CMB to DXB

 

Day 119 - I cannot say I'm a fan of getting up at 5:00 AM. However, today's trip to Dubai went without hitch. Our driver came to pick us up a few minutes before our 6:15 request. The airport is only about 25 minutes from the house, so we were inside it in plenty of time as our flight wasn't scheduled until 9:55 AM. 

For some reason, it was completely full of either Russian or Ukrainian passengers. The flight was codeshared with Air Mauritius, but that doesn't explain anything. Sri Lankan air is still flying to Moscow but I'm pretty sure it's possible to fly out of Dubai to the cities affected by the ongoing war. Anyway, we were in 39 J and K but Jay's sisters had to sit in 49 D and E. We could wave. 

The most memorable thing about the four-hour flight was the meal. Ah, to be on airlines that still put a little effort into the free food! I'm pretty sure we all opted for the spicy, Sri Lankan white fish and red rice. The salad was great and the dessert a mango mousse as well as a rice pudding was pretty filling. My white wine was served in a plastic cup but, at least, it came out of a bottle. Way to go Emirates! 

The time is just 1.5 hours ahead here. We sort of breezed through immigration and customs. We would have been faster, but Jay's sisters insisted on snapping pictures of the cavernous, splashy, bright interior.  Terminal 3 does look a little like a cross between a cathedral and a pop music video.

Next, we got an airport taxi capable of holding the four of us and the luggage. The driver was an Emirati woman and getting to The Rose Garden Apartments Hotel in Bur Dubai took less than a half-hour. The traffic lights were long but she made up for it by driving very quickly!  We were unpacking before 2:00 PM although it was 3:30 in Sri Lanka.

This 2-bedroom apartment is great.  It's on the same floor as the little studio we had for our first month on the trip.  We walked up to the roof and saw Mohammed, our pool attendant.  He's from India and Jay brought a package of Sri Lankan tea for him.  Next, we walked over to the BurJuman and bought provisions for the kitchen.  After it started to get dark, we walked to a Lulu Center to finish up on what we had missed.   As we didn't find enough in the cooked section, we stopped at a Moghal restaurant just across the street from the station.

We managed to stay awake until 10:00 but it's been a long day that is actually 1.5 hours longer ...

Saying Goodbye to the Lion

Day 118 - Today was sort of an in-between day. Other than packing there wasn't much to do today. The weather is pretty hot now and I'm a little sweaty soon after I take one of my several, daily showers. I had this can of Lion Lager to drink as Jay's elder sister found it in the back of her refrigerator. I left it when we stayed there. 

I'll miss this beer but as I said on Facebook, at least I will have BC craft beer to look forward to this summer.

 

I Got Some Too!

Day 116 - Jay's sisters and Jay too worked 'like the dickins' this morning. Although there was an unexpected power cut for an hour, the rice and everything was completed before 1:30 pm. This was a return 'gift meal' for Nasir's family.  He came on the scooter with his nephew to take away the heavy bag of containers and Tupperware.

   

At least there was some remaining for us too.   I didn't hang around in the kitchen when it was all being made but I was sure available when it was time for our lunch.

This photo was my plate.  Dinner will undoubtedly contain some of the following: eggplant moju with dried fish, chicken curry, green peas and carrot curry, stir-fried chickpeas, deviled potatoes, tempered green bean curry, salad with fresh pineapple and tomatoes, and Malay pickles, served on biryani rice.  Oh, the cream caramel was the dessert served after!

More of the Yard

Day 115 - We've been relaxing around here for what seems like quite a long time. However, our departure day is coming on quickly!

I suddenly felt sad that I won't be able to stumble out of the back door and walk around the property.  Seeing the flora and occasional fauna is something I've become used to.

I always used to say that staying at the Minuwangoda house was like living in a jungle.  Over the decades, a lot of the neighbourhood has grown.  Where there used to be empty land, houses stand.  New lanes connect to new roads.  Street lights are no longer rare.

Yet, this type of land keeps itself lush.  If something sits for more than a few months, vegetation starts to grow over it.   I love the tropics.

Why Drop Leaves Here?

Day 114 - This is a tropical, deciduous tree, originally from the South Pacific. They're called ambarella trees on this island, but the Latin name is Spondias Dulcis. I guess they are sometimes called June Plums in English. They inhabit many different tropical locations, most probably due to the first and longest-lasting European empire, the Portuguese.  Because the little country was a powerful maritime power, they presided over a primarily tropical empire stretching from China to Brazil.   

As I have noted in this blog, they also were prolific at carrying flora to different parts of the tropics. So, this tree can also be found in the Caribbean as well as SE Asia.

 

However, in Sri Lanka, someone should tell these trees that they needn't let their leaves turn orange and drop late in the year and stand around naked until spring.  It really doesn't serve any valuable function when six degrees from the equator!  I guess it's nice seeing them start from scratch producing fruit about now though.

The Yard

Day 113 - It tends to feel a bit warmer in March and April here. It's sweaty at noon but comfortable overnight. 

