Jun 5th, 2001
Arrival in Sri Lanka
I got into Sri Lanka late last night and was greeted by my Father at the airport. We promptly headed to a beachfront hotel on the outskirts of Colombo where he had booked me a room for the weekend.
It had been nearly a year since I had seen my Father last and while navigating our way through the chaotic Colombo streets, made more chaotic by virtue of the fact that it was the night before Buddha’s birthday, I told him about my life in Korea.
After about thirty or forty minutes, we arrived at the hotel and it was not long before I was fast asleep.
The next day, my Father arrived in the early afternoon, bringing a six-pack of Heineken which he had purchased at the American embassy, the only place where you could buy beer on Buddha’s birthday. We sipped our beers as I showed him the videos that I had recorded while in Bangkok.
We had lunch and then he went to go sit on the beach and read, while I returned to my room with the intention of writing about my experiences during the past 72 hours, but found that all I could do was sit by the window and enjoy ocean breeze.
Later, I went for a walk on the beach and was approached by a Sri Lankan man who wanted to sell me a handfull of seashells for the equivalent of about three or four dollars.
I was a bit amused by how stupid he thought I was, and informed him that although I felt his shells were very pretty, I had already amassed enough shells for one day.
I’m headed to the Iranian embassy tomorrow to see whether or not I’ll be able to visit Iran. If not, my Father might fund a trip for me to visit Nepal, which would be just as exciting.
For now, I’m content to just relax and soak in the peace and quiet of this country.
