2. -14. January 2022

Two months of holiday may seem to be long, but what is a couple of months in comparison with 77 years of my mum’s life to date?  0.2% if I do the maths correctly.

After our special winter holiday, Mum and Emilka spent four days in Galle, down in the South of the island, with Nikolka and her family.  She enjoyed the warm pool at their apartment condominium and the frequent tuk tuk rides to different beaches with small unique establishments to taste delicious local food.

When she returned to Colombo and the kids were back at school from 6th January she only had seven days to enjoy the city and being with us.  We tried to persuade her to stay for another month, but she decided not to as this would have meant travelling alone.

She joined me to attend an International Expats Association monthly social meeting at the Taj Samudra Hotel, and was privileged to light the lamp of friendship and cut the rice cake for prosperity and celebration of the year 2022; two deeply symbolic cultural rituals of Sri Lanka.  We also went for lunch with my friend from India to a nice restaurant and the same friend  also invited us to her home for a fusion of her culinary skills of all different curries which my mummy really appreciated as she never tasted anything like that before.  Her home is like a museum with lots of artefacts from her travels all over the world which mummy liked looking at with interest.

We could not miss a two hour hour tuk tuk tour around the city where she went to a Hindu temple (to light a candle with ghee), and saw a Mosque and a Buddhistic temple.  I treated her to an overnight stay in a hotel with an infinity pool and nice food; who would not like a punnet of chips with tartar sauce or a brownie with ice cream, lying on a sun lounger by the pool?

Last minute babysitting for baby Adam while his parents had a romantic stay in one of the best hotels in Colombo was enjoyable, dinner in a Japanese restaurant as a treat from our Nepalese friend too, the necessary PCR test, a last sunset by the pool, pack the suitcase and farewell!

We loved having Mummy with us and she loved being with us and experiencing a completely different culture. It was so easy to look after her and take all her worries away. She is already planning another trip to Sri Lanka in November and this time; she said she will stay at least 3 months.

I have put together and already ordered her a memory photobook with about 70 pictures which should be delivered to her address in a week’s time. A perfect memory from winter 2021 in the sun, to cherish forever and to be able to share with people around her.