Friday, December 19.. Manila to Kuala Lumpur.
A frustrating day. Breakfast was at 6:30 and we thought we were going to disembark between 8.15 and 8.30, but they wanted to make up our bed by 7:20 which was contrary to what they had said. We had been told that we could have the room until we left. So this was not a good start and I complain to Tony one of the purser's team but it seemed to be lost on her. Yes we could stay in the room but had to have it tidy enough for the chambermaids to come in!
We were then called off by 8 am and got to the airport before 9 A.m. Here we found that the cases should’ve been loaded into the bus according to which terminal people were flying from, but nothing as sensible as this! We were told that our desk opened at 10 and queued up there for 50 minutes from 10 am only to be told that that desk was for the 13.00. flight and that they had no storage for suitcases. They told us that we would have to come back at 2 pm, but we could come back to the priority business class desk. We protested at this and eventually were told that the suitcases could be kept in the supervisor’s office until 2 pm. This did not seem a terrific advantage but okay was a slight one and we went off and sat in one of the few seats near the doors for another three hours and it was mighty cold and we had no coats or anything to keep warm. So at 2 pm, we went back to the business desk and found the supervisor with our suitcases and he was surprised to see us: the main object of his offer to keep the suitcases was apparently that we could go through security and onto the other side of the airport but we had not understood this. Still we thanked him kindly.
Then onto a 50 minute queue for passport control and then, surprisingly, quickly through security. We then went into a café and had a cold drink and a bun to reward ourselves for the misery of the morning. And lo and behold another the queue to order in the café. And quite fortuitously found Gail and her husband, the adoptive parents of Elfie, just in front of us in the queue. They were on their way back to Australia. And later on we met another lady from the ship who was travelling on the same plane to Kuala Lumpur as us and then going on to Sydney.
The 517.20 flight to Kuala Lumpur was delayed but only by about half an hour and we got in to KL on schedule around 9:30 pm. We were in the back row of the plane,which had no reclining seats, but we managed to change to the row in front of us and didn’t have anybody on the third seat so that was good and the meal was edible with some wine as well. At KL we took the train to the satellite where we found our Sama Sama Hotel and there we had a perfectly adequate room and enjoyed an Ovaltine and half a roll before turning in for the night.
Saturday December 20. Kuala Lumpur to Sri Lanka, and on to Galle.
A much better day today. We had an Ovaltine and a biscuit in our hotel room and set out at 7:30 am for boarding at 7:50 am. The gate was close to our hotel. The flight to Colombo took just 3 1/2 hours and we had a good chat with the gentleman who was sitting in 8A who was a DJ, a French citizen living in the US on a visa, and working shows on a nightly basis all around the world - what a lifestyle. He had done a show in Kuala Lumpur the previous night, was doing one in Colombo to night and then onto Bali for the following night. And he travelled with a team of about five people with his instruments.
So we landed in Colombo at 10 am, they’re being a 2 1/2 time difference between the two countries. Here David got out some local money at an ATM and we then met up with our guide who, incidentally, was called DJ. He spoke good English and was our driver as well and will be with us for the rest of our 12 days here. It took about two hours to drive to Galle, where we were left at the Hotel Galle Fort. Our room was a very large duplex with the living space and bathroom downstairs and a four poster bed up the most creaky staircase we have ever known.
I went for a swim in the delightful pool and then we had an hours walk round the fort, walking along part of the wall, and then through the 16th century Dutch built town where there were the most architecturally agreeable houses. We got tempted at the English bakery and had a mango shake and a tiramisu slice. Then back to the room for a while before meeting up again with DJ for another walk along more of the wall to the clock tower before we headed back into the town as it was raining lightly. Then we left DJ to walk the rest of the distance by ourselves but the heavens opened and we took shelter eventually in the English church. Here we stayed for over an hour and there was no respite in the rain so eventually we decided to make a dash for it and arrived back somewhat wet. After half an hour back in our room, there was some respite in the rain and we went out, this time with an umbrella, to Chambers, a restaurant with good reviews in Tripadvisor and not more than 100 m away. We thoroughly enjoyed a meal there beetroot and feta cheese with bread followed by a seafood platter, washed down with 2 mango smoothies.
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We walked around the town. It was more "touristy" than any other towns we visited in Sri Lanka.
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We ate at Chambers, a Moroccan restaurant, And had cake at The English Cake Company
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And we sheltered in the Anglican Church from the torrential rain. We were only 10 yards from our hotel, but the street was awash and it was over an hour before we could get to the hotel
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