>Driving through Colombo

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Pamankada bridge
A large-ish stone was blocking the pavement and while most people were doing a small side step dance in order to avoid it, one man bent down and heaved it away. I mentally patted him on the back as we went past this little scene.

Havelock Road
A motorbike with 5 – yes 5 – people stopped near us. The father, mother, 2 pint sized kids and one little baby… all perched precariously on a motorbike. Only the parents had helmets. I really hope they got home safely.

Somewhere down Baseline Road
Spot a man remarkably like Mervyn Silva. I point this out to my mum but she scoffs saying that he would never be travelling in a Nissan Sunny and without his usual convoy of thugs. I beg your pardon, bodyguards.

In front of the Asiri Surgical
I watch in mild amusement as two drivers decide to have a little chitchat in the middle of the road. They’re driving in two different lanes, mind you. The cars around begin honking furiously while the three-wheeler drivers display their infinite knowledge of the Sinhala Language. I heard swear words, which I never even dreamed existed. Aaahh…. Sri Lankans…. You really gotta hand it to ‘em!

Galle Road, near Bagatale Road
A black car suddenly overtook us. Was going unbelievably fast… And I mean really fast. Which is a pretty big achievement during rush hour on Galle Road. It zigzagged, and tried to overtake the bus ahead. I say ‘tried’ because it didn’t stand a chance really. Firstly it was going waaaay too fast. Secondly, the car swerved left just as the bus was moving towards the right. I’ve been in three accidents so far, but watching one happen right before you is just plain terrifying. The front part of the car was all bashed up, and the passengers’ side was dented in. Thankfully, the guy in the passengers’ seat was unharmed. He was lucky because it could’ve been a hell ova lot worse if the bus had been going equally fast. It wasn’t the bus driver’s fault however (surprisingly). It was entirely the blunder of the moronic driver who was under the misguided impression he was on an F1 racing track. Idiot.

Sponge – Galle Road
After convincing my dad that I was traumatized, stressed out, underfed (he laughed) and needed comfort food we stop at Sponge for a snack. One praline cake, one chocolate chip cake, a marzipan strawberry and one (burp:)) blueberry tart later we are sufficiently watered and fed.

And so, we headed back home.

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