I never thought I would end up traveling with a rolling suitcase but sometimes we think certain things will never happen but they do. It was my first time traveling with this awkward (no, I don't despite people traveling with rolling suitcases) luggage. But it was also my first time traveling with my son who was 16 months old when we got on the plane to fly to Dubai to catch another flight to Colombo in Sri Lanka. Of course my girlfriend Luise did most of the hard work keeping him happy and occupied so he wouldn’t start crying. During my previous flights I have been the one checking around if someone would have their kids with them. And if they had, sometimes I realized that I was just paranoid and the flight was good even with them on board. But sometimes it was not paranoia and it was worst than that. So subjectively speaking I’m happy we did good and people around us didn’t hate us for bringing this little guy with us.
And to be honest it was not really traveling. We didn’t plan to travel. Wanted to stay in one area and take it easy. Not because we would be scared to travel with the rolling suitcase. It was mostly because we wanted to make it easier for Theo and for us as well.
The first two weeks we stayed in Medawatta where our friend Katka lives with her german boyfriend Leo who, along with his buddy Jan, builds a surf villa in the village. We were really grateful for their hospitality. I started to surf. I mean I started to try to surf and it was so much fun. I just pity the fact that I have had a chance to try it before but never did. But it’s never too late, right? I have to say it’s a really hard sport. I mean it’s really physically challenging. I started to understand why some of the guys walking out of the waves look like they are walking straight from the gym. So after two weeks of trying and finally thinking I’m not the worst one on the beach I managed to loose my front teeth. Not all of them. But lets say two is enough to fuck up your day. They were fake anyway so at least it was not painful even though my smile looked like it hurt a lot. Next time I try to fight with the waves I will put a mouth guard on my teeth to keep them save. I may be the first „surfer“ using it but I don’t care.
Planning to stay one whole month on mostly one spot I decided to take my computer. Again this was the first time I ever but I am happy I did. There were some ideas I wanted to work on and never really had time to so this was just a perfect moment to get something done. I also made couple of new designs for our notebooks and postcards. Still I had plenty of time to read in the night and to talk to our friends there and to walk on the beach with the stray dogs following me.
The wild life in Sri Lanka is awesome. I have never seen so many goannas (monitor lizards) in such a short time. They look like they could be from the cast of Jurassic Park and they just don’t mind you staring at them when you pass their way. In Madiha we watched sea turtles. So many of them. You could just stand there on the rocky beach and watch them coming up to breathe. Sometimes you could see them just one meter away from you and I saw one when snorkeling. They were also beautiful birds. Plenty of them everywhere...and monkeys...and snakes...and scorpions.
The only thing I didn’t like so much was the food. I missed the taste of indian food and I wonder why the Sri Lankan cuisine is so different from their neighbors. But the potato curry was delicious and so was the fruits. Despite the food we are still thinking of going back next year. Sri Lanka – I already miss you!
