mais Sri Lanka / More Sri Lankan stories

Piscina do hotel - ta vendo o mar no fundo?

Hotel's swimming pool - can you see the sea on the back?

O Dickwella Resort foi o unico lugar que ainda tinha vaga na nossa temporada de ferias.
Li e reli todos os comentarios no trip advisor, booking e qualquer outro site da internet que eu tenha conseguido encontrar.
Fomos pra la sabendo onde estavamos nos metendo. Resort muito bem localizado ( se a gente falar da natureza, da praia linda...pq e longe de tudo) que precisa de reforma por que esta velhinho.

Dickwella resort was the only hotel that still had vacancies when we had our holidays. I read and re-read all the comments  at trip Advisor, bookings and any other site I could put my eyes on.
We went there fully aware of what we would find: a very well located property ( in terms of nature - as it is far from everything else) that needs to be renewed urgently!

Chegamos la e era exatamente isso. Todos os quartos tem vista para o mar. O resort fica numa baia lindissima, com praia pra todo lado. E o hotel precisa desesperadamente de reformas.

And that's exactly what we found. A gorgeous setting - the resort is in an amazing bay sorounded by incredibly pretty beaches. And yes, it needs some urgent TLC.

O atendimento e otimo ( mas o pessoal da limpeza nao enxerga muito alem do obvio - tivemos uma teia de aranha no nosso banheiro durante os 7 dias em que ficamos hospedados la) mas a camareira colocava flores na nossa cama todos os dias.

The staff is friendly (but the cleaning crew only see the obvious - we had a spider web in our batroom for a week) , on the other hand, they placed beautiful flowers on our beds every day.

O SPA e bom, mas e carissimo, principalmente se levarmos em consideracao os precos do Sri Lanka. A comida e gostosinha ( eu nao disse fabulosa - disse gostosinha) e eles nao tem sucos naturais. Nao, eu nao to te zoando. nao tem mesmo. So suco de garrafinha, cheiode  acucar e preservantes, refrigerantes ou agua. E alcool claro.
The SPA is good, but very pricey, specially if you consider Sri lanka prices. The food is ok and they don't have natural juices. That is right! No fresh juices. Only cordials, soft drinks, water and alcohol!

A vista do restaurante e maravilhosa. Dava gosto acordar pra tomar cafe da manha vendo as ondas batendo nas pedras...
The restaurant view is to die for. It was worth waking up to see the waves on the rocks ...

O que mais me incomodou foi a cachorrada pelo hotel. Eles tem uma colecao de cachorros de rua, que agora sao cachorros de hotel. So que ninguem cuida deles. os caes estao magros, mal cuidados e muitas vezes cheios de sarna. E para o meu desespero, tinha uma cadela com uma ninhada de poucos dias, num canteiro, bem perto do nosso quarto.
Quase morri de pena.

What made me sad was to see lots of stray dogs who chose to live in the premises. The dogs are allowed there, but not cared for, so it is this shameful show of very slim, sick dogs, begging for food and affection.
In a buch near our room, i found this new born babies - they could not be more than a couple of days old.
Broke my heart!

Os pescadores do Sri Lanka/ Stilt fishermen from Sri lanka

A foto desse post e minha. Mas a historia nao e. Depois de publicar um post com lindas fotos roubadas da internet e sem nenhuma informacao sobre os pescadores do Sri Lanka, levei um puxao de orelhas do Ernani que escreve no Madruga em Claro ( blog que eu adoro!)


E como eu respondo muito bem a puxoes de orelhas merecidos, fui a luta e pesquisei, li e fucei ate descobrir a historia dos pescadores do Sri Lanka.


E dificil saber como e por que essa tradicao de pescar em "paus" fincados no mar comecou, mas alguns dizem que antigamente os pescadores ficavam nas pedras, esperando os peixes fisgarem as iscas. Ali haviam dois problemas - nao tinha pedra pra todo mundo e o peixe teria que chegar bem pertinho das rochas para serem pegos.


Alguns pescadores mais ousados, decidiram "plantar" umas estacas com uma madeira horizontal, que serviriam de banquinho para a pescaria. Com essas estacas, o mar ficou acessivel a todo mundo.

Quando o tsunami atingiu o Sri lanka em 2004, levou consigo as estacas, e a tradicao de "pescar no pau" quase desapareceu.

Essa pratica e tipica do Sul do Sri lanka ( onde eu fiquei por pura sorte) e hoje ha mais ou menos 500 familias que continuam passando a tradicao de pai para filho.

