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Published: March 18th 2015
CRUISE SPECIALISTS HOSTS
Oriental dress for our dinnerAfter five busy port days it was a welcomed relief to have a few sea days as we crossed the Bay of Bengal enroute to Sri Lanka. We had a Cruise Specialists’ dinner party one of those nights. The evening began with cocktails on the fantail for sunset. We had a Southeast Asian theme and many of our guests dressed accordingly. In the La Terrazza dining room we had two tables of eight each. Kevin and I hosted one table and Captain Corsaro hosted the other. Even though we were dining in the Italian restaurant, we figured that that since Marco Polo purportedly brought noodles from China to Italy, our Asian theme was still intact. It was a lovely evening topped off when our waiter Mario serenaded us with “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing.”
We arrived at the new port of Hambantota at the southern tip of Sri Lanka. This port and town were virtually destroyed in the 2004 tsunami. Sri Lanka’s casualties were over 30,000 poor souls. I saw a bumper sticker on a tuk-tuk that read: “Eyes that do not cry, do not see.” Between the 37 year civil war and the tsunami, there have been plenty of
TUK-TUK TAXI
The green coffin tears shed on this island. Fortunately the civil war with the Tamil Tigers is now over and a vast rebuilding effort is taking place. Being a rather poor country with the coffers emptied by the cost of the war, much of the rebuilding was done quickly and cheaply.
We went to the Peacock Resort Hotel which was also struck by the giant waves. We hired a tuk-tuk and toured the city of Hambantota. These three wheeled vehicles strike me as death traps especially when the drivers are speed demons. Our driver could not stand to have anything in front of him be it a bus, truck, cow, kid, goat or policeman. Even on a divided road everyone goes both ways on each side. It is a rather chaotic and hair-raising experience. After our tuk-tuk driver took us around the same block four times, we decided in the interest of safety, it was best to go back to the hotel for a refreshing swim. There was a whole family of monkeys in the trees around the pool. They come down to drink the fresh water from the pool and to swipe anything that isn’t covered. The pool attendants had us
SMILE!
Dodi, Helga and Barbara with the Silver Whisper hotel manager, Norman put towels over our sunscreen, water bottles and bags. These monkeys are so cute but pesky.
The Chinese have been sinking a ton of money into Sri Lanka and it is especially noticeable in and around Colombo. Since Sri Lanka lies right along the major shipping routes, the Chinese want to have some control over the ports in this area. Thus a huge new port facility is in the process of being built with monies from China. Our arrival in the capital city coincided with a state visit by Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister. India wants to reestablish its supremacy in this area of the world and lessen the impact of the Chinese, the other Asian superpower.
Colombo is also in the throes of a massive hotel building boom. They see tourism as pivotal to a prosperous future. Ceylon has much to offer tourists with abundant wildlife, beautiful beaches, precious gems, exotic spices and famous tea.
We visited Gangarama Temple which is one of the most important Buddhist shrines in all of Sri Lanka and we stopped at the National Museum which is housed in an impressive colonial building. There are many remaining vestiges of the
CRUISE SPECIALISTS PARTY GIFTS
Silk ties for the gentlemen and Chinese bookmarks for the ladies English empire scattered throughout Colombo. The British lived in grand style when they ruled this spice island. When we first came here in 2001, every important building was surrounded by sand bags and concertina wire and most government offices were closed to the public and guarded by machine gun toting police. All that war paraphernalia is being replaced now by gardens, trees and sidewalks. Peace is a wonderful thing!
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Dick
non-member comment
Awsome Fun
You guys are having too much fun--ought to be taxed or something. But---keep on truckin' and doing it anyway. YOu do it so well and,as usual, I am envious.