Home.

Today marks a week since I returned back home to Vancouver, and it's been quite a roller coaster ride to say the least! I'm happy to be back, but it hasn't been without it's lows. After a year away, in a culture and environment that is so different from home, I have been experiencing reverse culture shock.

The first day and a half were very odd - a bit of an out of body experience. I felt I had changed so much as a person through all the new experiences in the past year. Yet, when I returned, everything seemed exactly the same. The radio station still played the same songs and commercials. Stores still opened and closed at the same time. The bushes standing by the driveway looked the same. Everything was still going around like clockwork.

I guess the sense of oddity comes from the fact that even though I was gone, life for everyone else continued in what seems like the exact same way I left it a year ago. And once I got over that, a wave of fear washed over me. The excitement of the last year was hard to find in my surrounding environment. Crossing the street was no longer a game of Frogger, but a fairly organized event where drivers, 90% of the time will slow and stop when you set a foot on the road. Stimuli that kept me on my toes and my guard up the last year no longer existed. I feared falling into the routine I had left behind a year ago.

View from Steveston Fisherman's Wharf, Richmond, BC

While I wallowed for a day and a half at home somewhat depressed, I soon had to get out for a meeting with the Commonwealth Games Canada Game of Life Walk/Run - Vancouver committee meeting. The bus/skytrain ride out was less than inspiring - the mountains I looked forward to seeing so much were not calling my name (weird, I know!). Soon, I realized I was SO glad I got out and had that planned before I got home. Once our meeting started and we talked about where the event planning was and what needed to be done, I started to feel like myself again. I also was very glad that after the meeting I met up with some some friends and UBC Japan Association Alumni and enjoyed some very good conversation and a cheerful atmosphere. I started to feel revived again. That leads me to a piece of advice to anyone returning from an extended period of time abroad: Make plans to get out and meet people/friends before you leave to go home!

Sakura/Cherry Blossoms in full bloom beside the Burrard SkyTrain Station, Downtown Vancouver.

This past weekend I spent a lot of time outside getting reacquainted with what I love about this city. On Friday, I went out to Steveston (Richmond, BC) with CC because I had a hankering to see the ocean and have some chips (fries in Canadian speak) on this gorgeous day. We walked around the pier and the docks, looked at much of the fresh and frozen catch on the local fishing boats, had the most delicious fish and chips, and even bought some salmon roe from one of the fishermen, Tony, to make some homemade caviar with! I highly recommend Blue Comet Seafoods on the Steveston Wharf who is also found at the Vancouver Winter Market and will at various Vancouver Farmer's Markets this summer. Tony was a great to talk to and very knowledgeable about his "Ocean Wise" accreditation and sustainable salmon fishing. Following that, on Saturday, we went out to Stanley park to do a walk through of the CGC Game of Life Walk/Run on yet another gorgeous day with Cherry Blossoms (Sakura) in bloom downtown. Had a lovely family dinner once I got home and had the best steak I've had all year courtesy of mom and dad (thanks!). Sunday I got out to Westwood Plateau's Academy golf course for short round of golf with my dad on the third gorgeous day in a row with a clear view of Mt. Baker in the background. It was the first time I felt warm outside and unfortunately, my allergies to spring also attacked me. Sneezes and sniffles galore. Ugh!

View of the North Shore and Lions Gate Bridge from the Stanley Park Seawall.

So 7 days after getting back, I'm starting to feel "normal" again. I'm enjoying driving (also very weird), and grocery shopping! I also recognize that we live in such a consumerist culture here and it is VERY hard not to fall back into that habit. It helps that I'm broke and without a job so I can't buy anything!

Totem Poles, Stanley Park, Vancouver. 

So even though my adventure abroad is over, for now, I will continue to blog. I really enjoy reflecting on my thoughts and sharing many of the wondrous tidbits of information I come across in sport, recreation, life, travelling, and eating. To all the new friends I have made in the last year, I will no doubt be using this blog to try and entice you to come visit.

Ciao, for now.

April 29th - Support Sport-based Social Development Programming!

Since 1993, Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC) has reached more than 1.9 million children in Africa and the Caribbean while training more than 8600 youth leaders to conduct sport-based social development programming. This year, on April 29th, 2012 in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Halifax, you can help Sport for More, a grassroots sport program that includes HIV/AIDS education, stay‐in‐school initiatives and life skills building activities, reach even farther.

