Today, we also wanted to get out of the house. Lounging around is too easy and enjoyable. If we don’t make a conscience effort to experience the variety of things Sri Lanka has to offer, our month of vacation time here can slip by.
We took a short, day trip to Polgahawila, a town in which Jay spent part of his childhood. His father used to commute 2-hours into Colombo for work each morning and return in the evening. The city was quiet today but was probably more of a sleepy village back in the late 1960’s / early 1970’s. It is an important junction for the train and that’s how we went there today.
Well, actually first, we went into town here in a three-wheel because Jay’s dad wanted to pick up all the weekend newspapers. We sort of let him hitch along for the ride. At the main Minuwangoda bus station we waited for a bus to Veyangoda. So far that means we paid 80 Rupees to get into town and Rs 23 each for the 14 kilometer bus trip. Then, we bought tickets on the express train for around Rs 35. So with the return fares, because we stayed right on the returning airport bus at the junction, we each spent about $1.50 on transportation.
We walked from the Polgahawila station to the neighbourhood where Jay’s family used to live. We also walked out to the school complex where he went from Grades 6 to 10. I could see he was curious to see how things had changed. After all, that was nearly 40 years ago! There were more houses and roads, he said.
We stopped at a bakery for a light meal in Veyangoda on the way back. We went at 9:00 am and got back at 3:10 pm. We must’ve gone only around 100 km in total. I was ready for a shower though. I usually take at least two cooling showers a day here.