Sri Lanka Day 5: Sushi and Gratitude

Finally, sadly, the day came when we had to leave lovely Sri Lanka and head back to our work and responsibilities in Chennai. After a quick stop at Odel to pick up a few more items, including a very 'scary' Sri Lankan devil mask that will look fantastically strange in my London flat, we met up with the 'kids' for a final lunch at one of the local sushi restaurants.

New opera house in Colombo

I just wanted to take this opportunity and use this post to convey my absolute gratitude to the wonderful people I met on this trip who were so generous with their kindness and time. This trip would have been so different without each of you and I feel very lucky to have met you all. Now, come to London!

Sushi lunch!

To Anuki, Evan, Shehani and Dylan, thank you for the trips to Odel, the site seeing guidance around Colombo, the delicious dinners and tasty sushi, and your wonderful patience while I overdosed on elephants. Anuki, thank you for your lovely gifts and for being so kind and mailing those postcards for me! And of course to both Anuki and Evan, thank you for being so patient as I hunted for my father and aunt's swimming records! I couldn't have done it without you!

"D.G." - Should be D. O'Grady I think

My aunt's record from 1962

To Sooraj and Ashwini, thank you for the hilarious comments, questionable music (ha!), the trip to the beach and for sharing your home.

President's house

To Sumitha-aunty and Raju-uncle, thank you for being the most wonderful hosts we could have ever asked for. It was amazing to meet you again after so many years Raju and I feel lucky to have done so. You both opened your lovely home to us and made every effort to ensure that our visit ran as smoothly as possible, which is something I will always be grateful for. Sumitha-aunty, thank you for all the talks and advice, they helped me more than you may have realized and I really appreciate your patience in listening to the same old thing over and over! :)

Final attempt to get the colorful mix of auto rickshaws

And finally, last but of course not least, to Samia, thank you for making this entire trip possible! Thank you for organizing the tickets and letting me stay with you before and after. And of course, thank you for keeping your cool when everything threatened to fall apart. You were a perfect travel companion and I look forward to future adventures!