Back where it all began

 In the morning after an amazingly quiet night we drove Ruby back to the hotel for breakfast. We took our repast whilst watching the elephants play in the river. At around 9am we took our leave and  climbed aboard our little red love machine. The drive took around 3 hours as we decided to take the scenic route. In reality I admit I took the longest route as I really didn't want to hand Ruby back to her owners.  I think I am going to suffer detachment issues for quite a while.

An uneventful drive saw us back in Negombo where we started just short of a month ago. We called into our digs to drop of the matildas and reluctantly drove Ruby home. I think my driving instructor was really surprised that we returned her intact and unharmed apart from the rogue monkey damage. I honestly think he expected us to return her on a low loader. 

A month ago when we picked her up the roads in Negombo seemed crazy and chaotic. After all our adventures and the busy places we have been through it felt like a ghost town. I now consider myself an expert in handling these amazing little machines. We have taken Ruby through jungle track ways. Over mountains and across beaches. Apart from the capital I would be happy to take her anywhere. In fact so enamoured am I with the tuk tuk I am seriously considering trying to buy one in India and drive it home across the middle east and Europe. It would be a fantastic adventure. I've even worked out a route. I just need to work out the legal logistics but it is definitely possible.

Today we caught the train into the capital to have a mooch before flying back to Crispy HQ tomorrow. As I may have mentioned I love trains. Especially steam and narrow gauge. These are dirty big smelly rusty old diesels but trains non the less. There are only two class of passenger here. Second  and third. The price difference is pennies. Basically second class have seats and third is standing only.  The Colombo commuter service only has second class carriages and is a slow train. 1 hour 25 mins to cover a distance of 35km. No windows and the doors don't close but very reliable and cheap.  It was an adventure and we really enjoyed it. 

Like Indian trains they are constantly boarded by. Beggars, hawkers and entertainers.  On these short journeys we were confronted by beggars with various deformity and trauma. Entertainers in the shape of a flute blowing dwarf and a screaming banshee that wailed a "song" through a portable speaker. And hawkers selling everything from fruit to popcorn. 

It I'd certainly an experience. Indian trains are the same.

Colombo is like any other Asian city. A mix of beautiful new hotels and office blocks surrounded by a chaotic collection of squalid older buildings. There is really nothing there to interest tourists and I suggest that fellow travellers give it a wide berth. The train ride was an adventure but other than that it is, In our opinion, not worth visiting. However having seen the congestion and traffic at first hand we are glad that we took Ruby on the detour. 

This is the last entry for the blob as tomorrow is just a travelling day.

To summarise:

Sri Lanka is beautiful. From The jungle and temples of the north to the mountains of the central Highlands it is amazing. The beaches of the south are beautiful but in no way can compete with places like Thailand or Malaysia.  The best part of this trip has, apart from Ruby, once again been the people. They are welcoming and friendly. Genuinely happy to make you feel at home in their small island nation. It is cheap to visit in comparison to other SE Asian countries and offers great value for money for the standard of budget accomodation You can find. More importantly it is clean which can sometimes be an issue in other places.

We have loved it here and once again it has been an amazing adventure. Certainly different to anything we have done before. Even the weather which has curtailed some of our planned itinerary hasn't distracted from how great this wonderful country is.

We are a little disappointed that the rains in the mountains meant that we didn't get to see the highlands at their best but it's a great reason to come back again.

Bare and Crispy signing off for the last time Negombo, Sri 🇱🇰 Lanka