Apesar de ser uma das imagens mais fortes do Sri lanka, a coisa nao e nada facil. Ha a dificuldade em subir e descer dos banquinhos elevados, a necessidade de uma paciencia sem fim, para ficar horas sentado esperando o peixe fisgar ( e eles usam anzol sem isca - o peixe e atraido apenas pelo balanco do anzol vazio) e quando o peixe finalmente e apanhado, ele nao passa de um polegar. Ali, na beirinha da agua, so se pesca peixinho miudo que e vendido por 2 rupis cada um ( bem menos de 10 centavos de real).

Mas o problema nao acaba ai. Pela beleza e o romantismo da cena, os pescadores atraem turistas para a regiao. Turistas que nadam no mar e brincam nas ondas - espantando os peixes que nao querem saber de confusao.

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The picture in this post is mine, but the story is not. After publishing a post with beautiful photos stolen from the internet and no information about the fishermen of Sri Lanka,Ernani ( from a brazilian blog called Madruga em Claro) gave me a slap on the wrist and because respond  well to "constructive feedback"  I pulled up my socks and went on a wonderful research to find out about the stilt fishermen of Sri lanka.

It is difficult to know how and why the stilt fishing tradition started. Some say the fishermen used to fish from rocks. There were two problems with this practice - there were not enough rocks for everybody and the fish would have to get very close to the rocks to be caught.
With these difficulties in mind, some clever fishermen, decided to "plant" some stilts on the water, making fishing acessible to everyone.
When the tsunami hit Sri Lanka in 2004, it destroyed the stilts and the tradition almost disappeared.
The stilt fishing is typical of Southern Sri Lanka (where we stayed) and today there are about 500 families who continue passing the tradition through generations.
Despite being one of the strongest images of Sri Lanka, this activity is not easy.
It is hard to climb on the stilt, and it takes a lot of patience to wait for the fish to come around. The fishermen use no bait, only the hook - and the fish is attracted only by it's movement in the water.
When the fish is finally caught, it is generally very small and sold for less than 10 cents each.
And the challenges do not end there.
many tourists are very curious to see the stilt fishermen, and come to this region specifically for it. Tourists who swim in the sea and play with the waves, making the fish look for quieter areas to be in.

OB no Sri Lanka/ Tampoons in Sri Lanka

Na verdade esse post deveria se chamar NAO OB no Sri Lanka.
Por que eu cheguei aqui nessa terra paradisiaca de sol e mar e fiquei menstruada, ne?
Voce deve estar se perguntando por que eu, uma mulher linda, educada e discreta estou te contando uma coisa dessas, mas "guenta" ai que voce ja vai entender.
Pois entao. Fiquei menstruada e nao tinha OB comigo. Fui ao supremercado da cidadezinha vizinha e tambem nao tinha. Fui a farmacia, nada de OB. Fui a outra farmacia e nada...
Ai a noite fomos a uma cidade maior, muito mais moderna, assistir a um show. Paramos no maior supermercado do lugar, e nada de OB.
 Ai o Fabio, fofo, doce e carinhoso, perguntou pro nosso guia onde a gente podia encontrar OB. E claro, explicou o que era um OB ( juro, juro, juro que ele se recusa a me dizer como foi a explicacao, mas eu to roxa de curiosidade).
O guia ( que e viadissimo, fofissimo e purpurinado), parou em todas as farmacias do caminho. E pra ganhar tempo, ele descia comigo, da porta da farmacia ele ja gritava perguntando se tinha OB ou nao, quando os atendentes faziam cara de quem nao tinha entendido nada, ele explicava o que era ( em Sri lankes), os caras olhavam pra mim com cara de "ta louca, minha filha??" e balancavam veementemente a cabeca dizendo que nao. Como se aquilo fosse coisa do demonio. Que provavelmente pra eles e mesmo.
Essa cena se repetiu 6 vezes, por que o nosso guia, maravilhoso, se recusou a desistir ate a gente passar vexame em todas as farmacias da cidade.
Ai que MICO!

Amanha vou pedir pra ele bater de porta em porta , perguntando pras hospedes do resort se alguma delas trouxe o produto milagroso na mala  ( ele fala 7 linguas, e obviamente se diverte procurando OB obstinadamente - tenho certeza que ele nao vai se importar)

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This post should be called NON tampoon in Sri Lanka.

