We were awake before our 4 a.m. alarm — jet lag is a bitch. At least we had a hair dryer to use! But we discovered that about half the electrical outlets in the room had no juice. Hyatt seems to have a quality control problem in this part of the world.
In the lobby we met three single women who are also on our pre-trip. They had already received their boarding passes, we had to wait in a long, slow line for ours. After receiving them, we discovered a large number of check-in desks with very short lines farther into the building. Why no one announced this to the throngs waiting in the front lobby is a mystery. But we got through passport control and security and made our flight in good time.
The plane to Colombo was the same type as for the trip from Chicago, a 777. But this one was older and considerably more cramped. The single women had all upgraded to Business Class. I’m beginning to understand the appeal of that.
Our Sri Lanka segment tour leader, Sudeshna (or just Sue, for short, even though he’s a guy) met us at the airport. The bus ride into the city wasn’t a great distance, and began on a modern expressway, but took nearly an hour due to rough and crowded streets once we got into the city. The most impressive feature so far is the heat — mid-80s and humid. We aren’t in Minnesota anymore!
After settling in at the hotel and exploring the area around the huge pool and adjacent lake, we met again with Sudeshna and the group for an orientation to Sri Lanka — or rather, a continuation of that begun on the bus ride. It’s a lot of information, and it seems that the name of every person, place or thing in this language is a minimum of five syllables and 20 letters, so it’s difficult to grasp.
Our eyes glazed from the history and geography of the country, we got aboard the bus and drove to a restaurant serving a large buffet of traditional foods. It was wonderful! Many things are similar to Indian cuisine, but there is plenty that is unique. We tried nearly everything.
No trouble getting to sleep, but awake very early. Jet lag strikes again.
In the lobby we met three single women who are also on our pre-trip. They had already received their boarding passes, we had to wait in a long, slow line for ours. After receiving them, we discovered a large number of check-in desks with very short lines farther into the building. Why no one announced this to the throngs waiting in the front lobby is a mystery. But we got through passport control and security and made our flight in good time.
The plane to Colombo was the same type as for the trip from Chicago, a 777. But this one was older and considerably more cramped. The single women had all upgraded to Business Class. I’m beginning to understand the appeal of that.
Our Sri Lanka segment tour leader, Sudeshna (or just Sue, for short, even though he’s a guy) met us at the airport. The bus ride into the city wasn’t a great distance, and began on a modern expressway, but took nearly an hour due to rough and crowded streets once we got into the city. The most impressive feature so far is the heat — mid-80s and humid. We aren’t in Minnesota anymore!
Our eyes glazed from the history and geography of the country, we got aboard the bus and drove to a restaurant serving a large buffet of traditional foods. It was wonderful! Many things are similar to Indian cuisine, but there is plenty that is unique. We tried nearly everything.
No trouble getting to sleep, but awake very early. Jet lag strikes again.
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