 holes... while I enjoyed the view and listened to my iPod...
We then drove through the town, which was swarming with bus-loads of day-trippers from Colombo, all buying the brightly coloured monkey-caps and sweaters that were on sale on the road-side (it was seriously not monkey-cap weather, rather more like a pleasant English summers day... but I guess the locals find it cold...).
We had high-tea in the afternoon back at our hotel, since (luckily) none of us were appropriately dressed for the very posh, very Colonial Hill Club which is a members only establishment, where gentlemen are expected to wear dinner jackets and there is even a separate gentleman's only bar... the Orange Pekoe tea was excellent, although the food took a good hour to get to us, and was a far cry from cucumber sandwiches or indeed Sri Lankan short-eats, and poor Bush had to wait an hour for his Fanta... even though we asked about 3 times...
Anyway, the return journey back was far more pleasant, and shorter by a couple of hours since we left late morning and made it in good time to Colombo...
I think Nuwara Eliya is a perfect weekend or mid-week break from Colombo, for a spot of golf, some great tea, as well as to experience the high old days of the Raj ;-)...
Pictures to follow (when I bother to upload them)

resident status...

It's very easy to visit Sri Lanka since they issue 30 day visit visa's to almost all nationality passport holders, so as my first month was coming to an end, I had to get my resident's permit. It took us (I say us, when actually it was poor M who did 99% of it) a total of 4 trips, each of which took several hours, to see first the CONTROLLER of Immigration & Emigration, then his deputy, where we had to wait outside her cubicle for about an hour while people with badges calmly pushed into her room ahead of us. When we finally got to see her, she was unable to grant my visa as we didn't have all the documentation. The next two trips frustrated M no end, as he went on his own, only to be told that the computers were closed (err... then why can't they switch them back on???), anyway, I now have a 2 year resident's permit to live in Sri Lanka, and this was when we had used our contacts to go to the top guy to start off with, gawd knows how the common people cope ;-).

queue jumping...

having lived in England for at least the last 18 years at a stretch, I guess I've become kind of accustomed to queuing. Brits love to queue, just look at Wimbledon ;-), where I can proudly say, I too queued in my youth and got into watch some amazing matches. But coming from a country that loves queuing, one of my pet peeves is queue jumping... I really have a problem with that. Queue jumpers annoy me to no end...so its been a bit of a challenge adjusting to the way things work here in Colombo, (and before all the Lankans start biting my head off, yes I am sure its pretty much the same in my country of birth: INDIA...). People push-in everywhere, and the thing is that no one seems to mind, whether its the driving, where people cut each other off from the left/right/centre anywhere really, or if you're in some simple queue at a store or anywhere...

Anyway, I decided if I couldn't beat them, I'd definitely have to join them, so here I am jumping queues at any opportunity I can find!

P.I.M.P. my ride...

so as we wait to move into our home, I've just been pottering around while M has been super efficient in finding out the best gym in terms of proximity and facilities, yoga classes and hiring us a car before we actually buy one. Speaking of cars, I feel I must post a picture of our hire car here, yes you may well wonder with me why in heaven's name did M decide to trade in his beloved Porsche (I'm convinced he loved it more than me ;-)), for what can only be described as the P.I.M.P. mobile, replete with neon strip-lights and darkened windows!!!



Other than that, we had a nice and relaxing weekend away from the city at the beach in Beruwela. Been to my first yoga class, which was on the roof terrace of an old house! And went to watch the England vs. Trinidad & Tobago match at the Library bar, which was fun for the last 15 minutes, when the goals were scored. Football fever is on here too, and you find bunches of expats glued to the large-screen tvs across the hotels! I didn't feel far from a pub in London, when the fans started singing 'it's comin' home....' ;-).

Foreigners Only...

So after one week of searching, and looking at over 25 houses, we have come to the realisation that the colonial house of our dreams doesn't really exist in Colombo anymore. Most of them have been converted to high-end restaurants, or cafe's or spa's. And people who do or may have the few remaining of these properties available, advertise them annoyingly in the papers stating: FOREIGNERS ONLY! The main issue is that the landlords in Sri Lanka don't want to rent their properties to Sri Lankans. Some come right out and say that they only want foreigners, by which they mean only WHITE skinned people, so the fact that I'm British or that M is Swiss/Sri Lankan doesn't help. I had never thought that I would face racism in the sub-continent, but the fact that 50% of the available properties are out of our hands because of the colour of our skin, or because one of us is Sri Lankan is quite frustrating for us. I'm sure if this had happened in the UK or anywhere else in the world, it would cause an outrage... but well, when you are in Rome...The reason they don't want to rent to Sri Lankans is that the law here is totally on the side of the tenants, which means that landlords are weary of people just staying on in their properties and never vacating them, and with the fact that even the authorities will not support them.

We will persevere, and if nothing else works out, we have the very generous offer of M's parents, who have a house in the heart of Colombo, just the small matter of getting rid of the current tenants ;-). Although, I think even Thatha has only ever rented his property out to the British High Commission!!! Oh to be a foreigner.

Hello Colombo...

and SJ-F has finally made it to Colombo. Yay!

We got here after a 10 hour long flight, welcomed by the downpour of monsoon showers!!! It was great to come home to our own little annexe at the Goonewardene's, who are very kindly putting us up, or putting up with us ;-).

