Colombo

Wednesday 9th
Apparently it rained a monsoon rain last night about the time I was posting my last entry.  An advantage of our cabin is that we are sheltered from rain, wind & sun to a certain extent, so we had no idea.  This morning was overcast, but was perfect on the deck.  Anyway, when we woke this morning it was as if we had broken down, as we were barely moving.  We were overtaken by everything in sight.  I reckon that our little boat would go faster.  We've been doing just 8 knots all day and with a following sea we were wallowing a little.  The thing is that the distance between Cochin & Colombo is not that great, but we are not scheduled to arrive until tomorrow, so we must fill in the hours somehow (a bit like the 14 hours for the Cook Strait crossing in February!).

Pleased to report that we are out of the pirate zone and all the fire hoses etc. have been put away.  However sitting at breakfast this morning a little boat with 7 people on board came racing up to us waving madly.  They were locals and were showing off their catch (undersized anyone?).  We would have been at least 10 miles out to sea - not a lifejacket in sight.  We were also passed by a gas ship and numerous container ships.  As I look out the cabin window the sun is about to set, so it once again must be time to eat.  Don't know how we will survive when we get home.

Thursday 10th
We sat outside port for about half an hour and the ship rolled quite a bit - enough to throw a large bottle of water off our writing desk. However it didn't last long and we were soon in port and calm waters. The port is huge and is a main container hub.  It was interesting just watching the operation of all the straddle cranes and how quickly the ships were unloaded/loaded.  It was also the first port that had a welcoming performance by local dancers & drummers.

Disembarkation was so simple here with none of the bureaucracy we have experienced in India. Our trip today was to their tea plantations and involved a 2 hour drive into the country.  There were 3 small buses (17 in each) and we took off in convoy with a police escort.  The police car had 3 policemen in it and away we went with flashing lights and siren all the way. It was just as well we had an escort as otherwise we'd probably still be stuck in traffic.  The city was full of police, both normal and traffic as well as armed soldiers on every corner.  We later found out that there was a big Buddhist festival or something happening and the President was attending. It seems that although their "troubles" are over and the various religious groups co-exist, there are still worries about the Tamils/Muslims from the north.

Colombo doesn't really stop, just the buildings get smaller as we drove south. We continued through a number of villages, where the populations varied from 100,000 to 20,000 - some village!  Having said that, each village had a particular focus, such as timber, plumbing (thousands of handbasins & toilet bowls lined up) or electrical goods.  Eventually we came through areas growing rice & coconuts and then finally up a bit higher, tea & rubber.  We saw plenty of cows wandering the streets as well as water buffalo in the paddies, but no elephants!!   The roads were generally good, certainly compared with India they are wider and generally well maintained. There were large sections being realigned and resealed and clearly the Government has a high focus on modernisation.  Having a police escort certainly helped, but being in the first bus behind the police car was a bit reminiscent of Mumbai - it seems that a siren will automatically give you and the following vehicles safe passage even over one way bridges and in the face of heavy vehicles.

After 2 hours we reached the tea plantation and wound our way up the road to the production plant.  We were amazed how labour intensive the production from the raw leaf was.  Although there is machinery for drying and crushing the leaves, each leaf (well bundle pot leaves) are handled dozens of times, mainly by tiny Sri Lankan women.  All they do at the factory is to produce a local tea which is immediately sold to the tea brokers, who ship it overseas in most cases. It was funny that when we had our cup of tea at the conclusion of the visit it was good old Dilmah teabags.  Made us feel at home.

It was hot, dusty & claustrophobic in the factory, so Vivian wanted to get out into the fresh air. Well, it was certainly fresh.  It was also very, very wet.  An absolute downpour had arrived and we must have had half an inch in 5 minutes.  The water was overflowing everywhere and the tour crew struggled to find umbrellas to enable the various buses to be loaded. We were really lucky as our bus was the last and by then the rain had stopped.  Down the road to the actual plantation and a cup of tea, sandwich & butter cake. All very nice. Although it was not raining, most sought shelter in the small concrete building adjacent.  It wasn't until later that I noticed the sign along the lines "No 3 toilet" by the open door.  Now they could have done with those toilet bowls we saw on the side of the road (if you get my drift!).

Once again it seemed to be mainly women picking the tea.  They only pick the bud and tender new growth about 5 cm long.  Now that is not very much, but they each must pick 20kg per day - no wonder there is an incentive to throw in some bigger heavier leaves.  For that work there are paid less than $2.  The work is undoubtedly tiring and repetitive, as the tea is generally planted on slopes, shaded by other trees.  All in all it was a very interesting experience and gave us a good insight into the area.

On our return journey we found that the traffic was even heavier, particularly in the outer villages, as school finishes about 1.00 - 1.30 and there were thousands of children of all ages in their bright white uniforms all around and waiting for buses etc.  Education is very important in Sri Lanka and literacy is in the mid 90s.  It was great to see that the government has the right focus.  As we approached the outskirts of Colombo, our guide suggested we may wish to buy tea - so we all pull up at this upmarket jewellery store (undoubtedly owned by someone's uncle) to have a comfort stop and shop. We elected to stay on the bus as the ship was only 10 minutes away!  Following this stop, some passengers wanted to be dropped off at a Mall, and this was OK as it was just a pull over on the road.  Next someone said they wanted to go to the markets, and ever obliging, we went off on a wild ride through downtown Colombo.  When the guide suggested we wait for them to do shopping before returning to the ship there was a minor revolt.  As it was we were an hour late in getting back to the ship.  Oh, and we had not had lunch!  As if we needed it, but had a sandwich & a drink. 

Vivian thought she wanted to go back into town to go to the markets, but I was unenthusiastic.  Feedback from those who did go was that we made the right decision & that it was as chaotic as Mumbai & the hawkers from Cochin combined.  Went to the movies tonight - White House Down. Plenty of bodies and lots of laughs.  In fact considering where the US is today, could almost be a true story about to happen.  Back at sea in the Bay of Bengal and 3 more sea days ahead.  Look forward to some well deserved r&r.  Oh, they are stealing another half an hour tonight and an hour each of the following 2 nights :-)