This is the first of two running events this year with causes that are close to my heart (the other being the Scotiabank Charity Challenge where I will be supporting the Canadian Liver Foundation). For more information and how to register, go to:  http://www.commonwealthgames.ca/ids/get-involved/game-of-life/index.html
(Team discounts available when groups of 10 or more people register using promo code: GCG12GOL)


For this event I won't be running, but instead will be coordinating the ceremonies. I do encourage you to get out and run/walk, but there are other ways to support the Game of Life and get involved:

1) Volunteer your time @ the race (contact me)

2) Promote the event - Pass along information about the Game of Life to your friends and family and encourage them to get involved by coming out in support of the race if they live in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, or Halifax. This could be as easy as a link on your Facebook wall, an email to your networks, twitter or other ways.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Game-of-Life-Vancouver/311484282233385

3) Donate - Any contribution big or small is always a great help and is yet another way to get involved and support the cause. (you can do so online or ask me for a pledge form)

Click on the article below to get an idea on the impact Sport for More makes!

3 weeks

With roughly three weeks to go, I wonder where my last 10.5 months have gone. It's been, what I feel like the fastest year ever for me ... not just time wise, but for personal growth and professional development as well. I'm a bit anxious about leaving ... not having a job to go back to at this point, leaving some amazing people I have met, and reconnecting with "real life" back home. I'm sure I will have more to say about this once it happens!

So to help me grasp all the thoughts I have running through my head, I decided to make a list of things I will miss and will not miss ... and the things I'm looking forward to back home.

Things I will miss:

• My fantastic SL friends who are some of the most welcoming and loving people I have ever met and have taught me to be more open to love and being loved 
• Quiz nights
• Seeing the direct impact I have with work and the relationships within work. 
• The drive from youth to learn - they take nothing for granted
• Weekend beach getaways, sunshine, and sunsets
• The beautiful scenery of this country 
• The generosity and hospitality of most Sri Lankans
• Daily Skype chats with Seylankanda :) 
• The compactness/density of the city. Just about everything is within walking distance. 

Things I will not miss:

• The madness of Colombo
• Garbage burning 
• The constant assault on my senses from honking, smells, and vehicles whizzing by
• Playing real life "Frogger" when crossing the street 
• The smell of body odor (not on me) 
• Sweating 24/7
• Stray dogs
• Significant gender inequality

Things I'm looking forward to back home: 

• Moving forward in my career 
• Fresh air 
• Cleanliness
• Pedestrian right of way 
• Snow
• Mountains
• Reconnecting with friends and making new connections 
• Decluttering my life 
• The concept of personal space

I'll be spending the next few weeks finding "closure" on this experience and concentrating on opening new doors and keeping doors open in front of me. It's been a struggle to find a job back home and I hope that once I am home it will be a bit easier!

EDIT 13-03-2012: Have been finding it hard at work ... things that I thought would be easy to finish up have not been as I learn the deeper understanding of what I've been trying to teach and show the staff in the last year is not there. We can tell them what to do and how to do it, but as soon as they are left on their own to develop their own "how to", they're lost. I'm mostly referring to the development of plans. It is more than just a list of goals or tasks and needs to include processes on how to reach those goals or complete those tasks. I'm frustrated. I felt the month prior to this had been fantastic ... from successfully bulk uploading part of the team to the London Olympic eAccreditation system to the workshop on Zeus where Richard was here. It felt like we took some huge strides forward and now we've taken a giant leap backwards. Finding it hard to focus on the successes we have had. Finding it hard to just let it go and trust that they will eventually find their own way or that it's okay if they just don't get that far.

Ironman Sri Lanka

So for those of you who follow my Tweets, you will know that the last month I had been quite tied up with Ironman Sri Lanka. Here is an article that I wrote for the Sunday Times (Education Times) that summarizes my experience:

A week ago today, an amazing event took place in Colombo that changed the face of volunteering and sport in Sri Lanka. The inaugural Ironman Sri Lanka 70.3 and 5150 took place on 19^th February, 2012 with Galle Face Green as the centerpiece of the event. Two triathlon races of different distances took place at the same time with the first swim start at 6:30am. The pier and the path on the seawall of Galle Face Green was packed with local and foreign spectators early on to watch the swim and cheer on local and foreign athletes alike. As the swimmers transitioned to the cycle portion of the race, then from the cycle to the run, spectators dispersed to other areas of the course while others carried on with their day like any other day. However, one thing stayed constant: the volunteers of Ironman Sri Lanka.

