Vous parlez allemande?!

It's Friday and I'm back in Hambantota for the last time, doing stacks of work. Tomorrow morning we leave for Colombo, and then Sunday my flight to Bombay departs at 12:01 AM.

I've spent the last 4 or 5 days with my parents in Sigirya and Kandy, and I'll write all about it when I get home, but for now all you'll get to hear about is the bus trip back from Kandy to Hambantota.

The problem with travelling from Kandy to Hambantota is the collection of mountains right in the middle of the route. And Sri Lankan roads being what they are, most people prefer to avoid that section of the country. So when I started asking around about buses, the suggestions I got all involved going first to Colombo, and then to Hambantota from there. This would have meant something like 11 or 12 hours on a bus. Ick.

Fortunately, my parents thought this plan was dumb, and they had the driver drop me off in Ratnapura on their way to Colombo. From Ratnapura, I could get a bus to Embilipitiya, and then transfer to the Hambantota bus for a grand total of 5 hours on buses. Way better. The driver wasn't too thrilled with this plan, and he was not entirely confident in my ability to handle the transfer in Embilipitiya, but it wasn't really his choice.

I stepped out of the van in Ratnapura directly into the Embilipitiya bus. Ratnapura is a fairly famous town in Sri Lanka. It is known for gemstones and so it attracts a lot of tourists. That day, however, they were nowhere to be found, and so it was quite obvious to everyone on the bus that I was a young woman travelling alone through Sri Lanka. This kind of thing just isn't done. I've decided I like that travel style though. Sri Lankans like to practice their English when they have the chance, so I get to meet all kinds of interesting and really nice people on the way. Such as Chaminda.

Chaminda found me about half way to Embilipitya. He offered up a polite pleasantry or two, and for a few miles that was it. But he asked me where I was from, and it was then that I noticed his accent. It wasn't entirely Sri Lankan. There was... Dutch?... in there as well. His English was also perfect. So was his French. He told me he spoke German as well, although I couldn't put that to the test.

So... a Sri Lankan who speaks fluent English, French, and German. There aren't many of those around. We ended up having a nice chat, during which it was revealed that he used to be a Buddhist monk.

I wasn't aware that there were ex-monks running around, although I suppose it makes sense. Apparently, Chaminda spent 2 years as a monk and decided he could get nothing more out of the experience, so he returned to society. At that point, I had to give him a bit of grief for even speaking to me. Monks generally do not socialize with women at all.

This actually turned into a fairly interesting cultural conversation. It seems Sri Lankan women are fairly silent on busses, and they won't talk to strange men. I tried to explain that it's the same in the States, but here I need to talk to locals so that I know what bus to get on. All in all, a very weird experience.

Chaminda lives near Uda Walawe, a very famous elephant park, and he invited me to go with him to see it. I didn't though. I had another bus to catch. So that was the end of that.