Soak

I've come and gone from Colombo, Sri Lanka in the blink of an eye, it seems - collecting my Indian government imposed 180 day visa stamp and in the process exfoliating six months worth of solar-heated Indian showers.
Ridiculous, that India wouldn't prefer I spend the money HERE, but whatever.

24 hours, six hundred dollars, a duty-free shopping spree, and five bubble baths later, I've returned from the pristine beauty of Sri Lanka. There is something very Hawaiian about the island, though it's not as wealthy of course, there are exceptional hotels and spas to be found, the beaches are simply gorgeous, and the air so clean it fills the body with energy as it sweeps in from the the Indian Ocean.

The island of Sri Lanka is tiny compared to the expanse of India, and so then are their traffic, garbage, pollution, and poverty issues. And the currency conversion of two Sri Lankan rupees to the Indian rupee makes this destination even more exceptional in terms of shopping and getting around.
I once had a professor who imagined an excellent adventure in 'getting on a random international flight, arriving in the middle of the night with no map, no reservations, just one bag...' The first time I tried this, in Sri Lanka, I ended up stranded in the airport for the entire night, grateful that my return flight left somewhat early the next day. Six months later I planned ahead and booked airport transfers and an overly expensive posh hotel before leaving and found the experience much better for it.

On the ninth floor of the Galle Face Hotel, with an ocean view, I spent two nights seeped in bath oils and girly-products...soaking up the rare opportunity to sink into a ritual I used to treat myself to almost nightly, pre-India, pre no-such-thing-as-a-bathtub.

This time, as I'd purchased my flight literally hours before its departure I had no time to fix a hotel beforehand. As it turned out, this was not such a bad thing. Just outside the arrivals gates at Bandaranaike airport is a little kiosk offering tourist information. They also handle hotel bookings and transfers, and do so at such an unbelievable rate, I'll never ever again book my Colombo hotel in advance. Within 15 minutes of explaining to them that I wanted a five star room, the bathtub being the most important feature, and that I required prompt trasnfers to and from the hotel I was whisked away in a comfortable a/c vehicle driven by a cheerful English-speaking driver. Soon after, I was offered a heavily discounted room at the TAJ and within an hour was happily ensconced in bubble bath.

I've made this trip so many times that Hamid and I now joke that I've to 'go to Sri Lanka for a bubble bath.' I've gone from Seattle to Portland for shopping, or from Barcelona to Sitges for the beach...but so far for a bubble bath? It's normal now, somehow, in this life I live...and so very worth it.