Today, Jay's younger sister went to town to buy groceries, so she can create a 'gift meal' for Nasir's family. It's not possible after coming back from Dubai, as it'll be Ramadan. Jay's elder sister will return from her house in Nugegoda tomorrow. The Minuwangoda house is conveniently close to the airport and we head to Dubai next Tuesday morning.

 

Researching Next Year's Destination

Day 112 - Be prepared. One needn't resort to a dictionary nor have been a Boy Scout to understand what these simple words mean. 

When it comes to getting ready for winters away, we always start months before the actual departure. We need to prepare more than many retirees, as we choose a different location for each winter away from Canada.

Honestly, the biggest part of the fun of going somewhere new is the sheer amount of preparation required.  We are smart travellers but nobody starts out that way.  It takes study and learning at many different levels.  There is little need to understand something unless it will have an impact on one's life.  I tend to think that's why most folks have such a poor grasp of geography.  Travel is one way to get a whole lot smarter.

I was looking at these two locations in Google Earth today.  Both are candidates for next winter but we have visited neither.  I turned off the labels and saved screenshots.  In both instances, the map was saved from about 1000 km up.   The focus of the image on the left is around 34° below the equator but the second is approximately 6° S.

 

Areca Nut Products

Day 111 - In the supermarket, I wanted to pick up a small package of these disposable plates for use with snacks this summer.  There are a surprising amount of local products nowadays that use Sri Lankan agricultural products and medicines.  The 'Duck Party Group' will undoubtedly get a chance to try appetizers in these.

Areca nuts grow very high on trees.  They have some medicinal properties and people sometimes chew these as they are a stimulant and are often called betel nuts.

The seeds are protected by a large, natural cover.  The sheets sometimes fall to the ground but you can see one high up in the tree that's on the Minuwangoda property.

This cover material is like a wood veneer and is what the plates were made from, apparently by just using heat and compression to mould them.  

This is one areca nut tree found on the corner of our property.  It's the middle tree.  It is probably about eight to ten meters tall.

Is It Spring Where You Are?

Day 110 - We'll be back in Vancouver at the very end of the month. I checked the weather and noticed that a few upcoming evenings are forecast to be around freezing. I thought March was when spring arrived. It's definitely has been spring-like since we got to Sri Lanka. 

These are some plants along the wall near the house.

 

Shopping Near and Far

 

Day 109 - We went to town today mostly to stop at the Keells Supermarket. Whereas going to the Sunday Public Market used to be a weekly event, we haven't been once during this visit. When the new public space became available a dozen years ago, I thought it was great. We could go to the huge area to buy vegetables, meats, fish, and other goods. Nowadays, it is easier simply to visit one of Minuwangoda's small supermarkets. It's faster, cleaner, and just as cheap.

We've started buying things that'll we will take back with us. Some items are much cheaper and other items simply aren't readily available in Canada. In ten days, we'll be flying on the same flight to Dubai with Jay's sisters. We were in Dubai a month before getting here in mid-December. We arranged for a two-bedroom apartment for ten nights in the same place as we had our studio apartment.  

So, at the end of March, after being there for ten nights, we'll jet off for a six-night stopover in Turkey and then onward to Vancouver. Jay's sister's will return to Sri Lanka with a whole lot of shopping to carry home, I'm sure.

The Cat Was Resting. I've Been Recuperating.

Day 108 - I took this photo of the brother cat sleeping on a chair out front. He and his sister have been adopted by Jay's sister. At first, she tried to discourage them from hanging around but they wore her down. They were born to a stray mother. The brother and sister are both black and white but the similarities end just about there. The brother is affectionate with people although a fighter among the neighbourhood felines. The sister cat avoids people entirely except when she's really hungry and requires food.

   

I took this photo a few days ago and labelled it, Asleep All Day. I'm using this as a proxy for my own photo today. I definitely caught something or other. I'd suspect a 'breakthrough' case but we've been going around in a group of five or six and nobody else seems bothered.  I want to sleep and sleep. I didn't have a cough for the longest time but one finally came and ended with a monstrous sore throat. I have had a headache that'd score an 11 out of 10 but have had nearly no sniffles.  My fever makes me look like I've just taken swimming lessons.

However, I am aware that I'm sort of a big baby when it comes to being sick. I'm always sure my symptoms are the worst ever experienced by a human being.

What About My Mango?

Day 107 - This is sort of an update to my post from November 2019. 

Even though we tried shocking the tree by making cuts in its trunk, the mango stubbornly refuses to show any propensity for producing fruit. The mango flowers should be obvious about now, but there is no sign of any. The neighbours' trees are showing new seasonal blossoms. 

So, I have to come to terms with the idea that my mango tree will probably be cut to make room for something more productive.

 

News on Paper

Day 106 - I started this blog in 2003. It's 2021, so I'm working on my eighteenth year of daily posts. I guess it's not surprising that I have very little content on current events. The purpose of my eJournal and images is to document some of our lives. It's a way to go back and check on when we did something or other. 

