Finally getting started around eight from office, (the boss had overslept) we proceeded up to Jinadasa’s at Warakapola engaging in an orgy of jokes, story telling, mud slinging and more comments about the organizing from people who got picked up after we left office. Dropping of Munchie on the way (he hitched a ride home from office), we had breakfast at Jinadasa’s shop, which has really expanded its premises. They’ve built a restaurant in back.
From there we proceeded upwards to the center of the Island, with frequent stops at supermarkets in order to keep the drunkards going. In the process, I was driven out of my seat so they could enjoy their drinks in the back. I gather they went through two bottles on the way up.
Passing through Gampola I got lucky getting in a couple of good shots of the Ambuluwawa. Looks spectacular. Looks vertigo inducing. I can safely declare I am never going to climb that thing.
One tire change later, we finally reached the Kotmale Holiday Resort at approx 1:30. The boys were not very favorably impressed. Personally, I thought it looked ok, a bit rustic, but ok. I mean, what were they expecting for the price, the Hilton? After a quick discussion, it was decided that we would have lunch, before resting for the evening activities. No one was impressed with the lunch though. Even at that price they could have come up with something better than that!
Couple of hours later, 7 survivors headed out to partake in some physical activity, while the others recovered from the alcohol intake. Surprisingly, even the boss joined us, alcohol intake and all. Either he hadn’t had a lot, or he has more tolerance than I would have given him credit for. Anyhoo, we picked up whatever sporting implements were available, and headed out to the “sports complex” which consisted of a tennis court with a net, a tennis court without a net, and a volleyball/netball court without a net. I think there was also a badminton court without a net. And a large building we assume housed the squash courts, though no one checked, since they didn’t give us the stuff to play that. So, 7 of us to play cricket, with the pitch being the tennis court without the net. No one wanted to be running around retrieving balls all afternoon and the tennis courts had a high mesh fence around it. I surprisingly did a lot better than normal, managing a decent batting performance and hold a difficult running catch. Must have been the Mojaves. Didn’t bother bowling, no use overworking Lady Luck. :D In the meantime, Ravi got a full toss right one the kisser from Mythree. He had to endure quite a few jokes on the reaction he would get from his significant other if he came back with a split lip. :) But he got over it ok. Others waking up from their “rests” trickled in to join us, making it difficult to play. I mean, where can u hit the ball when there are 6 guys fielding in a tennis court? Besides, Thilina decided to show up wearing his swim shorts, which left nothing to the imagination. That’s not a sight you want in front of you when batting! I swear that bugger must be gay; he keeps rubbing up on Roshan in a very odd way, specially considering he’s married with one on the way. Suspicious. Anyway, a very entertaining session came to an end after we managed to split 4 tennis balls (Including one that lasted two deliveries, must be a record), and we decided to head for the pool.
At the pool, several people changed their mind about swimming being a good idea after checking out the water, yours truly included. However a few brave souls decided to give it a go.
We left the poolside to get ready for dinner as the light was fading, in order to get dinner The arrangement of the cottages meant that it was a little inconvenient for everyone to get together, so while 12 guys got ready using 4 bathrooms, there was an impromptu entertainment session in our room. That needs video to be appreciated. After this fun time, we went on down to the other cottage to find the others playing cards. After them getting envious of the singing sessions and us getting jealous of the cards, we went down to dinner.
The dinner was ok, a definite improvement over lunch. They also had a band downstairs and some guys decided to go dance. Apparently they created quite an impression, judging by the sounds, though I missed most of it as I was busy with dinner. I caught the tail end of it though.
The proceedings then shifted to our cottage for the booze session, getting a picture of Chathura watering a tree on the way.
The boozing went on till three in the morning, though I got bored with proceeding around midnight when the guys decided to sing slow songs. I’d been up since 5 am, after 4 hours sleep, and slow songs don’t help u stay awake! So I decided to go catch some sleep. Somewhere in the middle of all this, Sanjaya was also awarded the title “CTO”, Chief Trip Organizer.
