"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 18

I haven't been THIS happy to wake up in a very long time...but Emily and Colleen were arriving today and I couldn't be wishing the time away any sooner! They showed up half way through breakfast and I made a running leap into Em's arms! Ah - it had been a year and a half since we saw each other last and we reunited with our "perfect hug" (yes, Em and I have this theory that we are two people that form a perfect hug).

After a big chuckle over Emily leaving her bathing suit at home (the last five days were on the beach!), we set out for "Sigiriya". The car ride there was a lot of fun and we had lots to share and laugh about. We made a stop for the sweetest tea along the way (now known as "Lal" tea - pure sugar) and of course I made my usual request for washroom breaks every 45 minutes or so (BAHA).

Our guest house in Sigiriya was called "The Grand Holiday Tourist Resort" and our rooms were placed at the very back of the premises, near a spooky field with stray cows. Our room had an ongoing ant parade between the door and the bathroom and smelled of moth balls with an intensity you've never smelled before. Their room was even better - with a bloody bandaid on the mosquito net, a non-flushing toilet, a family of geckos on the walls outside, and a nest for party animal mongooses on the roof. But - this is what traveling is all about - STORIES! And we got them.



Following lunch, we went to the ancient city of Sigiriya - which was accessible only after a big climb to the top of the rock fortress. Now, if you know Emily, you know she is hiking's worst fan - and in this circumstance - she was on NO sleep! However, the miraculous part is that she toughed it out and made it to the top with ease (WAY TO GO, EM!). On the climb up, we had to combat grabbers of inappropriate body parts, dancing cobras, tree-jumping monkeys, and aggressive sales people. But, WE DID IT! And the view from the top inspired our trip-long phrase "Sri Lanks?! YES, THANKS!" (and also, "Sri Lanks?! NO, THANKS!" - used only when we didn't like something).





Back at the guest house, we enjoyed more curry and rice and Lal MAY have assumed Emily was an American based on her "choice of words". We also engaged in an action-packed game of "Catchphrase" and fought our fear of "Children of the Corn" music that was blaring form the sketchy field beside us. (We soon found out the music was actually a prayer for safety...which made it that much funnier the next day!).

Ah - shower, then bed. The next day was my birthday!