A short story about the path to your dream. Ways from a small town to a bright and happy life with travel and interesting work. With life in different places on the planet, each of which can be considered your home. A path that anyone can repeat.
When I was a little boy, a book about the adventures of Robinson Crusoe fell into my hands. I remember how I read and dreamed of getting to a desert island, wandering barefoot on the sand among tropical trees, listening to the sound of the surf, falling asleep to the singing of birds .... A childhood dream was not forgotten and one day grew into something more. Almost thirty years passed before I was able to carry out my plan, but all the efforts and the long wait were worth it.
I managed to get to the island for the first time at the age of 25. At that time, my friend and I had a small online store that developed well and brought a steady income. This helped my wife and I think for the first time about a vacation abroad, before that I had only seen the Black and Azov Seas.
We planned to spend the deferred amount on a classic all-inclusive. We went to a travel agency wondering if it would be Türkiye? Egypt? Or maybe Tunisia? But while we were sorting through the hotels of the Turkish coast, the travel agent suddenly asked: “maybe you want to go to Sri Lanka?”.
Sri Lanka?! Of course we fired up. The tropics, which always seemed to be something extremely inaccessible, suddenly became a reality. The price was a little more expensive, but we did not look at other options. And what options can there be when you see a bottomless blue ocean in the photo, huge sandy beaches with palm trees, beautiful houses on a plot of land between the river and the ocean? A week later we were flying on a huge liner to Colombo. The Club Bentota was waiting for us…
The exit from the plane was accompanied by euphoria. You inhale the moist, brackish air, you smell the smells of fruits, spices and tropical flowers. Birds sing all around, cicadas chirp. Time is 5 am. We are hiding from a tropical downpour and are looking for a transfer to a hotel.
On the way, we stop by to see the sights of Colombo: the temple-museum of Buddhism Gangaramayya, the red mosque Jami Ul Alfar, we take pictures at the monument by phone. Time flies by unnoticed and now we finally drive up to the hotel. We transfer to the boat and sail to the hotel pier. Great start!
The hotel, which came across by chance, turned out to be ideal for me. 1-2 storey houses scattered over a fairly large area "right in the middle of the jungle" (then it seemed like a jungle)). In our house there is a veranda where we drank tea with delicious desserts in the evenings, right on the river bank.
It is this format of accommodation, with the maximum feeling of immersion in nature, and not even a concrete box of even mega luxury, that will remain preferable for me for the rest of my life.
The all inclusive buffet also won my heart forever (neighing smiley). An open-type restaurant on a platform half-hanging over the water was the entrance to a world of new tastes and sensations (not only taste - who tried to understand)) Insanely spicy, but also insanely delicious food, just excellent local beer, a huge variety of delicious desserts - we tried to try everything and immediately and naturally overeat (still neighing emoticon). Oh yes, and very tasty, fragrant local rum and gin in cocktails or neat.
The hotel, of course, had a pool in which all the guests sat - mostly middle-aged Europeans. Everyone but us. We have never entered it, because the OCEAN! Yes, it's not the season, the waves and they say it's very dangerous. WAVES, in which it spins so cheerfully and throws it ashore, and sometimes it not weakly applies to the bottom, which is our part of fine sand. The beach, endless and simply luxurious, completely without people. Even at the peak of the season, there are not many of them here, since this resort is more popular among predominantly middle-aged Europeans, who sit in the pool sipping cocktails.
How can this be compared with our beaches, where even getting to the water is difficult due to the number of people? I love the Crimea, especially because of the coniferous air saturated with their aroma, beautiful views of the mountains. And I have been there more than once since Sri Lanka and I will be again. But still, it is the "bounty" beaches that are my ideal.
We never saw the dawn, but the orders here are amazing, although I can really appreciate them later! A mini-island with a Buddhist temple, which you can go to along the shallows, also evoked a feeling of delight. Such an island in a square. A couple of times we went to the nearest town, although it is rather a small village. Then every step was impressive, for the most part by the fact that everything was not the way I was used to. Everything else. Other people, buildings, views, humidity, sun. Cows walking by themselves right along the road among mopeds and tuk-tuks. Smells of food and incense. Unusual architecture, beautiful in temples and some buildings, and completely absent from most commercial buildings along the road.
At the hotel and while we were walking around the city, we were offered a bunch of excursions. From a few hours on a boat on the river, to a trip for several days to the center of the island and even to the other northeast coast, where it was high season at that time. But we had too little time, and money, so 2 quick excursions were the only option.
And so, on a tuk-tuk, we arrived at the Brief Garden of Bevis Bawa, where we walked for several hours. And right from the hotel we took a boat ride along the Bentota River, observing the local wildlife and mangroves. This river excursion included a visit to the spice garden, on an island in the middle of the river. Then it was certainly interesting, and it was hard not to buy all sorts of spices and wonderful local Ayurvedic remedies, but the very next day we found everything the same in the city pharmacy 2-3 times cheaper))
Only 7 days is very little. Already the day before departure, it became sad, to the point of tears. It seems we have just landed, and already we need to leave. Be sure to return, and for a long time - a decision that has matured a couple of days before departure. I really liked the hotel, but now I plan to go around the whole island, see and learn as much as possible. A flight back to a now-seemingly even darker country, to an already less interesting job. 3 years before return.
To be continued...