After a very restful sleep with the sounds of just crickets, we woke up early to the singing of a jack-fowl!!!

Day 1 in Colombo was quite eventful, we went to do admin things such as get local cellphones and a bank account etc. We went to the branch of a local bank where M had already opened an account almost a decade ago, when he was doing an internship here after his first year at LSE. To re-activate it he had to sign some docs, which they promptly told us didn't match the signature on their records...we were really impressed by the level of security, when they showed us on screen which signature we had to re-produce ;-)! After that it took 5 people to complete a simple exchange of sterling to sri lankan rupees for me... I was made to go from the upstairs counter, back down the stairs and to 3 different people before I could receive my fx - that is how they ensure employment for multiple people I guess...also a good lesson for me to become more laid back a la the Lankans!!!
The cellphones were acquired fairly swiftly and I can't get over how cheap it is... only 2.50 for monthly line rental and 1p a text, even internationally!!!
Other than that we spent the afternoon looking for cars (fairly unsuccessful ;-), followed by some house viewing, which wasn't so bad - in fact we saw a place that I absolutely loved, the location is Colombo 7 (which I am told is the equivalent of Chelsea here in Colombo!!), and the best part was that the living room leads on to a semi-covered patio area, and there are two large trees and several plants, so its as if your living room is a part of the garden. However, since luckily we're not both impulsive people who'd just say, quit our jobs and relocate to a new country or something, we decided to look at some more places before making an offer on this house... but I really hope we get it, wish I had taken my camera so that I could've posted them here!

Goodbye London....

I still can't believe that after just over a decade, my tryst with London will be over! It will always remain very close to my heart, as this is where I've spent the most memorable part of my life thus far, and it also holds so many special memories, from my days at the LSE, meeting all those new friends, who have now become life-long buddies, and of course, meeting M, my first (and only job) at GS, getting married, etc, etc.

The last four years have been especially fun as my li'l sister has also been in London and that has meant that I've always had at least one semi-permanent house-guest and also lots of fun hanging out!

So this last week in London has been fairly hectic packing up and moving out of our lovely home. As well as catching up with as many of my friends as was physically possible, including attending Moody & Jyoti's wedding, which was cool cos I got to hang out with my Bankside buddies, that's the thing with your university friends, they really make you feel 21 again! I guess that's one advantage of marrying your college sweetheart ;-) - we never quite feel old!

So with tears in our eyes we bid a fond adieu to London - take care of it, it's a beautiful place on the days it's sunny!

packing up

for those of you who had to go through our moving in saga to Bywater Street, you may remember we had the dream team working for us back in October!

Today we have to make to with just M, myself and the sri lankan packers - it's 9.50am and still no sign of them. M and I are being equally productive by sitting on our pc and laptops respectively, rather than organising or sorting the packing - rationalising this by saying that we can't do anything until they get us the boxes!

When the packers finally arrived I was in super-charged mode, while M's energy was flagging, since we both woke up mega-early! We had a short visit by my sister who helped me out by taking many of my winter clothes, as I shan't be needing them in Colombo ;-). The packers finally left at 10pm, we had all given up by this stage, and there is a small amount of stuff that M and I will have to sort through and drop off to them.

big girls don't cry...

after a week-long of festivities for Bittu & Paul's weddings, we finally said goodbye to everyone in Wales. It was a tearful good-bye, and I guess it finally struck me that I wouldn't be seeing my friends and family for a long time now.

I was quite sad leaving Ma & Papa, and Ma and I alternated crying. I reminded Ma of the times she used to send me to boarding school when I was young, and said it would be like that, but that didn't seem to help.

In any case, I will be seeing them once more on Monday before we leave for Colombo on the 30th!

the big Indian Wedding

As my friend's wedding is coming up, it leads me to think about what it is that makes weddings special. I think apart from the actual marriage of the two individuals involved, a wedding is a celebration of this union, and also an opportunity for close family and friends to congratulate and join the couple in these celebrations. While I'm sure all weddings are special to the couple involved, I don't think I've experienced anything more fun than a good old Indian wedding! I think Monsoon Wedding gave a pretty good insight into Indian Weddings to the world at large. They are chaotic, colourful, noisy affairs, and an opportunity to get together with all your family and friends. The pre-wedding celebrations can last upto a full week, with events such as the sangeet, mehndi, haldi and then the actual ceremony itself. I think it's all of these events that really lead up to the big day and help generate the feeling of celebration for the bride.

Having close family and friends around helps to create the atmosphere of what makes a good old Indian wedding, and throughout the week, there was plenty of dancing and singing in the build up to the hindu wedding on Thursday! Merthyr did us proud again by holding the rain at bay during the actual ceremony, just like on my wedding day!

Despite her reluctance to put on a lot of jewellry - I think she looked amazing on her hindu wedding day! and I think Paul was a great sport all through the ceremony, even showing Bittu up by touching the panditji's feet while she just stood there!!! After, what was a very long day, the four of us (Bittu, Baby, Preeti and me) were spending the night in Bristol, it was like old times when the four of us just hung out in her kitchen drinking tea and reminiscing!

The next day was the grand finale at Orchardleigh, with the church ceremony followed by the reception. The ceremony was short and sweet, with beautiful readings by Sreeti and Tana. The whole week was lots of fun, and also a bit exhausting, and we can't believe it's over! Here are a couple of pictures (I'll add more to photosite/flickr later).