Because as Murphy would have it,  I got to this paradise land of sun and sea and I got my period.
You must be wondering why, a beautiful, polite and discreet woman like me, is telling you something that personal, but hold on for a little longer and you will understand.
So I got my period and had no tampoons in my suitcase. I went to the neighboring supermarket village and they also did not have it. I went to the local pharmacy, no tampoons. I went to another pharmacy and nothing ...
At the night we went to a bigger, more modern city, to watch a local dance show. We stopped at the biggest supermarket so I could follow my tampoon quest, but they also did not have it.
Fabio, who is the cutest, sweetest and most loving husband, proactivelly asked our guide where we could find tampoons. And of course, explained what a tampoon was, because our guide was completely lost when he heard the word tampoon. (I swear, I swear, I swear he refuses to tell me how was the explanation - and I am dying to know).
The guide, stopped at all the pharmacies he could find in the big city. To save time, he decided it would be more efficient to come along with me. From pharmacy door, he would yell if they had tampoons, then he would yell the proper explanation of what a tampoon was! 
 The pharmacy employees, mostly guys, looked at me with horror stamped on their faces and shook their heads vehemently saying NO.
I felt I was shopping for drugs or something even worse.
This scene was repeated six times, because our amazing guide, refused to give up until we shamed ourselves in all pharmacies in the city.
Tomorrow I'll ask him to knock door to door, asking the resort guests to if any of them brought the miracle product in their suitcase (our guide speaks seven languages, and obviously has fun looking obstinately for tampoons - I'm sure he will oblige)

Causos / Short stories

Descobrimos ( o Fabio descobriu) um esquilo que vem comer o coco que nos deixamos do lado de fora do nosso quarto. E o bichinho ENTRA no coco pra come-lo.
Ai que vontade de levar pra casa!!!

We found  out( Fabio found out) a squirrel comes to eat the coconut we left outside our bedroom. And it actually goes inside the coconut to acomplish his task.
I would LOVE to take it home with us!!

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Fomos a um show de danca local. Uma graca ( depois coloco as fotos e os videos que eu fiz).
Na metade do show, teve um sorteio e eu ganhei o premio. Um anel fofo.
Perdi o dito cujo antes de chegard e volta ao hotel.
Acho que foi praga da Anita que insistia que o anel nao era meu, era NOSSO. Agora ele ja nao e masi de ninguem nessa familia.

We went watch a local performance. I loved it ( I promise to post some pics and videos I made).
During the break, they gave away a prize  and I won it - it was a ring.
I lost it before we made it back to the hotel.
I blame it on ANita who insisted the ring was not mine, but OURS. Now it no longer belongs to anyone in this family. It is gone.

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Hoje nos passamos o dia na praia. So nos quatro. Essa e definitivamente uma ocorrencia rara. Nossa familia quse nunca esta junta e sozinha.
Fabio fez umas contas e chegou a conclusao de que essa foi a QUARTA vez que nos entramos no mar juntos. Em 13 anos...


We spent the day in the water. All of us. We must register the moment. It is very rare for our family to be together alone. Fabio was trying to remember and this was the FOURTH time we went to the beach together. In 13 years.

Nos apoiamos os contrabandistas! We support smuglers!

Ainda nao me decidi qual e a nota que eu vou dar para o nosso resort. Ontem eu estava furiosa por que aqui, no meio desse paraiso tropical, eles simplesmente nao oferecem sucos naturais. Os caras so vendem refrigerantes e refrescos.
Mas hoje, eu estava sentadinha na minha varanda, aproveitando a brisa do mar e lendo meus e mails ( ja que a internet voltou a funcionar) quando vi um cara passando com uma carriola cheia de cocos verdes.
Comecei a abanar os bracos histericamente e pedi 4 cocos, por favor. O cara, muito solicito, me deu logo os cocos. Fechados.
- E vc nao abre?
- Nao. Eu so apanho.
Nisso eu olho pro mar e vejo um cara me chamando.
- Voce quer coco?
- Sim.
- Perai. Vou pegar.
E pegou mesmo. Pegou os cocos, cortou, botou canudos. E nem cobrou nada, por que segundo ele, os cocos estao ali, dando sopa. E so subir no coqueiro e pegar.
E como o mar tambem fica ali na frente, ele entra no mar e pega lagostas, camaroes, carangueijos... e vende no restaurante que ele abriu ao lado do hotel.
So que com a Lia "de pe quebrado", nao da pra ficar sassaricando. A gente guarda todas as energias pras estripulias dela, e economiza na rotina. Andar ate o restaurante nem pensar!
MAs como nos estamos no Sri Lanka e o pessoal daqui e o mais fofo do mundo, como nos ja estabelecemos nos posts anteriores, o cara me trouxe o menu, depois a comida, os sucos naturais ( SIM, ELE TEM) e mais tarde voltou pra buscar os talheres e os pratos sujos.
Tudo escondidinho, ja que eu estou desconfiada que trazer comida "de fora" prum hotel com tantos restaurantes, e com certeza ilicito.
Comi uma pratada de camaroes imensos, por 1/3 do preco do hotel ( que pega os camaroes no mesmo lugar). E ainda tivemos atendimento a domicilio. Tomara que ninguem nos descubra. Pretendo repetir a facanha amanha. e depois de amanha. e na segunda. terca...

