Acclimatising

"28 degrees does not sound too hot does it, but it is not the temperature that is killing, it is the unrelenting humidity. Frankly I would prefer one of those 45 degree Melbourne days, at least you know it will change the next day; here it is the same all day, every day.

We arrived last night and are now enjoying breakfast in our beachfront hotel- we are literally on the Indian Ocean which is crashing on the beach and I now understand why Sri Lanka is a popular destination for surfing, it is much like Pt Leo, though perhaps the sand is not as clean.

Unfortunately we did not pre-order a Sri Lankan breakfast so had to settle for the American fare, but I recall reading once the Sri Lankans make a good omelette so we settled for that and were not disappointed, though I had expected to find some chilli amongst the eggs. Tea - excellent. I am however intrigued by a party of hotel guests who seem to have bought their own food to breakfast - they are having nothing from the kitchen but instead have an array of plastic bags which they keep diving into and mixing is some bowls. What is going on? The hotel staff are non-plussed and just keep bringing them glasses and utensils- my theory is (totally unfounded) that they are tourists from India with a disdain for the food of their sub-continental neighbours. I remember Sri Lankan friend Sheree once telling me how different the food is from both places and how her mother was horrified if someone mistook her dishes for Indian food. It is a subtlety previously lost on me but I am hoping to develop a deeper understanding of the differences while here.

The view from our hotel room balcony: we enjoyed breakfast on the seafront terrace.

So after breakfast what next ? We should get an auto rickshaw into Negombo town and do some exploring. But how inviting does that pool look - and what a better way to acclimatise than by spending the day in the cooling breeze from the ocean, by the pool enjoying the local beer !