Having been a volunteer manager for more than four years and a volunteer for many more, I can say with confidence that the volunteers I worked with during Ironman Sri Lanka were some of the most enthusiastic, dedicated, and hard working I have encountered. The willingness to help anywhere and at anytime was key to the event as our needs changed from one area to another. The generosity and flexibility of the volunteers was unparalleled. With staff from Australia, Malaysia, USA, and Canada running the event – all said they have rarely worked with such easy going volunteers. On top of that, many athletes from the 35 nations that participated echoed the same sentiments.

The success of the event can easily be attributed to the cooperation and teamwork exhibited by the volunteers at this event. Many started off as strangers at the beginning of the day and then ended the day as a single team. From the start where we had lifeguards in the water and volunteers lining the route to the transition to the finish line where volunteers collected all the timing tags and ensured athletes rehydrated, the volunteers communicated where they needed help with each other and with event staff. Many volunteers had the opportunity to learn some new skills and of course, learn more about the sport of triathlon!

Our goal was to make this event a memorable one for the participants. According to all the staff, the volunteers exceeded expectations and extended the memorable experience to everyone – including spectators, supporters, and family members . The generosity and hospitality that Sri Lankans are known for shined bright during this event. All Ironman Sri Lanka volunteers can be proud that they were described as incredible, amazing, friendly, helpful, cheerful, and nice. What a fantastic way to represent your country and be ambassadors for this event.

The Education Times club had a strong presence sending out about 80 volunteers for the event. Additionally, we had strong representation from the Rotoract Club of Colombo Fort, University of Colombo Senior Oarsmen Club, Hearts and Hands of Humanity, and Rainbow Aquatics Club.  Thank you to these organisations for recruiting and bringing your groups out to participate!

A big thank you goes out to all the volunteers for working tirelessly to make this event a success. Also, thank you for all the feedback you have provided to us to help us make next year an even better event. The next Ironman Sri Lanka is set to take place February 2013. Keep checking into www.ironmansrilanka.com for the latest news about the event. We hope to see all of you and more out again next year!  

Some photos can be found here: 

http://www.finisherpix.com/photo-browser.html?&pcevent=0264

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150807839299251.516471.50178609250&type=3

"I feel like I'm in a reality show"

The title of this blog was muttered many a times last weekend. Just wanted to summarize the out of this world and sometimes funny and sometimes shocking moments we had on our trip down to the Carlton Super Sports Festival in Tissamaharama last weekend. Felt like we were on a leg of the Amazing Race. =P

Background: Heading to the triathlon portion of the Carlton Super Sports weekend to promote Ironman Sri Lanka. S and A from HFP Racing who are the foreign organisers of Ironman Sri Lanka are planning to compete in this local triathlon. I, was planning to do results for the triathlon.

12pm: Meeting in Colombo with the Tourism Board ... leads to a meeting with the Ministry of Defense at 1pm. After our meeting with the Tourism Board, we roll up to the security outside the Ministry of Defense with 6 people in a 5 pax car. The car is too weighed down to get up on the ramp of the entrance. Security waves us to the alternate entrance. We get in. Cell phones confiscated. Metal detector. Pat down. We're through. Set back our departure time by one hour.

2pm: Meeting done and back at the Taj hotel. Super hungry. Lunch. The guys speed pack.

3pm: We're off for one more pick up.

4pm: Finally on our way through Kotte. Super congested. Reach the Southern Expressway at about 4:30pm.

5:15pm: 2/3 down the way car breaks down. Something smells over heated. We hang out on the side of the highway waving to passersby and have a good chuckle. Pile back into the car - go the rest of the way in 2nd gear and travelling on the shoulder.

5:45pm: Reach the toll booth at the Galle (Pinnaduwa) exit ... the stop causes the car to essentially stop running. The gear box won't catch. We pull over. Call for a tow. B breaks out her hula hoop - we hula a bit, do some kung fu moves, eat some mandarin oranges, ride a local bike and wave to more locals.