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I still haven't decided how much I like our resort. Yesterday I was angry because, despise the fact we are in this tropical paradise, they simply do not offer natural juices. The hotel only sell soft drinks and cordials.
But today, I was sitting on the porch, enjoying the sea breeze and reading my e mails (since the internet is working again) when I saw a guy passing by with a wheelbarrow full of green coconuts.
I started waving my arms hysterically and asked for four coconuts, please. He imediately gave me the coconuts. Exactly how they came off the tree.
- Can you please open?
- No. I just get it.
IWhen I glanced over the beach, I saw a guy calling me.
- Do you want coconut?
- Yes
- Just wait. I'll get them for you.
And he sure did. He went up the tree, got the coconuts, cut them open, even gave us some straws. And he did not charge us anything, because according to him, the coconuts are there, up on the trees. All he had to do was go and get them. No trouble at all.
And like the coconut trees, the sea is also right there in front of us, so he also goes into the sea and catches lobsters, shrimps, crabs ... to sells in the restaurant he opened next door to our resort.
I would love to go there and check up his restaurant, but infortunately Lia has a broken foot and we can not afford to walk around. All her energy needs to be saved to play like crazy on the beach and swimming pool, so she can complain about going anywhere else.
Walking up to the restaurant, is a no go for our family!
But as we are in Sri Lanka and the people here are the cutest in the world, (we already established that in previous posts) the guy brought me the menu, then the food, the natural juices (YES, HE HAS THEM) and later returned to pick up all the dirty cutlery and dishes.
All hiding from the hotel management, since I'm suspicious that sneaking food from "outside" in a  hotel with so many restaurants, is illicit.
I ate a huge plate full of tiger prawns for 1/3 the price of the hotel's restaurant (which takes the prawns from the same beach, righ in front of them).
And they brough it to our door. Hopefully no one will find out about it because I want to repeat it  tomorrow. and after tomorrow. and on Monday. and on Tuesday ...

Chegamos as 5:45 da matina no Sri lanka. O mais dificil foi abrir os olhos e tentar lembrar o que estava acontecendo...


Sono, muito sono. Gosto de champagne e comida asiatica ainda na boca. Onde estou mesmo?
Ai me lembrei do voo, da perna quebrada da Lia, da nossa chegada na madrugada. Pulei no assento ( sim, nos todos acabamos nos esparramando em bancos vazios e viajando deitados).
Esperamos todo mundo desembarcar e fomos ajudar a Lia a pegar as muletas, mas la veio mais surpresa:
- Nao se preocupe. Ja pedimos a cadeira de rodas para ela.
Se a coisa continuar assim, vou me mudar para o Sri Lanka. Gente mais fofa do muundo...
Vieram com uma versao Sri Lanka do caminhao hidraulico do aeroporto de Bahrain ( versao Sri lanka – velho, enferrujado, ameacando desmontar).
Entramos no caminhaozinho e fomos alegres e saltitantes pista afora. Ate que o caminhao fez uma curva, e a maca onde a Lia estava sentada virou ( nao, nao estava amarrada) e a Lia voou pro outro lado do caminhao.


We arrived in Sri lanka at 5:45am. The challenge was to open my eyes and try to remember what was happening ...

