Middle-aged flash packers

Writing this at Colombo airport, it’s difficult for my judgement not to be coloured by the totally unnecessary requirement for us to be at the airport FIVE HOURS before our flight departs! Add that to a 12 hour flight and 17 hours of sitting around goes straight onto the hell list.
Anyway for what it’s worth, here’s the breakdown of the heaven and hell that is Sri Lanka:
HELL
– Rubbish. It’s everywhere. By the side of the road, in the sea, parks, you name the venue, it’s there.
– Burning rubbish. This is how Sri Lankans deal with their trash. Burn it. Bonfires are commonplace. Don’t expect to walk or sit anywhere without getting a lungful of toxic smoke.
– Traffic pollution. Where do I start? It’s impossible to get any fresh air here. Between the bonfires and traffic fumes I think my lungs have been permanently damaged. Thought we might get some fresh air in the hill country around Ella. No chance, buses, lorries etc spouting their revolting poison there too.
– Driving. This consists of never looking behind you and copious amounts of tooting. If someone is turning right, just overtake them, perfectly acceptable. On roundabouts, you can stop and let someone in front of you, but not all the time. Also if you are on a single track road ,there is another vehicle coming, and there is a space you can pull into, NEVER, EVER use it. You must keep going so you both have to really struggle to get past each other.
– Buses. Absolutely hate them. They have the loudest horns in the world and drive at the speed of sound. They stop for no-one, not even their passengers who have to fling themselves on and off them.
– The phrase “where are you from?” As soon as I hear it, my heart sinks and I know I’m going to have a conversation with someone who actually doesn’t give a hoot where I’m from but is extremely interested in my purse.
– Over promising and under delivering. Everything is bigged up here, superlatives know no bounds. Ignore them, they’re meaningless. This particularly applies to accommodation. For “luxurious” think tired, for “simple” avoid like the plague.
Ok, quite a bit of hell there. Here’s the heaven bit:

HEAVEN
– Tuktuks. Yes I know I’m weird but I love ’em. Just the convenience of them. If you feel a bit tired and suddenly decide you don’t want to walk any further, there is always a tuktuk. There is nowhere they won’t go and they are always available. Imagine in the uk, just walking to the end of your road and hopping into one.
– The people. Yes I know some of them are very annoying and persistent in their attempts to open your wallet and at times it feels as though you are not a person more of a walking, free bank. However, the people that don’t want anything from you are lovely. Kind, generous and always ready with a big smile.
– Equality. Funny thing this, but I noticed that, unlike many other places we visit (especially Turkey) I am spoken to and addressed as an equal. Quite often on our travels, Steve is spoken to and I am ignored as I am just an inconsequential female. I also notice that men do the cleaning! (They’re not very good though). We have spoken to a few Sri Lankan women who are proper entrepreneurs, running several businesses and sharing dual responsibility with their husbands. Quite often, the husband is living away as their job is in the city and the women run the hotel/business on their own.
– The wildlife. It is amazing and I applaud Sri Lanka in its conservation of it. Where else can you see turtles hatching safely under tables at a beach restaurant, road signs warning you that an elephant might cross in front of you and watch a truck driver grind to a screeching halt to let a monitor lizard lazily cross the road?
– Geographical variety. Sri Lanka has everything. Beautiful beaches, mountains, wetlands, lagoons, it’s all there and most of it is accessible. There is still plenty of wilderness. Having visited Cambodia where its forested area is now down to 3%, I hope they can continue to protect it.
Well that about sums it up. I really can’t make a decision whether Sri Lanka is heaven or hell. I think it’s both, I can’t separate them. It’s the combination of these extremes that make Sri Lanka the country it is.