Bus Transfer to Colombo

Was I better off asleep and unaware of our progress to the airport or wide awake and pumping with adrenalin? 4:30pm we left the luxurious Talalla Beach Retreat and began calmly in the wrong direction. The airport being due north, we were heading south to the take an inland road to avoid the traffic due to New Year festivities. So for a few hours I had utmost confidence in our driver that we would arrive safely and with plenty of time. Definitely wasn't the way it turned out.

I think I still would've been safer asleep and not known what was going on.

It began to rain torrentially, the streets were over flowing with New Year shoppers, the roads were narrowing by the second as the sides were washing away and visibility was worsened, the unappreciative high beam was in full throttle. The butterflies began as we climbed higher and higher into the mountains and away from what appeared to resemble a road to the airport.

When it was unbearable to watch our driver riskily overtake a tuktuk as a massive bus heading towards us was overtaking a car the seat was reclined and my eyes glued shut. Missing the action/potential catastrophe I was drawn to sit up and watch. We joked about how we would survive a head on collision. My pillow was in a ready position for if I were to go through the windscreen I could try land on it. Our laughter was comforting yet fuelled by fear. They say when you are about to die you see a bright light flash before your eyes. I think I saw this light way too many times. Even though it was the high beam of an oncoming truck, bus, van or car, it definitely came way too close with an alarming horn accompanying it.

Our final arrival was at 11:10pm, the airport was rammed with thousands of people. The task of getting my alligator of a board bag through the mob and into the doors seemed impossible. Checking in at 12am for a 12:40am departure I was glad to see I was not the only one who had struggled to be there 90 minutes before. Glad to have arrived alive I was sad to say my last istuti (thank you - Sinhala) to the immigration officer.

Bohoma stutiyi Sri Lanka