Thanks to ETA, the immigration in Colombo is faster than any other country (no useless arrival and departure cards like Thailand), but I have to wait for a while for the luggage. Outside from the Airport at 11pm, I am first looking for somebody to share a taxi to the city, 45km on the South. I finally ask for a bus, walk for a while and find it. Once in the center (Colombo 2), I take a tuk-tuk until Colombo 5.
The main motivation to come to Sri Lanka is to meet my sister Gaétane around Christmas. She is working for an NGO (Handicap International) in Vavunyia: the last 6 months of a bigger project aiming at improving the accessibility and social life of disabled people. Gaétane is working on some reports in Colombo, staying in a flat rented by her organization. Thus, I join her directly there!
Sri Lanka might have the highest number of non-working days in a year, combining Christian and Buddhists holidays (and probably Hindi and Muslim as well): all full-moon days are off (thus 12).
As most Sri Lankan, Gaétane take the week between Christmas and New Year. I arrive Wednesday night (the 19th); she is working on Thursday and Friday; we meet for the lunch break in the in the lovely Viharamahadevi Park close to her office and I continue visiting Colombo in the afternoon. Colombo is not the most beautiful city, but the mix of colonial buildings on the sea side (Galle Face) is not bad.