Day 58 - Things didn't go as planned. Jay still has a number of unseen religious sites he'd like to visit. We contemplated going to the city of Ratnapura for one. I have been to that city about 80 kilometers to the southwest of here a number of times. It was really hard to get hold of any available vans with drivers. Many are booked ahead of time for weddings or other outings. That, combined with the fact this is peak tourist week, meant we couldn't find any through the usual channels.
I pulled up the PickMe app on my phone last night at 10:00 PM and we ordered a rental for 300 KM and 14 hours for around CA $108.00. The pricing scheme means it is better to pick by expected kilometers and have the extra hours as a cushion. The app read, CONFIRMED. We went to bed and woke up early for a 7:00 AM departure.
Seven o'clock came and went and we didn't get our usual call from PickMe telling us a driver was on his way. In fact, one wasn't. After Jay figured out how to get through the telephone maze, the representative said it was hard to find anyone and that they'd try for 10 minutes more. I got a notification saying our trip was cancelled after about six minutes. I'm undoubtedly not as happy with the rideshare service as before. PickMe really needs to step up to the plate with rentals as the service we experienced would be rated as terrible.
Nevertheless, it was a lovely day. Jay's sisters went into Minuwangoda town to purchase some cooking gas burners for each house. They made sure they got stainless steel models to replace the ageing ones which have served reliably for a couple of decades. Jay and I stayed here at the house all day. I realized that it was still a pretty nice day and took the two photos in today's blog from the back steps to the house. Who can feel annoyed for long when coconut grow so closely?