I was sleepy, very sleepy. I could still feel some champagne  and Asian food after taste still in my mouth. Where am I right now?
Memories slowly came back to me. I remembered the flight, Lia's broken leg. I jumped on my seat (yes, we all ended up in rows of empty seats and could lie down and sleep.) 
We waited until everyone was off and started making our way to help Lia get her crutches, to get out too. Before I could get anywhere near her, the flight attendant said:
- Do not worry. We've requested a wheelchair for her. It is on it's way.
WOW! That's impressive. Specially because we never asked for it.
If things continue like this, I'm moving to Sri Lanka. People here are so friendly ...
They finally came with a Sri Lankan version of the hydraulic airport truck that transported us in Bahrain. ( Sri Lankan version - old, rusty, about to fall apart).
But we were experts by now and knew what to do and how to behave!
Lia had a hospital bed only for herself, we sat wherever we could find space for our bums. Everything was great, until the truck made a sharp turn and the bed Lia was on turned and sent my daughter flying to the other side of the truck.

nao, essa nao e a Lia. mas achei a foto bem apropriada. Google search

O funcionario da companhia, que a tinha colocado ali, deixou escapar umas tres “merda”enquanto tentava resgatar a menina voadora.
A Lili nao falou uma palavra, so a carinha de dor e as lagrimas escorrendo pelo rostinho dela entregavam o jogo. Ah Sri Lanka, Sri lanka...
Sei que nao adianta concertar a cagada o erro depois que ele acontece, mas mudei a Lia pra um banquinho que estava devidamente amarrado e fiquei ao lado dela.
Desembarcamos, ja tinhamos o visto pre aprovado ( eles tem e-visto que sai pela internet e vc paga no cartao de credito. Muderno).

All we heard was the employee who "placed Lia" on that bed swearing under his breath.
Lili did not say a word.Only her painful look gave away what she was going through. And the tears streaming down her face. Ah Sri lanka, Sri lanka...
I know it is not good enough to fix the mistake after it already happened, but there was little more i ould do, so I moved Lia to a safe sit and stayed with her - just in case.
We got out the truck, our visas were pre aproved. Sri lanka has a web site where you can apply and pay for your visa before you arrive. It is pretty cool.

Quando fomos buscar a bagagem, nos avisaram que uma das pecas estava faltando. Contei e recontei as malas para nao repetir a palhacada de Londres. Nao lembra? Ta aqui .
E como nao poderia deixar de ser, era mais uma vez a mala da Anita que estava faltando. Justo ela que AMA as suas roupas, os seus sapatos, as suas coisinhas. Ficamos mais de uma hora esperando alguem localizar a mala.
Consegui ate sair pra avisar o nosso motorista que a coisa estava engastalhada, mas que nos estavamos la sim! Pelamor nao va embora... E os oficiais da Policia federal nao tiveram coragem de me impedir de voltar pra area restrita do aeroporto quando viram a furia exalando pelos meus poros.
Sim, sai da area internacional do aeroporto, andei, sassariquei, troquei dinheiro e voltei pela porta da saida.
Mas nada de acharem a mala. E a cada 5 minutos a Anita falava:
- Meu oculos da Armani esta la.
- Meus biquinis da Aqua Brasil. Todos eles.
- Os meus sapatos brasileiros estao nessa mala.
- E as minhas roupas de verao mais bonitas.
Fiquei com o coracao apertado e apesar de saber que nao ia adiantar nada, deixei claro ao pessoal da companhia aerea, que aquele incidente podia ser comum pra eles, mas estava atrapalhando as nossas ferias.
Agora a Anita nao tem uma unica peca de roupa no Sri Lanka. Nada. Nao da pra esperar sabe-se la quantos dias ate encontrarem a malinha dela. Se encontrarem.
A moca da bagagem conseguiu uma autorizacao para nos dar US$ 40.00 para aplacar a situacao ate ver se a mala chega ou nao chega. Oba! Ja da pra pagar a sola de um dos sapatos que estava na mala.
A pobre Anita estava desesperada. E nos todos morrendo de pena, mas depois de mais de duas horas de espera, tivemos que ir embora para o Hotel. Nao tinha mais nada a se fazer ali.

At the baggage claim, we noticed one bag was missing. I counted and recounted the luggage to avoid going through what happened in London. Do you remember it? It is here
Of course,as Murphy would have it, it was Anita's suitcase that went AWOL. And she loves her clothes, her shoes, all her things.
After an hour waiting for the bag to show up, we had to give up.
I even managed to get out, find out driver, let him know we were there, but not ready to leave yet, and the I simply walked back inside. Customs decided not to stop me as soon as they saw my face.
I guess I can be quite scary sometimes.
Every five minutes, Anita would sau something like:
- My armani glasses were there.
- And my leather shoes.
- I had all my brazilian bikinis in that suitcase.
- And my best summer clothes.
My heart broke. Poor girl. And I knew nothing would change things, but i made sure I explained to the airline that could be routine for them, but for us, it would bring bad memories forever.
And now Anita had nothing to wear Not a single piece of clothes. Everythig was in the bag they lost.
After a while, the attendant managed to authorize a $40 payment until they find out what will happen to the luggage.
That will not cover a single shoe, let alone all she had there, but after over two hours batling in the airport, we decided to finaly leave.
Anita in tears, fabio and I witha  broken heart.

