Day 2 - "We've Landed in the Home of Ceylon Tea"

It's Day Two, I think. Although I'm not too sure. Maybe it's day three.

Nope, definitely Day Two.

Our flight this morning from Dubai landed in Colombo late afternoon, but the stress of getting our luggage is a delight you can only understand through experience.

Yet again, I enjoyed the flight through my ability to sleep. No movies, no food, just a wonderful three and a half hours of well deserved rest. After all, the will power required for me to not shop at Dubai airport was a bit too much. Just kidding, who can afford anything at that airport, except maybe a McDonalds.

As we landed I was overcome with emotion; perhaps because for near on a year I have been yearning to return to the country where my heart belongs. There's something special about this place, and for me, it's not the tea!

Colombo Airport, perhaps one of the places in the world that really does need to learn how to manage tourists (and locals) at a speed. I am sure that within a short time, people will be choosing Sri Lanka as a holiday hot-spot, and the one thing for sure that puts people off is the element of transit. What a disaster!

Karen has the patience of a Saint - we were due to be through customs and into arrivals by 18:00, but we finally made it through after luggage mishaps and lots of worry, at 19:30. We were greeted with big smiles and a very warm welcome, both by Karen and secondly by the country itself. You forget the heat and humidity until it hits you in the face.

We arrive at our base, or where we will call home for at least the next day, soon after leaving the airport. We are staying just North of Colombo in a suburb called Wattala. The house is next door to the church and school set up and run by Paalam. This school has around 230 students, and is so oversubscribed they can now only accept siblings of children who already attend. Tomorrow we will explore and take part in an *exciting* assembly.

When we arrived at Karen's we were thrown straight into the Sri Lankan (Tamil) cuisine. What a treat! We were offered curry, rice, string hoppers, dhal! A feast fit for the exhausting journey we had taken.

I'm now sat here, scribbling away, whilst we are waiting to head to bed. It's surprising how time flies when you are catching up with old friends, and getting to know new people. It was wonderful for me to spend some more time with my wonderful friend Tharshini, and although it's been 1 year since I last saw her, it feels like only yesterday. She is still as kind, beautiful and amazing as I remember. Wattala is treating her well.

Excited to see what tomorrow holds for us!