Predictably, they decided to finish and then wake up every one who had gone to sleep. At 3 in the morning. After chasing them out, they went around the other cottages, woke up the others who were sleeping, and came back to wake me up again. Only I hadn’t fallen asleep again, so I chased them away with a belt. Them drunk boys ain’t exactly quiet in their approach.
Anyhoo, after that interruption, I was the first awake, at the advanced hour of 7 am. Since everyone else was asleep I wandered around taking a few pics.
The White Rumped Munia shot came out really well :)After the tea came at 8, I wandered around waking people up and getting a few pics in the process. After finally waking everyone up, we just made the restaurant in time for breakfast.
One unmemorable breakfast later, we decided to head out to see the Dam and the Kotmale Mahaweli Maha Seya at around 11. The group once again split up to dress and address their hangovers, while a few of us played cards.Everyone except the boss showed up for the mini-excursion. The CTO wanted to walk, claiming it was a mere three kilometers to the Dam. This proved to be an unpopular suggestion, especially after someone pointed out it would be 6 km to do the round trip. So, off we went by bus. Even the bus was groaning during the climb, and the CTO had to endure many snide comments on walking. It increased when we neared the viewing station for the Dam and found a board saying 1.2 km to the Seya :) Anyway, we decided to head for the Seya first, reaching there at around 12:30.
Apparently they started construction of the Seya around 1983. Construction was then halted in the 90’s and resumed only in 2003. It is still unfinished. It does look magnificent though, the first MahaSeya to be built since the days of the Sinhala Kings. It was truly massive! The structure is hollow, and that enabled us to go right in and walk around inside, where the guys prompt decided to act like a bunch of 10 year olds hearing the echoes inside. Had the cameras doing overtime in that session. We were there nearly an hour we headed out.
A brief look at the Dam, since we were short of time, and we were rolling again. After a couple of our nutcases tried to get shot by the Army by stopping at the gate to the Dam we went on again.
Then someone saw a “sangili palama” and everyone wanted to go down and have a look. Well, everyone expect a couple of sane souls who decided to stay in the bus. I mean, it’s a bridge, what’s to get so excited about? And we were getting late for lunch too! Anyway, most of the others trickled back after a while, but 4 guys decided to prove how much regard they have for their team members by staying down at the bridge for more than ½ an hour while the others waited to go for lunch in the bus. They were greeted by a stream of profanity from yours truly when they finally got back in, but in retrospect, it’s a good thing to know how much these guys, who happened to be team leads or deputies, cared about their teams, and how much they enjoyed keeping everyone waiting for their own enjoyment. Always a good thing to discover these traits before it shows up during work. So much for trust.We got back shortly afterwards to the Resort, had a pretty decent lunch compared to what they had been giving us all that time and headed to the rooms to rest and pack up to head back home. Getting done with the packing, I discovered the joys of choos gedi again :) I don’t know what they are called in English, but they were plentiful in the estates when we were kids. It’s a sorta pod that grows on a tree. I think it’s the bud the flower blooms from. But in the immature stage they are filled with a slightly smelly liquid, and squirts out when the pod is squeezed. I have no idea why it falls from the trees before it blooms, and I didn’t take any pics coz I was too busy reliving my childhood. :) After squirting a few on some of the guys who were playing cards, it was time to leave. Same guys who kept us waiting on the bridge kept us waiting half an hour again.
It was getting late getting back to Colombo, and we had a tire puncture on the way too, so we stopped at an unknown joint outside Warakapola for dinner a short time after dark. It seems to have been the mission in life of these guys to make me late, as three of the same guys made sure the bus had to go off on two enormous detours to drop them off instead of taking the direct road home. That probably cost me at least another hour. Annoying buggers. It was after 10:30 when I finally got home, brining an end to the travels and the end of this post.
