Continuing the theme of ‘go go go,’ I had one weekend in Bengaluru before meeting Jake, Bethany, Elsie, Holland, Harlow, and their nanny, Monica in Sri Lanka. I was so giddy about having a full week off of work, going to a new place, and being there with Jake, Bethany, Elsie, Holland, and Harlow. Since they live overseas, I really only get to see them once a year, during the summer when they visit the States for summer break. They spend one month in Texas with Jeanne and one month in Washington with Bethany’s family. Since we don’t live in Texas anymore, Bryan and I usually fly to Dallas to spend a week there with them. It is always hectic. So many people are around. Family and friends flock to see Jake+. It is fun but to have an entire week with them alone!? A dream!
I landed in Colombo on Friday morning at 3:30 am; Jake+ had landed a couple of hours earlier and waited for me at the airport as transportation had been arranged for all of us. Airport went smoothly, got my bags, started walking out and spotted Bethany and Holland waiting for me. Elsie eventually snuck up, followed by Jake, Harlow, and Monica. On our way out of the airport and to find the hired car, Jake, pushing Harlow’s stroller, panicked and exclaimed, “where is Harlow!” then to Elsie, standing next to him, “where is Harlow!!! She looked at him confused and said, “she is right there, daddy!” pointing to the stroller he was pushing. We laughed SO hard. We found the driver and van, loaded it up, and got in position for the 2.5 hour ride to the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Elsie and Holland insisted I sit in the middle of them until it was time to sleep when I climbed to the very back seat for some rest.
Jake and Bethany picked some amazing places to stay. We stayed in a house on a resort in the Southern Province. Our backyard had a pool and then the ocean. It was incredible. We could walk from the house, to the pool, to the beach, to the restaurant – all within 1-minute walk of the house. I asked Elsie and Holland if they wanted to slumber party with me, explained a slumber party and they agreed! It was everything a good auntie could hope for. They wanted to play, to talk, to swim, to jump in the waves, to play spy/ ninja games with me. And so we did. Elsie is such a good swimmer but was surprisingly interested in jumping the waves on the beach. The current was too strong for swimming so we stayed close to shore as she jumped, and I picked up Holland as waves crashed into us. Holland preferred the pool and even though she is great swimmer, she isn’t super comfortable so always likes to jump to someone, hold onto someone, or wear floaties for free range.
We had a delicious meal delivered to the house that night by the resort chef. Both girls climbed into bed with me but only Elsie made it the whole night. Holland decided to join her parents pretty early. We had 3 days of swimming, pool, food, slumber partying. The next night, Holland wanted to do a spy mission so we convinced Jake and Bethany that we were ready for bed, pretended to sleep, and when they went upstairs to sleep, we snuck out to spy around the house. When I heard someone upstairs, I panicked because I really thought they’d be super pissed to find out the girls were still awake and I was part of the scheme. Of course, the next day when I told them, they had known all along. Apparently, Holland’s side eye and winking tipped them off.
Next stop was Ella – the mountains of Sri Lanka. I was sick sick sick from a “milkshake” the night before. I knew better but it was delicious. Pro tip: milkshakes in this region are not made of ice cream. I was nauseous all morning, and the entire 2.5 hour car ride from the ocean to the mountains, and for hours upon arriving in Ella. I had my own bungalow at this resort which was a relief with how I was feeling. I slept and proceeded to join Jake+ at the resort restaurant which was situated right above my bungalow, a stairway from my street up to the restaurant. I reached the top, could hear Harlow wailing and Bethany trying to talk her down. I walked into the restaurant, saw Jake at the table, heard him say to Monica, “yeah so our clan isn’t doing too well today!”, locked eyes with Monica and gagged like I was going to throw up. I turned on my heels and emptied the contents of my stomach onto the lawn. When I could, I moved to the side of the restaurant so as not to gross out the patrons. Bethany and Harlow came to check on me, then Jake with Elsie and Holland. By this time I was feeling muuuuuuch better but knew I needed to go back to my room for rest.
I was up every couple of hours with an achy body, just absolutely miserable. I got barely any sleep but the next morning, got some Tylenol which was a game changer. I knew I couldn’t go on the hike that we had planned, and I had been so excited about. I read and watched Brooklyn 99 all day. Have I mentioned that the view from my bungalow was ABSOLUTELY stunning? A huge green valley with mountain peaks popping up in the distance. The fog would roll in, making everything disappear, and then roll right back out revealing the beauty. All day, over and over. It was incredible. (I’m realizing I need to widen my adjective vocabulary)
The next day I was feeling so much better but we had planned a train ride. I know enough about myself and motion sickness to know that was not a good idea. So I spent another day in my room, reading and watching Brooklyn 99. That night, I joined Bethany and Elsie and Holland for dinner where I ate a little and finally did not feel sick after eating.