O sono bateu de novo. Eu apaguei. De tempos em tempos, eu quase acordava, abria os olhos e via um cenario paradisiaco a minha frente, mas imediatamente eu apagava outra vez.
Quando chegamos a uma cidade perto do hotel, pedimos pro motorista nos levar ate uma loja para compramos umas coisinhas basicas pra ela.

Um maio, uns tres shorts, algumas camisetas, calcinhas... o basico dos basicos.

Quando perguntei onde estavam os maios, a mocinha super sorridente me levou pra ver umas pecas que pareciam saidas de obra de ficcao. Imagine um maio de corpo inteiro. Agora acople uma saia franzida que vai pelo menos ate os joelhos da modelo. E pinte flores coloridas na lycra. Tchan Tchan!


On our way back, I felt so sleepy, it was not even funny. I simply fell asleep. From time to time I would open my eyes and see the most beautiful beach, but in a second, i would go back to my sleep.
When we were almost at the hotel, we asked the driver to stop in a shop, so we could buy Anita some basics.
A swimming suit, a couple of shorts, some tops and underware.
Every time I asked where the swimming suits were, the girl would take me to see these old fashion suits that our great great grandmother wore. They are one piece with a long skirt sewed into the body. And most of them were in bright colors. Tchan Tchan Tchan

Esse maio ta moderno perto das opcoes que tinhamos aqui
This suit is fashion and hip compared to the ones we saw

Se eu mostro um negocio desses pra Anita ela nunca mais para de chorar.
Fomos a 4 lojas diferentes. Todos os maios tinham o mesmo estilo. E as roupas eram saias e blusas. Nada se short, muito menos camisetinhas baby look. Na ultima loja consegui UM short, umas 4 camisetas e demos a odisseia por encerrada.
Quando chegamos ao hotel, a Anita decidiu usar o MEU maio ( que apesar de ser de veia coroca, ta dando de mil nas alternativas locais). E foi alegre e saltitante brincar na praia e na piscina. Com a Lia* . Eu fiquei tao exausta que dormi por 3 horas consecutivas. Juro. Fui da van pro chuveiro e me enfiei debaixo dos lencois ate a noite cair. Fabio fez a mesma coisa. Estavamos mortos.
As duas adolescentes, a do pe quebrado e a sem-roupas passaram um dia maravilhoso nadando, andando de caiaque, passeando pelo resort e o escambau...


* Eu explico. Comprei pra Lia uma daquelas botas que sao removiveis, assim ela poderia tira-la la pelo 4 ou 5 dia, se estivesse sem dor. A mae dormiu, a primeira coisa que ela fez foi se livrar da bota e cair na farra agua...


Thank God Anita was also sleeping and she did not see it. She would have a heart attack, cry her eyes out and probably never recover from the trauma.
We went to 4 different shops and they all had the same kind of clothes - nothing suitable for a western teenager at all. Even I could see that. And I am fashion blind.
At the last shop we managed to get ONE pair of shorts, 3 t shirts and two pieces of underware. Anita decided to wear MY swimming suit - it looked so modern in comparison...
As for me and Fabio, we were so emotionally exhausted, we simply crawled into our bed at the hotel and slept for 3 consecutive hours.
Anita and Lia*  had a great day. After the ordeal, they went swimming, caiaking and had a blast.

* I bought Lia one of those removable boots, so she could venture into the swimming pool after 4 or 5 days rest. But as soon as I went to bed, she took the boots off and jumped straight into the pool, then walked to the beach, got herself insto a caiake...the works!

