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02/11/2013 Arose early as I was getting picked up at 5. Went outside to find the gate to the guesthouse was locked, and also the driver was not there. Soon enough the driver arrived at perfectly 5:00am and help hold my bags on the other side as I scaled the fence to escape. We started driving and it wasn't long before the driver indicated signs of being lost. The guy was from Tamil Nadu, the next state over, and was only in the region because of his last fair, so fair enough the guy did not know the small streets. We frequently pulled over by the side and asked people where to go, despite his claim of him knowing how to get there. (And yes there was plenty people to ask… this is India - there are always people everywhere, no matter what time of day it is!) The guy had some words scribbled down on some paper and before long he had havigated himself onto the main motorways and he was ok from then on it. The flight was ok, only a short one. There wasn't many people on the flight. The views were nice though, seeing the western ghats from up high was cool. On arrival I spotted some white folk and shared a taxi with them to Colombo. They were a London couple who had quit there jobs to travel Asia. Really nice people. They got out really soon and definitely got ripped off the most. They paid 1000, and I paid 2000 Sri Lankan rupees. That's about £15 in total. My journey was not as short and it seemed to take ages to reach the train station in Colombo. Driving through town there was deinately some observed differences. Firstly the tuk tusk were not yellow, but an assortment of colours, including red, blue and green mainly. I even saw a bright pink one. Some are also pimped out with boom box systems in the back, fancy LED lights and decorated leather cushions. Secondly you could just tell things were more relaxed and ordered here, with the population not as out of control. The streets seemed neat and things cleaner. Thridy, no moustaches, no Indian nappy things, and the women don't wear sarris. Arrived at the train station to catch an immediate train to Hikkaduwa. Apparently Colombo is a bit boring with nothing much to do so I decided against stopping the night for no reason. The train was 80p and I received a tiny illegible ticket printed on a small piece of cardboard. Very bizarre. On the platform there were other tourists and I asked one guy if he was going to Hikkaduwa too. Turns out he was. He was called Mike, 29, from Italy, had the odd tattoo, a massive ear expander and a shaven head. Discovered he was from Lake Garda and he found it funny when I said I had been. Turns out he had been living in Sri Lanka for three years on the other coast, building a new building to house a restaurant and an apartment with his now ex girlfriend. He was travelling to Hikkaduwa where she now lived to settle a dispute regarding the house. We almost missed our stop, it was only when I seen loads of white folk on the platform did I question 'is this our stop' to Mike. We quickly jumped off to find a tuk tuk driver asking if we needed accommodation. He asked if I was from England, then asked, Newcastle?? I said nearly, Sunderland! To my sheer hilarity, turns out he had actually visited Sunderland, and had went to where else… but Sunderland Dogs! It may seem daft but jumping off a random train on an island on the other side of the world to find of all people, a local tuk tuk driver, who has been to your home town and visited sunderland dogs aint half an amusing moment. He then went on to say he went to Newcastle races too with his mates, and his pal had hoyed £10 on a 22/1 shot, and it came in. He then started to do a little jive replicating the joyous moment and acted out 'getting the drinks in' in celebration.
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