It passed by without incident, apart from a two-hour bus journey during which I was forced to stand the entire way. The Sri Lankans celebrated Vesak (the festival of lights and lanterns) while I treated myself to Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). The elephants were out in full force, covered in elaborate costumes and decorated somewhat haphazardly. Yesterday was one year since Sara and I packed up our apartment and drove out of Dallas. So much has happened in that time and there is still much to be done before it's over. We have agreed that June 30th is the end date - I'll be back in Chicago by then, and we'll both be in London about a month after that.
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| Decorated elephant |
After a brief stop in Colombo to refresh my CD collection and have a hot shower I went back to tiny Dambulla to watch the last of the cricket games. New Zealand beat Sri Lanka in a thrilling match and I met five other London-based Kiwi's, all from my hometown in New Zealand - Tim, Shane, Carey, Grant & Tane. As it turns out I knew two of them from University but hadn't been good at keeping in touch. They had come to Sri Lanka to watch some cricket and in doing so had been to a local tailor to have replica kits of the 1980's New Zealand cricket team made.
In New Zealand fans who wear the 1980's kit are known as the 'Beige Brigade' after the colour of the strip. The following day we lost to Pakistan but the New Zealand team had already booked themselves a place in the final against Pakistan two days later. I returned with the Beige Brigade to their hotel in Negombo (north of Colombo) and spent a few days with them before making the return trip to Dambulla for the final - this time I had my own beige outfit and we were six. The final was a memorable game with New Zealand looking strong throughout and winning quite easily. By far the highlight of the Sri Lankan section of the trip was getting to pose in photographs with the team and the trophy they had just captured. For a keen fan like myself there is nothing to compare with getting that close to the action. Many of the team members thanked us for our support and the coach, Dennis Aberhart, made a point of coming over to talk to us after the players had left the field.
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| With the New Zealand cricket team after winning the final |
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| Posing with the sponsors, including the motorbike Brendon McCullum won |
I have another seven nights in Sri Lanka so I will use this time to visit one of the fine coastal cities, Galle, before returning to Colombo to do some shopping. With just over a month to go it's now time to start stocking up on goodies for family, friends and myself. I'll be back in India for a short time and then back to Thailand before flying home.
BRING BACK BEIGE
The Beige Boys headed back to London early (4am) on Monday 26th May so I graciously stayed on in one of their hotel rooms until a more reasonable hour before taking the back exit on to the beach and down to Negombo town. As far as Browns Beach holiday resort knows, Ian Warner never stayed there for 5 nights on the floor in Tane and Carey's room. I was a ghost. Thanks guys.
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