 

Dilmun Loung e Sri lankan Air Lines

Pra compensar os possiveis aborrecimentos com o nosso voo da Sri Lankan Airlines ( o mais barato que nos encontramos), a nossa familia resolveu se meter numa luxuosa ( e carissima) sala de esperas no aeroporto.
Aqui voce nao precisa ser VIP ( very important person), voce simplesmente COMPRA o privilegio de ir parar na sala VIP. Muito mais facil.
Pois nos achamos que mereciamos o paparico depois de termos sido destratados por sermos pacientes particulares no hospital que engessou o pe quebrado da Lia ontem.Nao sabe nada sobre isso? DA uma lida aqui
Jeca visitando sala VIP e aquela coisa ne...
Primeiro eu nem sabia o que esperar. Uns jornais, revistas, internet de gratis ( depois de vc pagar uma fortuna pra estar la), um suquinho, uma aguinha...


To offset the possible hassles we may encounter with our Sri Lankan Airlines flight (the cheapest we found), our family decided to go to a luxurious (and expensive) lounge at the Bahrain Airport.

Here you do not need to be a VIP (very important person), you simply BUY the privilege of ending up in the VIP room. Much easier.
Because we thought we deserved some pampering, after having been insulted for being private patients at the hospital that took care of Lia's broken foot yesterday. You don't  know anything about it?  Read here
First I did not know what to expect. Some newspapers, magazines, free internet (after you pay a fortune to be in that room), juice, water ...

 

Imagine a minha surpresa quando eu descobri que tinha buffet com sopa, saladas, sanduiches, quibes, rolinho primavera e varias outras guloseimas alem de um bar com sucos frescos variados, e todo tipo de alcool que voce possa imaginar. Na sala VIP do aeroporto num pais muculmano. Ne?
Comi uma saladinha, tomei champagne por que eu sou deslumbrada chic, e muita agua com gas, pra nao apanhar da ressaca logo na chegada do hotel no Sri Lanka.
Depois de ter sido chiquerrima e me controlado no buffet, caminhei graciosamente para a maquina de cafe e fiz um super cappuccino espumante ( se tudo der errado na minha vida, posso ser barista). De repente, uma forca maior tomou conta de mim, nao sei o que aconteceu, meus dedinos se abriram e a xicara se espatifou no chao.
Ah... os holofotes da fama me perseguem! Mas quando eu pedi pra chamar a atencao toda vez que eu entrasse num lugar, eu nao pedi pra ser tao desastrada que a atencao ia ser sempre por que eu tinha quebrado alguma coisa. Entenderam tudo errado.
Antes de eu conseguir falar puta-que-o-pariu, alguem limpou os cacos do chao e eu pude fazer outro super cappuccino. Delicioso por sinal!
Fiquei arrasada quando soube que eu poderia ter tomado banho no banheiro chiqueterrimo do salao VIP. Com aqueles chuveirinhos que massageiam o seu corpo todo. E poderia ter usado o sabonete perfumaderrimo de grapefruit rosa, seguido do crème da mesma marca e perfume. Nao tive tempo pro banho e para as toalhas felpudas. Mas lavei a mao pelo menos tres vezes, so pra descontar o azar do nao-banho.
Quando deu a hora do nosso embarque, tive que ser arrastada pra fora do saguao VIP. Por mim, ficaria ali mesmo os 8 dias de ferias ( tomando banho no chuveiro massageador).
Do nada surgiu um funcionario ( nao sei se do aeroporto ou da Cia Aerea) pra empurrar a cadeira de rodas da Lia. Nao contei: A Lili esta doida para “investir”numa cadeira de rodas propria. Anda ate treinando para participar dos jogos olimpicos para deficientes fisicos...
Furamos as filas- vergonha das vergonhas - e fomos levados para um cantinho de espera longe de todos os outros passageiros. Sera que as pessoas acham que a gente ta com sarampo?


