Colombo

The first of some very belated posts which I wrote while I was in Sri Lanka with the intention of posting as soon as I came back (we got back over 2 months ago!)

"I hadn't realised how much I love this city! For a start, this place is literally 

brimming with childhood memories for me. Worked out that over a total of 5 trips in my life-time (not including this one), I had spent almost as many months in Sri Lanka (most of which in Colombo) as in Grenoble when I lived there. It's not everyone's cup of tea methinks, but there's something about the chaos and the grime and the life in this city that I like.  I'm loving experiencing it again through adult eyes and my first-timer white husband's reactions to everything. Trishaws (also known as tuktuks or three-wheelers depending on your preference) are definitely a hot favourite: epitomising everything I love about Colombo; hilarious, lively chaos. Lovely to see various relatives I hadn't seen for a while and whom Mark had never met, though a fairly detailed diagram was required to explain complex (though in my mind not that complex!) family connections to him. And awesome to hang out with my Gran, who is 100% in her element when entertaining us, whether it's providing every possible option of Sri Lankan pudding under the sun in the time when we stayed there i.e. "Would you like a or b or c or d or e or f...?!" or making one of her loyal local trishaw drivers materialise in front of her flat entrance with the clap of a hand! And within a few days and we're already sampling some of my favourite foods/drinks which are near enough impossible to get at home: hoppers, portello, string hoppers, various curries, mangosteen, rambutan, sugartastic iced coffee = sweeeeet!