6:45pm: Tow from Galle arrives. This little truck is attached to the car with a tether that looks like "a bunch of bedsheets tied together". Away we go on a 5km tow to Galle at about 30km/h.

7:15pm: We reach Galle. Pulling into the repair shop, a scooter fails to see the tether between the car and truck and runs right into it. Thank goodness it was at the wheel and didn't clothesline the rider. Rider is shaken, but okay. They start to look at the car. We look to food. Into a local restaurant we go - two Lion Strong beers make things better for most of us. Awesome fried rice. Yum! Call the triathlon organizers saying I might not make it to Tissa. Summary? I have to make it for the end of the event not because they need my skills, but they need my computer to actually do the results. Contemplate transport and accommodation options.

9:00pm: Van hired to drive us to Tissa.

10:00pm: We depart for Tissa. Call guy we're supposed to borrow bikes from for S & A's participation in the triathlon. No answer.

12:00am: Try calling for bikes again, no answer.

2:30am: Finally arrive at Yala Heights in Tissamaharama. Unload. Sleep.

6:00am: Wake. Breakfast.

7:30am: Call for bikes again - phone is off. Advised to go physically and pick up bikes anyways. Try to relay that to our jeep driver.

8:20am: Arrive at race site. Didn't stop at bike pick up - driver didn't understand us. Lost cause!

8:30am: Scheduled race start. Doesn't happen. More time to find bikes!

9:00am: B secures two bikes from passersby for S & A. One is a rusty single speed purple cruiser. Second is a rusty single speed plain 'ol bike!

9:30am: Tri starts. S & A shockingly are not in the lead out of the water. We later find out many people "walked" the swim. S tries to go on the "regular"bike but has difficulties with the bike seat. Friendly local offers his nice mountain bike for S to race on and off S goes. Amazing. A completes cycle portion on cruiser bike! Could really have used some WD40. S is finished the run course at this point. Goes back out on the run course with A.

11:30am: I'm doing results. Race is over. B gives 1000LKR ($10) to guy we borrowed purple bike from. He beams like there's no tomorrow. Trying to coordinate meeting with CSN, the organisers of the Super Sports weekend, who would eventually become a sponsor of Ironman Sri Lanka. Would have done promotions but left promotion materials back in the car. Find out that person we want to meet with never came down for the event weekend is back in Colombo. Time to arrange transport back to Colombo.

3:00pm: Multiple phone calls later, transport finally arrives arranged through the amazing My Village Guesthouse that Chad and I stayed in back in November. Love these guys. Our other alternative was through a different connection in Galle - 3.5 hours away (yes, they would have come to pick us up all they way from Galle just to drive us back to Colombo. crazy).

10:00pm: Finally back in Colombo.

Not a typical weekend, for sure. 

Maldives - Male and Maafushi

Again, delayed in true Sri Lankan fashion. A cab we called for to pick us up at 4am to take us to the airport didn't find us until 4:30am. Anyways, we get to the airport, checked in, then after a short wait our flight was off to the Maldives!

About an hour later we could see below us the beautiful atolls and islands that makes up this incredibly beautiful nation. Being handed a landing card also provided us with some interesting facts. For example, did you know that materials deemed contrary to Islam, including "idols for worship" and "bibles" are illegal? Before arriving I had no idea the country was 100% Islamic.

The local ferry fully equipped with couch up front - probably just someone
shipping it from Male to Maafushi. 

We landed in Male on Saturday morning and it was an Islamic holiday so not much was open. We walked around trying to find some traditional Maldivian breakfast, but as it is often like in Sri Lanka, these local shops were filled with men and I just wasn't comfortable enough to walk in, even with Chad by my side. I think it's mostly because tourists to the Maldives don't see much of Male or local life as they only go through the airport to their waiting resort transfer. We eventually found a more Western cafe that served a Maldivian breakfast. We had about 4 hours to kill so we walked around some more after breakfast, found a supermarket, bought some food I hadn't in forever (i.e. Grass Jelly Drink!) and went to the city beach to snack a bit. After sometime, our guesthouse owner helped us find the local ferry and we were on our 1.5 hour boat ride to Maafushi!