Imagine my surprise when I discovered there was a full on buffet with soups, salads, sandwiches, meatballs, spring rolls and various other goodies besides a bar with a variety of fresh juices, and all kinds of alcohol that you can imagine. In the VIP lounge of an airport in a Muslim country. Don't forget THAT.
I ate a salad, I had champagne because I am greedy sofisticated, and a lot of sparkling water , to avoid a hungover on arrival.
After attacking, enjoying the  buffet, I gracefully walked towards the coffee machine and made myslef a super frothy cappuccino (if everything goes wrong in my life, I can be a barista). Suddenly, a force majeure took over me, I do not know what happened, my hand opened and the cup shattered on the floor.
Ah ... the spotlight haunt me! But when I asked to be the centre of attention everywhere I went, I was not calling for catastrophe every time I did something in a new place. Someone got it all wrong.
Before I could say fucking-cow-in the desert, someone cleared the debris from the floor and I could calmly make myself another super cappuccino. It was delicious by the way!
I was devastated when I learned I could also have taken a shower in the VIP lounge. With those showera that massage your whole body. I could have used the  pink grapefruit shower gel, followed by the crème of the same brand and scent. I bet they also had the shampoo. As luck would have it, I did not have time for the bath and fluffy towels. But I made sure I washed my hands at least three times. And used the pink grapefruit stuff.
Whenthe time of our departure came, I had to be dragged out of the VIP lounge. For me, there would great to just stay there all our 8 day vacation (enjoying the darn shower).
Out of nowhere came a man in uniform (I do not know if  he works for the airport or Airline) to push Lia's wheelchair . Did I mention Lili is eager to "invest" in a wheelchair of her own .She is even training to participate in theOlympic Games for handicapped ...
We jumped all queues - shame of all shames - and were taken to a corner away from all the waiting passengers. Probably people misunderstood us and  think we are infected with measles?

Na hora do embarque, o nosso ajudante super fofo nos levou para um caminhaozinho com elevador, que nos transportou pela pista do aeroporto e depois nos catapultou para dentro do aviao, por uma porta secreta destinada a deficientes ( e pelo jeito familias de deficientes e adolescentes com o pe quebrado).
So depois dessa odisseia eu entendi por que o pessoal do check in estava tao preocupado por nos nao termos pedido a cadeira de rodas para a Lia na chegada no Sri lanka.
Eles falavam e repetiam que a gente tinha que ter avisado com antecedencia. Mas ela acabou de quebrar o pe, a gente nao sabia ( sera que eles foram treinados pelo Hospital Alemao? Naon sabe da historia? Leia aqui)

Entramos pela porta lateral do aviao ( oposta aquela que nos sempre usamos) e assim que todo mundo estava a bordo, a Lia foi imediatamente acomodada numa fileira de assentos vazia, a aeromoca trouxe travesseiros para ela ficar com a patinha levantada e cobertor para ela nao passar frio.
Vc se lembra que nos estavamos um tanto preocupados com o atendimento de bordo da Sri lankan airlines? Pois foi tudo perfeito. Desde o embarque, passando pelo cuidado dos comissarios, ate o capricho do menu e a delicia da comida.
Sri lankan Airways? Eu recomendo... ( mas nao use o banheiro - como 90% dos passageiros eram homens e o banheiro estava impossivel de ser usado, cheguei a conclusao que o "passarinho" do sri Lanko vem com um motorzinho giratorio. Juro. Tinha xixi no chao, nas paredes, na tampa do vaso, e pelo que eu vi ate no espelho...)
Nos eramos os unicos “ brancos”do voo todo. Com tantos turistas visitando o Sri lanka, fomos parar num aviao 100% local. Otimo pra gente ir se acostumando...

When the aircraft arrived, our super efficient helper took us to a truck equipped with a wheelchair lift.We were drove around in this futuristic truck and then catapulted straight into the plane, through a secret door designed for the handicapped (and obviously for families of disabled and/or teenagers with a broken foot).

Only after this odyssey I understood why the check-in staff were so worried we haven't requested wheelchair support for Lia on arrival in Sri Lanka.
They mentioned and repeated a hundred times that they had to be warned in advance, to organise help. It was hard for me to understand how difficult could it be to get a darn wheelchair...and  she just broke her foot a day ago, how could I let them know in advance? (were they trained by the German Hospital? You don't know the story? Read here)
We got onboard through a secret side door of the plane (opposite to the one we always use) and when everyone was on board, Lia was immediately accommodated in a row of empty seats, the flight attendant brought pillows to keep her ​​foot up and blankets so she would not get cold.
Do you remember  we were somewhat concerned about the service on board the Sri lankan airlines? Nothing to worry there, because everything was perfect. From boarding, through the flight attendants care, up to the gorgeous menu and the delicious food.
Sri lankan Airways? I recommend ... (But do not use the bathroom - as 90% of the passengers were male and the bathroom was impossible to use, it was so filthy,I came to the conclusion that the "Sri Lankan penis " comes equipped with a  little engine that rotates the "equipment.Ï swear. There was pee on the floor, walls, on the toilet seat, and from what I saw up there was some in the mirror too ...)
We were the only "white people" in that aircraft. With so many tourists visiting Sri Lanka, we ended up in a plane 100% filled by locals. Great opportunity for us to get used to it ...