Colombo near Fort Station. Photo courtesy: Calflier001 – Wikimedia.org
Being in Hikkaduwa for six weeks before the internet meant day trips to Colombo to pick up snail mail.

I caught a bus that careered up Galle Road jerking its way to the capital. Through the window, I passed one coconut-fringed beach after another like a moving picture. Coconut and papaya trees shaded houses tucked into the scenery.
Without my backpack, I felt a certain amount of freedom but that dissipated once I arrived in the sooty city. Usually I collected letters and left.