A friend from work and I decided to try out traveling together as we’re both semi-single women who like to travel, but aren’t always comfortable traveling on our own. So, we decided to take our first trip together for a few days at the end of term and before she had to begin summer school teaching.
C did all the planning and legwork for this trip as I was busy and it just happened that way. In the future, I’ll do more, of course. π
So, on June 15th we left Abu Dhabi late for Colombo, Sri Lanka. Our trip started off a little worryingly before we even left AD as we had arrived at Terminal 1 according to what our tickets said. When we tried to find where to check-in, we were told we had to go to Terminal 1A. To get there, we went downstairs, outside, past a very long line of workers trying to get flights home and in to the “ghetto terminal” of 1A. Everything went reasonably fast, but when we got through immigration, there was a small snack bar and the rest was seating with nothing else in terms of conveniences of an international terminal. Luckily, we didn’t have time to sit or even worry about it!
We rode on Sri Lankan Airlines co-shared with Etihad. While Etihad has a quality reputation, Sri Lankan Air does not share the same level of quality, in my mind. I would recommend paying some extra money and choosing a more well-known airlines. They did not hit it off with me when the flight attendant kept saying “Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me” when she wanted to know if I wanted something to drink despite the fact that I was sleeping and did not put down my table and did not want to be woken up. I was NOT a happy camper….
Fortunately, the flight proceeded smoothly after that. We made it quickly through the airport and only noted a very strange sight after getting through immigration. While seeing a duty free shop is reasonably normal, seeing a large section of electrical items – washing machines, refrigerators, TVs, etc – was quite strange. Since it is in the arrival lobby, one can only assume that it is for Sri Lankans who return to their country and want to buy appliances for their homes…right? I could not understand this…gave us a good laugh in any case!
Arrival terminal in Colombo – duty free electrical items…the question is WHY upon arrival???15-Jun-2010 17:16, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.05 sec, ISO 200
We met our tour guide for the trip, Anton, and headed to the Hilton Colombo to rest up before an afternoon tour of the city since we had arrived at about 6am.
More to come…
-T
