Aah...Colonialism

Feel free to call me 'Madam'

Swanky New Years Eve Brunch

After a lovely evening at the wedding of our friends at the Mt. Lavinia Hotel in Colombo(and the whole reason for visiting Sri Lanka).  Chris and I rode a tuk-tuk back to the much less swanky hotel nearby where we stayed (also known as the only room left in the entire neighborhood on the 30th of December).  We booked into a hotel 1km from the wedding and hired a babysitter recommended by Susan's office in Colombo.  She is a marketing executive who babysits expat babies (Sri Lankans apparently do not have a culture of babysitting, and expats are apparently the only terrible parents who would leave our children unattended in the care of a non-family member) be that as it may, $7 an hour later, Chris and I set off to the wedding.  Chris did duck back to the hotel after the ceremony to feed and put Luka to sleep, meaning we pretty much paid the babysitter to watch TV and eat roomservice.

The following morning we took a stroll back to the Mt. Lavinia to say farewell to all the friends and the lovely couple who set off on a tour of Sri Lanka.  Work commitments unfortunately meant that we could not join them.  We did however partake of the nice poolside brunch at the wedding hotel before heading back to our friend's home where we spent the day by the pool and new years eve ducking and covering.

Back to brunch... we were overjoyed that the hotel had high chairs, meaning we could actually not play 'defense' for once as Luka was somewhat safely strapped in.  Here's what he had to say about the fare on offer.

Look at my dexterity mommy, I can see the bread stick,
reach for it...

...and pick it up to show you...

...EXACTLY how I feel about eating breadsticks at a
swanky brunch!...

..now move that plate of food closer to me!

Sri Lanka Shenanigans

Luka the main flirt. 

What better way to spend a day than lounging at the beach/spa/pool of a nice hotel with awesome people.  Luka agrees.

Camp Luka, poolside.

A few of us invaded the pool of the Mt. Lavinia Hotel on the coast of Colombo.  Many Lion Lagers and a bottle of Arrack (thanks Leo and Sara) later - we were pretty well established poolside.  Luka was loving all the attention, swimmig, jumping on everyone.  Alas, even this ever-ender has to 'recharge' (what we call 'sleeping' in this house) for which the PeadPod came in every so handy.

Look how big I am now since we took the train to
Edinburgh in July, autie Sara!

:)

Traveling through Sri Lanka

One of the shrines within the temple

 
Despite the slightly longer than anticipated drive, the trip to Kandy was totally worth it.  We hired a local guide, though slightly senile (he kept repeating things over and over again), ancient and lisping - he was a wealth of information about the important place of Sri Lanka in the Buddhist faith.  He carefully explained all the details in the Temple of the Tooth, the most revered temple in all of Sri Lanka where, legend has it, a tooth of the Buddha is kept in a gold casket (well, seven actually).  Throughout our tour of the sprawling temple, Luka was a trooper.   Since it was a no-shoe temple, it was also a no-stroller temple, so he rode along happily in his Ergo Carrier, entertaining all the Sri Lankan grandmothers along the way who delighted in eliciting a response from him...right up until he passed out (see photo).

Our super traveler having a much-deserved nap after
smiling at each and every pilgrim in the Temple.

In addition to the temple, we took a stroll down the main street, ate fresh roti for lunch, and had a beer (or two) at the old colonial Queens Hotel, where Luka also enjoyed his lunch and a couple of nappy changes.

Chillin' out old school at the Queens Hotel

Tonight we're off to dinner at the groom's family home in Wattala.  We're packing Luka's dinner, pajamas and his collapsible bed to make sure we ca enjoy the night without worrying about what he is up to at home.

A beautifully painted door inside the temple