I had been to Sri Lanka twice already and while it is indeed a very pretty island, it also is largely very similar to India. So everytime AJ said let's go to Lanka, I'd straight away dismiss the idea! After all I had spent nearly 75 days at Lanka in my first 2 trips.
So if you are wondering why I spent that much time in Sri Lanka let me explain. My first trip abroad (for which I got a passport done in emergency quota) was for a trip to Sri Lanka- I had been selected for a Youth Exchange program. At 17, I was the youngest member of the team, none-the-less I was also the spokesperson of the team :-) This was a 20 day trip to Sri Lanka where we met people from all walks of life- school kids, to tribals and even the then President of Sri Lanka- Chandrika Kumarathunge! We visited many places on this trip and this was in 1998 when I certainly didn't own a camera or a digital camera, so all i came back with was memories and some amazing friends! For a long time I continued to write to my friends in lanka, slowly however the distance creeped up and I knew no one there.
Then in 2004 I was doing my masters in Fashion Management and at the opportunity to work for an export house in Sri Lanka for my summer internship, I gleefully signed up. And thats how I spent nearly 2 months based out of Colombo as I worked at LineaMAS. This was another unforgettable trip as I stayed with my NIFT batchmates, we had all kindsa experiences and before i left for India I had seen the length and breadth of the country- my eldest siser and dad even visited me while I was there.
Now zoom into 2012 and my husband starts talking of a trip to Sri Lanka since he's never been there!! I quickly dismissed it saying that's one place he should go to with his friends whenever he isinclined to make a guys only trip since I was too bored to go there again! <Siggghhh, as if i ever get my way around him> So, true to his nature he keeps put at the thought and when in September Pranava & Manoj coming visiting in Chennai he broaches the topic again! One thing that never fails to amaze me is how similar Prana & AJ actually are!! So needless to say they ganged up on me and decide that is the trip for this year and before I could bat an eyelid our flight tickets to Colombo were done and they both sat with a very smug look on their face...!! And those of you who know them well will know- thats about all they did for the trip....!! So as always it comes down to me to plan the itinerary (standard answer to any question is "I am ok with anything da Abi, you decide"- which basically means please don't expect me to help you with the planning!)
So if you are wondering why I spent that much time in Sri Lanka let me explain. My first trip abroad (for which I got a passport done in emergency quota) was for a trip to Sri Lanka- I had been selected for a Youth Exchange program. At 17, I was the youngest member of the team, none-the-less I was also the spokesperson of the team :-) This was a 20 day trip to Sri Lanka where we met people from all walks of life- school kids, to tribals and even the then President of Sri Lanka- Chandrika Kumarathunge! We visited many places on this trip and this was in 1998 when I certainly didn't own a camera or a digital camera, so all i came back with was memories and some amazing friends! For a long time I continued to write to my friends in lanka, slowly however the distance creeped up and I knew no one there.
Then in 2004 I was doing my masters in Fashion Management and at the opportunity to work for an export house in Sri Lanka for my summer internship, I gleefully signed up. And thats how I spent nearly 2 months based out of Colombo as I worked at LineaMAS. This was another unforgettable trip as I stayed with my NIFT batchmates, we had all kindsa experiences and before i left for India I had seen the length and breadth of the country- my eldest siser and dad even visited me while I was there.
Now zoom into 2012 and my husband starts talking of a trip to Sri Lanka since he's never been there!! I quickly dismissed it saying that's one place he should go to with his friends whenever he isinclined to make a guys only trip since I was too bored to go there again! <Siggghhh, as if i ever get my way around him> So, true to his nature he keeps put at the thought and when in September Pranava & Manoj coming visiting in Chennai he broaches the topic again! One thing that never fails to amaze me is how similar Prana & AJ actually are!! So needless to say they ganged up on me and decide that is the trip for this year and before I could bat an eyelid our flight tickets to Colombo were done and they both sat with a very smug look on their face...!! And those of you who know them well will know- thats about all they did for the trip....!! So as always it comes down to me to plan the itinerary (standard answer to any question is "I am ok with anything da Abi, you decide"- which basically means please don't expect me to help you with the planning!)
Meanwhile we spread the word to another couple- Shyam & Hamsa - and they enthusiastically signed up for this trip too. Then began a rigmarole of hotel planning and itinerary planning.... like they say Man proposes, God disposes.. in our case the 6 of us took turns being Man & God ;-)) Finally I took them all at their word and said, I propose and you shall all listen. We started making our reservations and slowly the trip itinerary started coming alive. Shyam/Hamsa and AJ/me were to reach SL by 23rd Dec, Prana/Manoj were joining us a couple of days later since this was their second phareen trip for the year ;-) The first thing on the itinerary was Adams Peak- I will never forget the glorious sunrise I'd witnessed while there on my first trip in 1998! After that we headed to Kandy which is where Prana/Manoj would join us. Then we spend a day at the beautiful Nuwara Eliya before heading into the jungles of Yala and finally chilled out on the super soft beaches of Galle before heading out again. Just as everything seemed picture perfect Shyam/Hamsa had to cancel the trip since Hamsa had to travel to the USA on work... :-((((( So we were back to working out the trip for just AJ/me & Prana/Manoj, the final leg of booking the cab for the trip was completely managed by Manoj and he did a wonderful job of it! This was the first time we were all managing a trip together and we couldn't wait to head off!! :D
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