Welcome to Anna’s Diary

It is raining for quite a few months in Sri Lanka. Recently, a few hours ago, there were heavy downpours that quite quickly gave way to sunshine. The greenery is wonderful, and this morning I had a short walk in a garden belonging to Anu’s family. There were mangoes, bananas, papayas, coffee plants, cinnamon, and other interesting plants used in cooking. Chili peppers were there, too—the kind I eat with the coconut porridge in the morning. Moreover, instead of fields of oats or wheat, rice is grown here. I have also seen rubber trees, which are cultivated for export.

There are snakes, but thankfully, they’ve remained out of sight. I did, however, find a giant spider in my room. I didn’t scream, as I usually would—perhaps because its sheer size made it feel like an individual in its own right. With a little bit of help, it soon made its way out onto the lawn.

I traveled to Sri Lanka about ten years ago, and this time I’ve seen Colombo—a major global city with connections to many countries. Here, the value of a car can actually increase after purchase, and the cars share the busy roads with tuk-tuks. We saw queues at gas stations, with cars lined up—perhaps a reflection of the current global uncertainty.

This hasn’t been a “sun holiday,” but I did spend some time in the sun this afternoon. It was just the right amount of sun and warmth. I am starting to prepare, and remind myself, for my return to the Nordic region. There isn’t much daylight there right now—and I believe the clocks go back this Sunday for wintertime. The reserve of sunshine I have gathered here will surely be useful this winter. I will also remind myself of the feeling of being on the move in my everyday life.

I was sad to leave Kathmandu, Nepal, yesterday. The flight to India was fine. Arriving to New Delhi from above was like watching a huge Christmas tree decorated with lights.

I had to fill in a health declaration that I did not come from the Ebola virus outbreak countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo Uganda and South Sudan.

The temperature is nice; not too warm, and not too cold. The air, however, is not so healthy. I arrived rather late in the evening and I got help to find a taxi.

I hesitated a little before going to India because it might be difficult being a single travelling woman here. The taxi driver was worried for me and wanted me to chose a safer hotel other than I had pre-booked. However, it turned out that he had comission for doing that.

When I finally arrived, the hotel wanted me to pay in cash. But after ten minutes they changed, “you have already paied, it is ok”.

My first encounter with India.