The next morning, I had a two-hour ($50.00) massage + milk bath staring out over the valley and mountains. Then we loaded a van and drove to the Western Province for our last stop, another cool house in a beach town. This house was decorated immaculately. Custom and locally-made cane furniture, gorgeous built-ins and a bunk bedroom with 4, king-size bunk beds! Of course, Elsie, Holland, and I took that room. Bethany found a yummy pizza place where we had dinner.
The next day we went to Unawantuna Beach where huuuuuuge sea turtles roam the shallow waters. It was insane. I’ve never seen such big turtles, not to mention so many and in the wild! It was hot and humid and sunny but the ocean was more swimmable. We had a little lunch before going back to the house and swimming in the pool the rest of the day. That night, the house chef brought ingredients for our order and cooked a meal for everyone. It was so good that we decided to take advantage of that each night. “Chips and guacamole” ended up being guacamole with French fries but we’ve all come to expect some miscommunication in world travel. The food was sooooo good. We had all been so tired at the start of the trip, then I was sick in the middle of the trip, but finally, I was able to stay up talking with Jake and Bethany each night. As always, we had such nice conversation.
Everyday we had breakfast cooked for us in the house, ate together, swam or went to a beach, had naps/ quiet time, lunch, swam or went to a beach for sunset, and dinner. All 3 girls played nonstop and the 4 adults just tried to keep up. It was hot and humid and bugs were everywhere. AC was in the bedrooms only and the big open doors only helped the bugs, not the air circulation or temperature. Elsie and I spent a lot of time running around with bug zappers, trying to control the flies. It was annoying but just part of the experience. By then end of our time, we were all ready to get out.
Taylor’s Tortured Poet’s Department was released on Friday morning so I downloaded it immediately and we listened to the 31 songs as much as we could for the rest of our time in Sri Lanka.
On the last night, Jake, Bethany, Elsie, Holland, and I took a tuk tuk to a trail head, leading to jungle beach. There wasn’t a trail per se, we got lost and turned around once, but eventually hiked our way through the jungle, to the beach. It was a beautiful cove beach. I swam with Bethany and the girls and then Bethany and I went to explore a neighbor beach but after climbing some huge rocks and realizing that there was a lot more climbing to do, we stopped, sat, and talked as the sun set.
When it was time to leave, we decided to attempt to get a water taxi instead of hiking back to the road. I negotiated us to a reasonable price and soon, a little power boat was reaching the shore to let us board. It wasn’t long before we were all scared to death. Elsie admitted it first, then me, then Holland and Jake and Bethany. The water was ROUGH and DARK. And the boat was SMALL. We were being tossed back and forth with the waves. The adults regretted it but we knew we were too far into it to turn around. Better to just continue on and hope for the best. We made it to shore safely but man, that is something I won’t soon forget.
The next day was our last day in Sri Lanka so I went off alone to do some shopping. Found some suuuuuper cute stuff for my upcoming trip to Greece with Bryan. I fell in love with a skirt that was too big and too long so the seamstress came and adjusted it in two hours – I picked it up and it fits perfectly! Free of charge, too! We spent the evening in Galle – an old Portuguese-settled town. It was really cute and hopping. Lots of restaurants, shops, clothes, people, ice cream, and a huge fort and lighthouse. It was hot and humid, we were all soaking with sweat as we boarded the van back to Colombo. I flew back to BLR late that night; Jake+ stayed one night near the airport and left the next morning.
I will never forget that week and the time I got to spend with 3 of my nieces. They are incredible. Funny, smart, cunning, witty, honest, emotional, cuuuuute, stubborn, and so many more things. For the entire time, Holland talked and asked about Bry Bry. Every conversation included Bry Bry. She texted and facetimed with Bry Bry as often as she could. She asked me what a statue was, I said, “that’s Ganesha, a Hindu god.” She said, “oh, does Bry Bry know him?” Hahahah, incredible. I loved every minute of my time with them. But also, I was exhausted and ready to get back to the little life I have in Bengaluru. Plus, up next: GREECE WITH MY HUSBAND!!!!!
Emily in India 
Leave a comment