So long Ceylon

Yesterday on Mirissa we got a taste of the Sri Lankan monsoon. The heavens opened, lightning started and the mighty Thor started banging in the heavens above us. The ground shook and it was all very exciting to be honest. The lady in the guesthouse told us to stop using our phones which put the shits up us a little. When we awoke this morning it was still raining so we determined to head to Colombo a day earlier than planned. We were going to take the train from Galle but this morning at about 7am, lying in bed and listening to the rain, I remembered that the train started in Matara which is about seven miles in a backwards direction. We had our final breakfast in the Celestial Inn - some lovely egg hoppers - and took two tuk-tuks to the station. I'm so bloody glad that we went from Matara. This was the first train journey we've taken here where the train was full. And it proceeded to get fuller at each stop. By the time we got to Galle it was packed solid with passengers. We were laughing as we all had seats but there were some pretty annoyed looking tourists who obviously felt a bit hard done by. I was delighted with my prescience and I think I told Caroline this at least a couple of times during the journey.

We arrived here in Colombo in the early afternoon and the hostel we booked into is very close by the train station. We walked here in a couple of minutes but the streets seemed very quiet. It was general election day yesterday and as a result everywhere is closed - bars, restaurants, ice cream stores - the whole bloody lot. We went to eat in the worst rotti house I've come across in a month and now I'm in bed at 9 o clock. Hopefully things will be a little livelier tomorrow. We'll store our luggage for the day, have a look around the city and head to the airport.

Our month here has been quite an experience - some good, some bad, some unbelievable - but I'll wait until I get back to Dublin before I commit my final thoughts on Sri Lanka to this blog. That's all for now as a Chines chap has just come into our four bed dorm and he's asking me lots of questions. So long Ceylon!