TRAVELMAN SRI LANKA: last days, trains, casinos, and coconuts

Tomorrow night my adventures in Asia come to an end. If all goes well, there will be a sequel (as long as Travelman Studios has the funds to green light it). These last and next few hours are the epilogue to the story.

Yesterday I took the train from Weligama to Negombo. It was an all day journey. I left my hostel in the morning and walked the kilometer or so to the train station. I was prepared for it to be crowded, but I had no idea how crowded it would get.

As the train came into the station I stepped into a car before it even came to a stop, It was one of the things I’d learned from previous rides. As expected, all the seats were already taken, as well the primo standing spots. I found an open space amongst a family near the door on the opposite side of the vestibule. Time and quick decisions were of the essence, so I immediately dropped my bag, sat on it, and leaned against the wall. The family consisted of a teenage brother and sister, the mother, and a young woman who appeared to be the boy’s girlfriend.

I had a good spot with only the boy and his girl between me and the open door. If you’re sitting, people have little to no opportunity to slowly jockey you out of position (tip of the day from Travelman). More new riders crowded into the area. I was glad I wasn’t stuck in the middle, standing, with no place to lean my body, and no breeze to cool my skin.

The ride was a little over four hours, with many stops. At one point in the ride, an employee of the train hopped on just as the train was pulling out of the station. He used the fact that he was in Train worker uniform to commandeer a primo standing spot, almost completely obscuring both the view and the breeze. I was none too happy with that dude. He exited ten minutes later at the next stop.

At a later stop, two employees in the same uniform pulled the same stunt. Not only that, but a passenger weasled his way into it by standing immediatley in front of them and boarding a split second before them. The three of them muscled the teenage couple from their door spots so that everyone in our already crowded area had even less personal space. The boy and girl had been sitting, now they were standing.

I took a pic (above) of all the feet, evidence of feeling packed like a sardine.

I remained seated in my spot. The mistake the boy and girl had made was to completely block the door and not be sitting on a bag. For these reasons they had to move to let people out, thus forfeiting their position.

I, on the other hand, merely had to swivel my legs and pin myself against the wall for a few moments. The teenagers could’ve benefited from some Travelman tips.

Who’s savvy sometimes?

Travelman!

Master Defender of Personal Space!

(Look for my soon to be released book, “Covert Traveler Wars: How to Maintain Ownership of the Airplane Arm Rest”)

I had to transfer trains in Colombo. I’d been looking at Google Maps and had noticed that there was a Bally’s Casino two minutes from the train station.

Hmmm. This could be dangerous.

So I went to Bally’s Casino...

I bet the equivalent of $6.70 on Roulette. I lost. So I bet the same amount. If I lost it would be my last bet. I won, and won again, then lost. I walked out of the casino $28.50 richer. After I stopped myself, I saw that I would have won again on the next bet. I was tempted to push my luck but didn’t. I watched the result of that spin as well, I would’ve lost. I felt vindicated. I cashed out at the cashier.

On may way out I saw that if I would’ve made one more bet after the one I would’ve lost after the oneI would’ve won (keep up with me)- my number (16) would’ve hit!!!

I missed out on winning big. AGGHH! ...But I still had more money in my pocket, so I split myself in two and dragged the half that wanted to stay the hell out of the casino.

I went back to the station just in time to buy a coke with part of my winnings and hop on the commuter transfer to Negombo. This train was more like an above ground subway train- with open windows and doors the entire ride. An old guy that barely spoke English kept trying to talk to me in his Sri Lankan language (Tamil or Sinhala). I kept thinking, “Dude! What do you not understand about me not understanding you?” I gave up on him by continuing to smile, giving one last nod, then looking away, forever.

I was a short walk to my hostel. I passed a Christian church (cover photo pic of post). That’s not an arch! Those are coconuts!

No they’re not!

Yes, they are. You’ve got a bunch of cocunuts! You’ve shellacked them and called them an arch.

No, I have not.

...Anybody want me to continue my Monty Python references? ...Anybody? ...Nobody? ....Ok, moving on.

Caught a bird in flight behind Hostel

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Interior of one of the busses I rode in Sri Lanka...

Finally, there are things one cannot unsee, this is one of them I witnessed at the Holiday Inn. Remarkably, the woman was with speedo man...

!steemitworldmap 7.1703 lat 79.8667 long Last call for coconuts! Sri Lanka, d3scr