Reconnecting

Way back in ninth grade, I met Dineli. She had grown up in Sri Lanka but had moved with her family to the US and had landed in my class in high school in, gulp, 1986. We became fast friends during her two years in Lancaster and, despite her moving to Toronto and occasional lapses without regular contact (this was way before the days of e-mail and I sucked at being a faithful letter writer), we somehow managed to keep coming back into each others' lives throughout the years. During our adult years while she was in Toronto, we became particularly close, spending weeks and weeks at a time at each others' houses. In 2005, she came back to Sri Lanka for a summer holiday... and ended up staying. She reconnected with a childhood friend, Nigel, and they got married and had a baby. That was one heckuva holiday!

Our flight arrived at a ridiculous hour so my first reunion with Dineli and introduction to Nigel took place at 3 am with them greeting us in their driveway in their pajamas. Poor things. But they took it in stride and welcomed us into their beautiful home. Their house is tucked way back in off the street so it's quiet and tranquil; it's largely open-air and it overlooks a lovely garden and palm trees. I totally dig the open-air style (pretty typical here) as even when you're inside, it gives the feeling of being outside with fresh air coming in and the sounds of birds chirping. It's such a pleasure to be somewhere so clean and relaxing.

Since it's been a while since I've seen Dineli, this part of my trip was really just about catching up with her. We didn't come with a real agenda or particular things in mind that we wanted to see or do. It's nice for both Sarah and I, after so many months of traveling and constantly moving (granted, that wasn't exactly the case back in Thailand), to have some days to just mentally "take off". Our first day included pedicures. And, um, that was about it.

So we talk, we catch up, we play with the baby, we eat (oh, and do we eat well), we read, we move from one lounging area to the other, we eat some more... and so it goes.

The second day Dineli, Sarah and I went to a beautiful hotel overlooking the sea and had high tea (quite the popular activity here). It's quite an old, traditional hotel and it just so happens to be the one where Dineli's parents got married back in the day. As we were leaving, we happened to see a wedding procession that was coming into the hotel. In a very Sri Lankan tradition, they had highly regaled dancers doing a traditional dance to welcome the newlyweds. Very cool to just so happen to stumble upon such a uniquely cultural thing like that.

Friday Sarah and I went to an elephant orphanage where we got to sit and watch a large herd of elephants bathe in the river. Amazing. There were HUGE ones and baby ones and one that lost its leg in a land mine; we even saw babies nursing. The babies played like real children, wrestling and swimming and splashing each other. Not something you get to see every day in Lancaster. Awesome.

Today was supposed to be our last day here. Well, at least it was one of our last days here. Since it's been so long since I've seen Dineli and since Sri Lanka is SO far from Lancaster and since who knows when I'll get back here again.... well, I changed my ticket. Again. Good thing date changes are free. I'm going to spend another 2 days here before meeting up with Sarah in Singapore.

For Sarah's last night, we went out for dinner to the rowing club, one of the oldest in Sri Lanka and the one where Nigel used to row when he was young. It was also the place where Dineli and Nigel got married. It's a beautiful old club with rich, dark wood overlooking the water. I also tried my first Sri Lankan beer: Lion Lager. Mmm, it will definitely not be my last.