SIDE TRIP 12: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Would you believe the ninang of my little princess is actually based in Sri Lanka? I hadn't seen her in four years and it was such a pleasure to meet her again in Colombo, of all places. The pinoy is truly global - - you will find one anywhere in the world.
Last night she showed me around Colombo. We had coffee in one of the oldest existing hotels in the world -- the five-star Galle Face Hotel which has been operating since 1864! (Manila Hotel was built only in 1912) She took me to the World Trade Center which is a replica of its late American cousin circa 9/11, then took a stroll on the boulevard on the shores of the Indian Ocean. We had dinner at the Grand Oriental Hotel where Jose Rizal used to stay! I didn't even know Rizal went to Sri Lanka but apparently it was one of his favorite places, at the time when it was still called Ceylon. A historical marker mounted on the hotel's walls attest to this. After dinner, she
took me to another five-star hotel where she said a Filipino band performs but sadly, the club was closed because they were in mourning over the killing of a Buddhist monk.
Later at midnight, I was lining up at immigration at the Bandaranaike International Airport when I heard someone behind me say "Ssssh, 'wag makulit!" Startled, I turned around to find a woman trying to contain her hyperactive brat of a child. I smiled at her. She smiled back, then followed it up with "Pilipino ka?" I nodded. Then she asked again, "Saang garments ka?" Nyahaha!!! Apparently, most of the Pinoy OFWs in Sri Lanka are employed in garment factories.
It left me in stitches, pun not intended.
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA on the Indian Ocean
Last night she showed me around Colombo. We had coffee in one of the oldest existing hotels in the world -- the five-star Galle Face Hotel which has been operating since 1864! (Manila Hotel was built only in 1912) She took me to the World Trade Center which is a replica of its late American cousin circa 9/11, then took a stroll on the boulevard on the shores of the Indian Ocean. We had dinner at the Grand Oriental Hotel where Jose Rizal used to stay! I didn't even know Rizal went to Sri Lanka but apparently it was one of his favorite places, at the time when it was still called Ceylon. A historical marker mounted on the hotel's walls attest to this. After dinner, she
took me to another five-star hotel where she said a Filipino band performs but sadly, the club was closed because they were in mourning over the killing of a Buddhist monk.
Later at midnight, I was lining up at immigration at the Bandaranaike International Airport when I heard someone behind me say "Ssssh, 'wag makulit!" Startled, I turned around to find a woman trying to contain her hyperactive brat of a child. I smiled at her. She smiled back, then followed it up with "Pilipino ka?" I nodded. Then she asked again, "Saang garments ka?" Nyahaha!!! Apparently, most of the Pinoy OFWs in Sri Lanka are employed in garment factories.
It left me in stitches, pun not intended.
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA on the Indian Ocean
posted by Miki at
4:19 PM
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