Stamps: "Resident Birds of Sri Lanka" (issued 2003)

Beautiful birds on parade. To download hi-resolution version of the above image (600 kB), click here.

More Stamps

These are my Sri Lanka immigration stamps - maiden trip to another wonderful country, my 36th I reckon.

FINAL ~ Sri Lanka 090905b: The Return Trip

We are aboard a Sri Lankan Airlines Airbus A340. Similar in shape to an A330, it has 4 engines and a longer fuselage, and flies further. Our plane's registration is 4R-ADC, and pics of it can be had here: http://snipurl.com/hrsb

Trail emanating from the tip of the winglet.

Engine #1 of the A340 plane.

Noon and we are safely parked at KLIA, and at the same gate we left four days ago. Always great to be home!

Sri Lanka 090905a: The Departure & Bye-bye SriLanka

Departure lounge at last! Well, it was a rather harmless wait, but we are really sleepy and tired.

Yup, we are definitely on our way home now.

Sri Lanka 080905l: The Long Wait

This stall looks interesting - Sinhalese masks to ward off evil and bring good luck...and the chick on the top right corner looks cool too.

Close up of the masks...and the lady.

And business is brisk at the sole cafetaria in the departure area, at 2am! Mainly travellers delayed by the Saudi plane commotion.

Colourful parakeets grace the cafetaria wall.

Sri Lanka 080905k: The Delay

As luck would have it, our flight is now delayed by 4 hours, new departure time set at 4.30am. What an unearthly hour! Reason: see above. Later that evening we actually see the hapless, tired folks from the Saudi plane undergoing stringent security checks before reboarding. A memorable day for them indeed.

My survival kit in case of a plane delay just like this one. :-)

Sri Lanka 080905j: Last Dusk in Sri Lanka

The crescent Moon appears, with Venus and Jupiter in tow...

...while a pair of lovebirds savour the moments...

...and it's time for us to leave Negombo, find dinner, and head for Colombo airport. Our plane to Kuala Lumpur leaves in 5 hours.

Sri Lanka 080905i: A Pair of Nuts

A lot of cute little coconuts are littering the beach...

...and getting very wet too.

Sri Lanka 080905h: The Beach

A beach at Negombo. Looking southwards. The sun has just set. We miss it by a few minutes!

View towards the north.

The Indian Ocean is still rough although it's now the tail end of the monsoon.

One of the numerous resorts fronting the sea. Buffeted by strong winds 24/7 during the monsoon season.

Sri Lanka 080905g: Off to Negombo

A thin mosque along the way to Negombo (about 40km north of Colombo), a famous beach area. There are strong settlements of Muslims and Catholics along the A2 highway between Colombo and Negombo. There are also 8,000 Ceylon-Malays. They speak good Malay but with a thick Sinhalese accent. I met two of them in downtown Colombo, one of them a conman, unfortunately.

A skinny minaret.