Weather didn't look too great, but we were hopeful. On our way to Maafushi it started to rain a bit. We passed by numerous giant resorts and were anxious to see what our accommodations would look like for the next 5 nights. We arrived to gorgeous green and turquoise waters and a gentleman with a wheelbarrow waiting to walk us to our guesthouse. A short 300m walk later, we arrived at the White Shell Beach Inn that was well, right on the beach!

The gorgeous view - every day! 

The beach itself was small but where the locals frequent for a "sea bath" - Sri Lankan and Maldivian talk for a dip/swim in the ocean. It was GORGEOUS ... every morning we woke up and had breakfast with a view of the gleaming turquoise waters and bright white sand.

Some of the garbage strewn about and washes up ashore
on Maafushi.

We took our first day easy and met up with a local Council Member/Couchsurfer host, Ibrahim (thanks Habib for the connection!) who chatted with us and told us about the island, politics, culture, and environmental issues plaguing his country. As beautiful as the beach we stayed at was, not far from it and also on the other side of the island were piles of garbage strewn everywhere. The locals have not yet learned how to respect their land and the ocean, despite the fact their economy depends highly on both. After a slooow morning and afternoon just hanging out, we went on a night fishing trip with a Singaporean couple that arrived in the afternoon. We had a great night catching loads of fish while floating peacefully in the dark near a reef. We returned to the guesthouse with our catch where we got to pick the fish we wanted to eat and the guesthouse bbq'd it for us. YUM!

Relaxing at Biyadhoo!

Day two took us to Biyadhoo Island Resort where we could freely drink and sun tan in bikinis. Yes, those are also restrictions in this Islamic country. Being ultra-conservative, alcohol is illegal except on resort islands along with women wearing bikinis. Women in the Maldives go for a swim usually covered head to toe and if not, with pants/capris and a t-shirt on. We asked our guesthouse to pack us a breakfast which we had on the beach and then had lunch in the bar at the resort. I spent most of the day chasing fish in the water - best snorkelling I've had so far. Lots of coral (not multi-coloured everywhere though like they show in the tour guides) but plenty of fish and other sea life including a Moray eel. It was great!

The giant fish. See sunglasses for scale.

Day three was mellow day where we hung around the guesthouse until late afternoon where we went on a snorkelling excursion. The snorkelling was alright ... nothing we hadn't seen until we saw a manta ray! It was just chilling in the sand. Along the way, what did irk me was the family, who were weak swimmers, were taken on this excursion. The currents were moderate and they struggled the whole time even with life vests. They didn't use flippers and they probably should have. Not sure it would have made a difference, but my heart broke a little when the mother and father stood on coral, then broke some coral when the father kicked off again go get back to the boat. We never made it - the boat had to come to us. Props to the Maldivian snorkelling guide! He was practically dragging the family of three. We followed this up with more night fishing. It would have been peaceful except the little one of that family of three was a little terror - as he was through the entire stay. That aside, it was a quiet night without many bites, but it was this night that Chad caught the biggest fish of the trip!

Day four was another fairly slow start. I had been set on doing some squid/octopus catching so the guesthouse arranged for a couple locals to come guide us along the reef just off the shore of Maafushi. We were out there for about an hour and thought we were going to go back empty handed. However, at the very end when we were nearing our starting point, one of the guys did spear and catch an octopus. We were going to eat it for lunch but the poor time management of the guesthouse and kitchen ran the octopus excursion into our dolphin watching excursion. We asked them to save it for our dinner so that we and the Singaporean couple could take it to Ibrahim's for dinner that night. And quickly we were off again! On our first and third day we were able to spot dolphins from our guesthouse so the chances of spotting them by boat seemed like a shoe-in. Sadly, we scoured the waters around North Male Atoll for probably an hour with no luck. Our captain figured he needed to turn this excursion into something somewhat exciting so we did more night fishing! A few more bites than the night before (but nothing like the first night) and before we knew it we had dinner for the evening and headed back in.

Picnic Island. 

