2. Two, dos, zwei,twee

Pettah Market, curious how the iPad camera works.

2. Two, dos, zwei,twee

After a bit of a Nanna nap. We caught a metered tuk tuk for a two hundred rupee we got to the Colombo foreshore.  The beach isn't really much of a beach,  more of a thin strip of sand from which the locals can be sucked into the sea. The rip here seemed pretty fierce, straight into the Indian Ocean ...next stop Mogadishu.  It is called the Galle Face Green, although more dust than green bits.  Being a Saturday night it was very full of the young promenading females, families, and the ever present touts, spruikers, roadside restaurants and huge crowds.   

Then managed to get a good iced coffee at what was, in the 16th century, the old Dutch Hospital shopping complex...well in the 16th century it probably would have been called the new Dutch hospital ...anyway I digress.

Sunday 14th

As arranged our tuk tuk driver Siri collected us at about 8 am and for the per arranged r500, we got a good tour for 1.5 hr, and then he explained to us very politely(and surprisingly honest) that if he takes us to a duty free gem store that he will get 3 l of fuel for his tuk-tuk .  He said we were not to buy anything, but if we could do him the favour.....  Such was his honestly we went into the air conditioned shop, chatted to the salesman for 5 min, then we were off to the National museum.....seemed very tired and old....(of course there are lots of old things there that's what museua are about, ) needs a lot of TLC which clearly it wasn't getting. 

THE SCAM-1  they work in a team of three.  Tuk tuk driver one harasses the tourist, kindly gentleman tut tuts such untoward behaviour and gets into the conversation and every one of them has a sister in Australia and their wife is a nurse, and they love cricket.  They kindly offer to show you 'their' home temple, but alas it is too far to walk. Magically scamster no 3 in his tuk tuk just happens to pull up and picks you up, and drives you around for the next hour or so, and when it's all over the un-negotiated price is 10 times the going rate.

We got sucked in once, and then had fun with the next three similar scamsters, telling them we knew their sister, as we just happened to live in the same street and the last one just was told to go away.

Always always negotiate price before the taxi takes off.

We were looking lost just after getting out of the museum and a lady offered us directions told us that a taxi  should cost us r80.  We then hailed a taxi and were told r300.  This lady from a distance saw us remonstrating, wandered up and negotiated on our behalf and then told the driver to take a hike(or whatever the Sinhalese equivalent is, then told us "it is because you are white"  she was lovely, pointed us to a bust stop, caught the local bus for r20 to Pettah market.

Pot and woks anybody?

At Pettah Market we wandered through the produce market, and the streets around where each street or section has a speciality, cookware, baggage, clothing, electronics even betting shops.

Went back to Galle face green foreshore , even busier than last night.  Hundreds of tuk tuks parked in a row along the roadway, and tens of thousands of people.  For island dwelling people they don't seem to have much 'beachiness" about them.  Nary a pair of bathers.

Beach goers GalleFace Green

Plan is 10.30 train tomorrow to Galle.  More then then.

The dogs, I'm sure they miss us

The tuk-tuks lined up Galle Face Green