In my more than thirty business trips to Sri Lanka before moving to live here I was privileged to enjoy many weekends away with Sri Lankan friends and to see and experience things that I would never have done as a tourist or purely business visitor. The pressures associated with a rapidly growing business and relocating to new premises and then a long pandemic meant however that despite living in Sri Lanka for more than two years now, our last such trip was over four years ago in 2017.
In the past six months we had tried several times to arrange a weekend away but always had to curtail it. Finally though, it happened and five of us enjoyed a weekend based on the South coast at Mandalay Lake Villa, Ahangama, greeted by the view above when we arrived after dark and having rented the whole place to ourselves.
This would have been a fantastic experience in its own right, but a Saturday lunch at the favourite haunt of Wijeya Beach saw us joined by Czech friends-like-family Martin, Niki and son Adam as they are staying close by in Galle for their holiday.
For me, two worlds combined in an instant. A surreal but fantastic experience. Conversation was easy and genuine around the table overlooking the beach and all the time I was mindfully pinching myself that this was real. In the evening, Martin joined us at the Persian Kitchen outdoor restaurant just 500 metres further along the beach for authentic and delicious Persian food. We arrived nicely to watch a glorious sunset, place our orders, and then dine at leisure at this most hospitable of places run by an Iranian couple.
As if we hadn’t eaten well but knowing that nibbles with drinks are always nice, on the way back to the villa we stopped to buy seafood Kottu street food at a shack on the beach. With a pass out for as long as he liked, Martin joined us, eventually leaving late at night when our driver took him home.
One of our group sadly couldn’t join in person but this lively Saturday night was enriched by him joining via video call. One guitar and singer in person and another remotely. Beautiful Sinhalese music, the company of dear friends, plenty of laughter between songs, the warm tropical air and a lovely location.
After a good sleep Sunday brought a gentle morning, surprisingly no hangover, and then tasty rice and curry before the journey back to Colombo. The villa dogs had kept us company all night and at Sunday lunchtime were stretched out sleeping in the baking heat of the day – or were they? Look carefully at the picture below of one of them!
The weekend was well worth that long wait.
Steve