Day five was our final day and the day we were heading back to Male. We were going to take an early morning ferry, but was offered to share a speedboat transfer with the Singaporean couple later that day. It made a lot of sense since it would let us enjoy the day at Picnic Island before we went back to Male late afternoon. What a brilliant decision. Had a fantastic day on the almost deserted island with the occasional boat stopping over. This island truly was set up for for picnics. There were plenty of picnic tables and loungers for people to spend the day there. There was a stranded ship that looked like it had been there for quite some time about 300m off shore (Chad walked to it, I didn't). The waters were gorgeously clear and there was a sandbank at one end of the island. Bliss! When the boat came back to pick us up to go to Male we were certainly sad to go!

Male wasn't so bad. Many people say it's just a really busy city with nothing much to it. Yes, in some respects it is that, but I quite enjoyed their fruit market and seeing the mosque and Islamic Centre at night. Also to top it off, we booked at Sala Boutique Hotel which was an amazing place that was totally worth the splurge. Thomas, the owner, was such a hands on manager who looked after every detail to ensure our stay was perfect - even though we were only there for one night. He certainly knows the value of a happy guest! We had dinner there that night in his Thai restaurant where all the ingredients are flown in from Thailand each week (sorry my carbon footprint was not small that meal). That may have very well been the best Thai meal I've ever had. Then for breakfast it was German with ... you guessed it; ingredients flown in from Germany each week. He had bread that was homemade and baked in house - the best bread I'd had since leaving Vancouver! Chad was raving about the yogurt ... so good that I broke my lactose ban and had some. Agreed - so good I would replace ice cream with it.

After that wonderful breakfast we explored Male a little more before going to the airport late morning to catch the flight back to Colombo. I really didn't want to go! Now our mission is to find somewhere just as nice in the Caribbean which is just a little easier to get to!

Chad then had two more days in Colombo. I was really happy that he got to see and hang out with some of my friends here when one of them hosted a little get together at her place. We got to have some what of a "normal" routine where we actually cooked some meals and Chad got some homework done (he's finishing his CMA). It was a sad goodbye at the end of the weekend, but also optimistic knowing the larger half of my placement was over and that we would be able to spend time together in person again in less than 6 months.

You can see the Facebook album here.

And that my friends, is the end of Denise and Chad's Excellent Adventure. I'm certain we'll have many more adventures to come, and I promise not to take so long to blog about them!

Victoria Golf and Country Resort and Kandy

Our train ride to Kandy was nice - we rode in the first class observation saloon. It was a bit bumpy ... more than usual which makes me think it's because it's the last car on the train. We got into Kandy in the early evening, had some trouble finding a place for to leave our bags while we went to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. We wanted to leave it at a hotel thinking it would be safer, but we ended up leaving it with the bag drop at the front of the temple. That posed no issues so away we went!

Having visited twice before, I wasn't particularly motivated to come again. However, coming to see evening Puja definitely had a different feel. We were also lucky that it was a Poya day the next day so the moon was pretty much full which made the setting even more spectacular. On this particular night, there was a group of mostly elderly men and women who looked like they were from Thailand or Japan. Amazing to think that people travel just to come see the Temple (or make it the highlight of their journey).

After Puja I tried to call for a meter cab but with no luck. We eventually settled with taking a tuk tuk ... all the way to Victoria Golf and Country Resort. It was a LONG and DARK ride in that tuk tuk ... and the driver had no idea where he was going. For quite some time it just seemed like we were going nowhere! In the end we got there safely, but weren't exactly greeted warmly by the staff. I guess they had expected us earlier, but the didn't indicate that we needed to be there by a certain time for dinner. When we checked in, they initially told us dinner was over. Fortunately, the Chef agreed to cook some dinner for us. It's so Sri Lankan to not follow up on things and just kinda wait and let things be. A tip for their customer service would be to call the guest (you did take my number for a reason, no?) you are expecting if they haven't turned up by an expected time. I would have come earlier had I known!

Victoria Reservoir that borders one side of the course.

Anyhow, early the next morning we had a tee time booked for 6:30am. We were told to meet our caddies and ball boy at 6:15am. Again in true Sri Lankan fashion, they were late (the caddie master forgot we had a tee time, geez!) so didn't tee off until about 7am.

Putting while our two caddies look on. 

