Colombo III: So Long Sri Lanka

On my last day at Colombo, I finally had the chance to have a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. My bosses were having a breakfast meeting with my client's senior management, so I was excused. Tried the Sri Lankan hoppers (apam), and milk rice (kiribath). Outside the restaurant was a nice pool with swans, ducks, and koi swimming around. Later in the morning, we met another two project counterparts for more fact-finding. Had a quick lunch at Taste of Asia-- local mixed rice. A very peculiar short grain variety of rice was used. The spices used were really alien to me.





Our afternoon was spent at the client office again. Tried to retrieve whatever documentation they promised to give us. We waited and waited and waited, but didn't get much. The main contractor met us up for dinner again. We had wine and finger foods at the Colombo Hilton executive lounge. My CEO gave him a summary of all that he had gathered. I sat at the next table, just enjoying the chicken skewers and fried calamari. From the looks of things, the main contractor is a very well-connected person in Sri Lanka-- a whole web of influence of money and politics.





At about 10:00 PM, we checked out and headed to the airport for our midnight flight. Before you even step foot into the airport, you are required to show your ticket. You and your luggage have to go through a metal detector after that. Then you join another line to get to the check-in counters. More scans. Chaotic as there's so much luggage being jostled here and there. And of course the usual security check at the departure gate. High security indeed. When I arrived back home, it was already 8:00 AM. Slept for three hours before heading to work. A bad idea. When I got home in the evening, I was all feverish. And the strange thing was, both of my bosses were sick too!