Living in Asia provided Trevor and I with some amazing opportunities. We met awesome people, traveled on many fun adventures, tackled some challenging work projects, and even got to start a community movement in November Project Hong Kong.

What living in Asia did not make us better at: planning our vacations. There is no penalty for last minute planning in Southeast Asia: a last minute flight is always affordable, there is an abundance of cheap lodging, and always a motorbike to rent. So when we told our friends we were ending our time in Hong Kong with a ten day trip to Sri Lanka, they advised “plan ahead, get a guide, choose a route”. To say we ignored our friends is rude, but to say we pushed wedding planning, work, and goodbye dinners with friends ahead of planning is accurate. So when I arrived in Colombo, after dropping off Rhino at my parents and attending a last minute work meeting in NYC, other than the familiar tall giant waiting to greet me, I didn’t exactly know what we were going to do for the next ten days…

My brain severely jet lagged, Trevor organized our first few nights: relaxing at a beach front hotel called the “Palms Villa” in the south, two train tickets later and we were on our way…

Traveling by Train in Sri Lanka is very affordable, but unless you purchase first class tickets (also very affordable, just requires some planning), you are in second class, and in second class there are no assigned seats. I had read online that you should get on at the earliest stop possible, and be prepared to “fight” for a seat. In case anyone forgets, Trevor and I are giants in Asia, so “fighting for a seat” was not something I was concerned with. We arrived a half hour early to the train, to find locals pushing to the front of the platform before the train was even in sight.

I’m not exactly sure how we got a seat on the train (I’m sure our size had something to do with it). I can recall the experience of two elderly women shoving me aside to take the seat I had put my bag on, and on my second and third attempt men telling me “no I could not” sit with them. After the third rejection, I ignored them, remembering technically there were “no rules”. Trevor and I settled into two window seats, while seven other people packed into the booth beside us. The train ride was a mix of beauty, weird smells, close quarters, and rising temperatures.

We stumbled out of the train, into the first (insanely overpriced) tuk tuk we saw, and spent the next 45 minutes searching for our “hotel”– that we determined did not exist. We had booked through bookings.com, but the place was nowhere to be found, no one was able to tell us of it’s existence, and eventually we ended up back by the train station, booking a touristy hotel, and eating dinner defeated.

The next morning we awoke to messages from the hotel, asking if we were okay, as we had missed our reservation. Confused, we hailed a tuk tuk to the same spot that we had stood at the night prior, and in disbelief watched as a guard opened up a wall revealing our beautiful hotel inside.

The manager, Udith, fed us smoothies, while he apologized for their lack of signage and the miscommunication. He added an extra night to our stay for free, and escorted us to the best room in the place– a room with an ocean front view, ten meters from the beach. We spent the day playing in the ocean, and relaxing by the pool, and that night we were introduced to the hotel’s chef.

That night, and subsequently every meal for the rest of our stay, we were treated to a feast of vegetarian (upon our request) Sri Lankan curries. The chef was so talented and the food so delicious, that on our second to last day, Trevor and I requested a cooking class, to which he happily obliged.

We learned to make all our favorites: Samba, Eggplant Curry, Bean Curry, Papadom, and Dahl…Hands down the best food we ate while in Sri Lanka, the cooking class was definitely a highlight of our stay.

In between surfing, and lounging by the beach, Udith learned that we had no other plans, and helped pair us with a guide, and an itinerary for the remaining 6 days of our trip.

It was hard to leave our little paradise, but Sri Lanka would only keep getting better and better…