Yup. We each had a caddie and then shared a ball boy. Pretty amazing. Actually, it's required by the course. Having a caddie remind me of the things to focus on for each shot really helped. Maybe it's because it is warm here, but I didn't try to muscle the ball as I would usually back home and as a result, got my shots a lot straighter than I usually would. Despite the help from the caddies and ball boy, we were slow ... about 4 people played through us. We finished our round in about 4 hours and they say that average people play an hour faster. It's a pretty blistering pace! After that we had brunch then a nice dip in their infinity pool before just relaxing for the rest of the day.

The next day we headed back down to Kandy so we could catch our train at 3pm. I originally had some pretty ambitious plans to go see either the botanical gardens or the tea museum, but ended up a bit tight on time. We ended up wandering a bit through town and finding a nice place to sit (and so that Chad could do some work). We went to check out the Mlsena tea store and sat down for a nice cup of iced tea there away from the hustle and bustle of Kandy. After that we decided to settle at White House Restaurant where they conveniently had free Wi-Fi. We had to leave for a little while as they had to close for noon prayers (as they are Islamic) so we tried to find another place to hang out. We tried to find a place listed in the Lonely Planet, but it was no where to be found. We turned and started to head back to a place we had passed by. On the way, we were "befriended" by a local who in the beginning, seemed great to talk to. But, things got a little suspicious. I posted about this experience in a few places to warn others so I will copy and paste it here:

" A man on the street struck up a conversation and then suggested we go to have tea at a local tea shop. We were heading to the same shop anyhow so we went with it. We had a few short eats and some tea while he explained how his family owned a plantation and offered to ship 5kg of tea to my boyfriend as he has connections for shipping (he's a Port Master?) He stated shipping would only cost 220 LKR (or something really low). He talked about his family, how his daughter is married to a foreigner overseas, and how his son was about to go abroad to work in a hotel. To try and prove he was credible he showed us his son's visa. He also said if we were staying in Kandy longer he'd invite us to his house for lunch. He consistently returned to the point that shipping the tea to us would be no big deal and would always mention the cost.

Slowly things started to not add up. He was motioning the 5kg box of tea with his hand and the size he motioned was too small. Initially it sounded like he was going to ship for free then he straight up asked for the 220 rupees as we wrapped up with tea time. We declined saying we were uncomfortable with giving the money upfront, but happy to provide it once we received the tea. In our minds, we were thinking "220 LKR for a 5kg box? Too good to be true." I started to get the feeling this guy was a scam as when the bill came, he made no motion to pay or split the bill.

I have a sneaking suspicion this man does it regularly ... "befriending" travellers and seemingly appear generous and helpful with all his information, and then end up getting his tea and short eats paid for with a extra few hundred rupees. Chances are most travellers would be happy to pay someone so "friendly". His tone changed pretty quickly though when we backtracked on the tea and said we didn't feel comfortable giving him the money for shipping. I know it's not a lot, but it's the principle of the matter. Tea time quickly ended after that and he left just as quickly.

Anyhow, if you come across a man like this, it's your choice what you do. If you do/did give him money and you do end up with a 5kg box of tea back home, please let us know here that this man is not a scammer."

I got a few messages back from the forums I posted in confirming that this scheme is known to happen. I even got a message saying that the parents of someone living here who met this man, or someone selling a similar story, were still waiting for their tea! So people, beware!

Kandy does not have a nice reputation in my books anymore. After that incident we had the pleasure of dealing with a very persistent tout for a guesthouse. As Chad was taking photos around the lake, he repeatedly asked "Guesthouse? Guesthouse? I know one. Cheap." etc, etc. Anyhow, after many attempts at asking him to leave, telling him we didn't need a place, and having him talk to my hand, I said "GO AWAY". He then had the nerve to scold me about how rude it was of me to ask him to go away! We bickered a bit as I wasted my breath trying to reason with him that what he was doing warranted that reaction from me and explained it's people like him that give this country a bad reputation. Eventually we just had to walk away and ignore him even though I was fuming! Anyways, Kandy is now one of my least favourite places because of people like the ones I just mentioned. Such a shame.

So after all that, we were finally on our way back to Colombo where we had less than 12 hours before were to go on our way to the airport to catch our flight to ..... THE MALDIVES!

BTW, sorry for the long delay in between posts! Since getting back I've pretty busy and also trying to get Christmas all figured out. I've also resurrected my Twitter - you can see my latest Tweets on the right hand side of this page. Please follow if you have an account and I will do the same!