For this reason, this blog has become an invaluable store of our memories. It is not, however, much of a repository of news or events. It is easy to find those things anywhere on the Internet.

Colombo's Galle Face

Day 105 - After the zoo yesterday, we took lunch at a restaurant along the road formerly known as Marine Drive. As only three of the five in our group had visited the edge of the new Colombo Port City lands, we drove to Galle Face and stopped. 

As mentioned before, this is a large land reclamation project that will completely change the capital's downtown. Only time will tell if it turns out to be another Chinese-built, white-elephant, vanity project or not. It's a bit hard to judge with an economy so mismanaged and in debt that electricity will be rationed for possibly eight hours tomorrow! 

Still, the Galle Face Road looks nice from new land which until recently was in the middle of the harbour!

 

The Dehiwala Zoo

Day 104 - We'd thought about going to the National Zoo last month.  Then, on the exact day of our plans, there was a workers' strike!  Since then, things seem to have been ironed out and there surely were lots of people visiting with us today.  Tomorrow is a Hindu holiday and one of the faiths when the whole island gets a holiday, so I expect some people were making it a really long weekend.

The area in Dehiwala is a perfect setting for a zoo.  The hillside doesn't make it very accessible but the slope makes the route between enclosures interesting.  This must be my fourth visit in as many decades.  Today, it seemed as though there were fewer animals but they looked healthy and relatively happy.  The community near the zoological gardens has grown over the years.  It might not be bad living in a condo looking out to the lush hillside.

The Amazing Delivery Scooter

 

Day 103 - Nasir is a friend of Jay's sister and he provides all sorts of help around here.  It's nice knowing that he's here to help out in all sorts of roles.  He owns a phone shop right in the center of Minuwangoda.  

Usually, when he arrives, there's something or other under his seat, in a bag between his feet, or hanging off his scooter.  In fact, just two days ago, he brought an entire meal that his sisters cooked for us.  The platter of colourful rice was a half meter around.  He had a relative on the back but I really don't know how it all got here!  

Today, I had a small package as well.  He's the local version of the Wells Fargo Wagon.  My Miband 6 had a broken strap.  I should've known to bring an extra as they generally only last around six months.  I didn't pay attention to all of today's other deliveries because, well, life is all about me.

Restorative Sleep

 

Day 102 - Today was something of a non-event. For some reason, even though I slept well last night, I was tired. I was going to rest in bed in mid-morning but slept until lunch was ready. After, I went back to sleep for half the afternoon. I am not feeling sick in any way, I was just sleepy. This evening all is okay. I don't know what the cause of my sleepiness was.

I did enjoy the early evening thunderstorm.  In all  our weeks here, this was only the second or third time we've seen rain at all.  

A Banana Flower, Spices, and Power Cuts

 

Day 101 - This hardly feels like the end of another week already! 

Yesterday, when the sisters went to town, they left a USB key with their vaccine records in the form of a PDF. In order to travel, they had to have their ordinary vaccine cards verified at the Ministry of Health. The resulting document, among others, will allow them overseas travel to Dubai. 

This morning, Jay picked a banana blossom as they are used in Sri Lankan cooking, especially with dried fish. That is what the photo above shows. 

Today, we are bracing for more electrical power cuts. This is a middle-income country, but due to politics and poor planning, the country has run out of dollars necessary to buy diesel and other petroleum.  As it's the dry season, the reservoirs cannot supply enough power for modern life in Sri Lanka. They burn oil to make up for the shortage at this time of year. Without the cash necessary to purchase oil, the electrical department has no other choice than rolling blackouts. They use the term, power shedding but a rose is a rose.

I Dumped our Trip Photos on Flickr

Day 100 - It's been one hundred days since the beginning of this trip! US Presidents are judged by what they accomplish in their first 100 days in office, so what've we accomplished? Well, thus far, we've enjoyed an interesting winter.  As one gets older one realizes life is short and achieving and maintaining happiness are pretty important goals.

Last winter due to COVID-19 and travel restrictions, we spent four months in Mexico. This year we chose Dubai and Sri Lanka (with a stopover in Istanbul, Turkey). Next year is still unknown, although we have some fantastic ideas on that front! 

I feel so lazy for this is the second day, and I still haven't filled in my blog with the details of our recent two-day, one-night road trip to Sri Lanka's east coast. I did upload an entire lot of nearly 100 photos on Flickr yesterday though.

Rawana Falls (Again)

Day 99 - Yikes, yesterday's trip back home from Panama, Sri Lanka was surely an all-day event. Can't say I didn't sleep well after getting home at 9:30 PM and taking a shower!  

Although we knew we'd be going through the mountains, driving back through Ella, Sri Lanka was a bit of a surprise.   Our driver knows the roads well and chose the route as though a little longer, the road was better.  It was more inspiring than rolling along on the expressways.

I uploaded all the photos in my camera to Flickr today. However, the only one I'll post is the famous waterfalls near Ella. There were a surprisingly large number of foreign tourists here. I guess the government figures showing the rebound for tourism may bear some semblance to reality!