The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Not too much grief and pain it must be said but nothing really went to plan on this trip.

We booked a business class flight from Abu Dhabi to Colombo so that Sue could get a complimentary chauffeur pick-up from Al Ain to Abu Dhabi and so that we could sleep on the flight. It turned out that since this was not an Etihad flight we could not get the chauffeur service and there were normal seats not fully reclining ones. So no sleep but Sue did manage to get a lift from Al Ain with a friend.

Next plan was to meet Manda at a local airport in Columbo and fly to her home in Jaffna at the northern tip of Sri Lanka. We only had a little over an hour to make this connection so it was always going to be tight. Unfortunately our flight was an hour and a half late leaving Abu Dhabi so no chance.

Plan B was a ten hour car ride to Jaffna.

Fortunately since we had no sleep on the plane, we slept for most of this journey. We were awake enough to see signs warning of minefields and numerous buildings ravaged by gunshots and explosives. It is not that long since the war ended and we are heading into the heart of Tamil Tiger country.

We did manage a visit to Nallur Kandaswamy temple, one of many hindu temples in Jaffna. We arrived in the middle of a very confusing prayer ritual with lots of bell ringing, trumpet blowing, smoke and ashes. We had to leave our shoes outside and all men had to take their shirts off. Thankfully photography was not allowed.

Next day was to be a scooter trip across several causeways and islands to catch a ferry to  Delft Island. The ferry left at either 9 or 9.30am so by leaving at 7.15 we would be there for 9.00. We left closer to 7.30 and then the pilot and co-pilot (Manda & Sue) on the lead scooter missed a turning (would you believe they were too busy talking!) which led to a 20 minute detour meaning we arrived for the ferry at 9.15 and of course today it was a 9.00am sailing not 9.30.

Plan B. We spent another few bum-numbing hours on the scooters and managed to get to the northern tip of Sri Lanka and have our lunch on a beautiful tropical beach.

Next day we planned to leave on time and catch the 9.00am ferry. Cue the monsoon downpour.

Plan B. I went back to bed while Sue and Manda chatted – I have no idea what they have left to talk about.

The rain finally left and we were able to explore Kantharodai an ancient Buddhist site near Chunnakam on the outskirts of Jaffna. 

We passed this Hindu temple on the way. I really don’t get it!

Time to explore the old Dutch fort and sample what passes for normality in Jaffna.

The next day we planned an early start with a car and driver booked to take us to a wonderful sounding hotel and then onto the World Heritage Site of Anuradhapura. We would spend the afternoon here and then the driver would take us on to Columbo airport the next day.

We got the early start that was needed but ran into many showers as we drove south. This would not have been a problem except that every time it rained the car had to slow to about 30kph or the back end would periodically slide sideways. It turned out that the rear tyres were completely bald. After dropping us at the hotel the driver promised to get new tyres and return to take us to Anuradhapura. An hour and a half later I phoned him to discover that the tyre man had driven the car out of the garage and into a bus. The car needed to be towed!

Plan B. We decided to enjoy the hotel.

The Ulagalla Resort is simply stunning. Private chalets with their own plunge pools scattered around 20 acres of lush grounds next to lakes covered in water lilies and trees full of birds. So plan B wasn’t too bad.