It was so big - it was going to result in us having to stay in Colombo for a whole week, and would shape the rest of both Brock and my time in Sri Lanka...for not entirely good reasons...although thankfully everything worked out in the end.
After arriving in town and finding a room, we headed out to the Galle Face Hotel and had a few drinks while we watched the sun set into the ocean.
Christine, Brock, and myself, enjoying the view and fine surroundings of the Galle Face Hotel:
The Lonely Planet doesn't really rate Colombo - but I'd have to say - it's one of my favorite cities, and having spent a lot of time here, it's really grown on me. It almost feels like home - and I'm pretty sure I could live here for a while.
One of the great things about Colombo is there's a very strong ex-pat community, which means there's usually something going on...and luckily for us it was Oktoberfest at the Hilton.
It was a really great night out - as expected there were plenty of different beers to try, and it was reasonably priced. Music was provided by a German band who were really entertaining, and the dance floor soon filled up as the evening rolled on.
We ended up leaving well after midnight, although sadly I wasn't allowed to keep the souvenir beer glass that had somehow found it's way into my pocket. Shame...
Given that we had planned on a big night out, we decided to try out one of Colombo's nightclubs. It was a rather bizarre experience: imagine forty men, all standing around watching five men treating five women like possessions at best and objects at worse. Very, very strange...and as bizarre as it sounds.
There's something a bit odd about Sri Lankan society. While Sri Lankan men are under the impression that all western woman want to have sex with any Sri Lankan man at the drop of a hat, Sri Lankan women are heavily chaperoned and it's almost impossible for a western man to talk to a Sri Lankan woman.
We've not only observed this - but we've been told it first hand by Sri Lankan men...
Even very innocent conversations are viewed with suspicion, and even hostility, by the (usually male) chaperons. Like when we asked one of the woman at the nightclub if the chairs at the table next to there's was free - out of know where a man was there standing watching what was happening. At one point, one of the woman was dragged from the nightclub by a guy just as the result of a very innocent and rather funny comment made at the bar while we were ordering drinks.
...but at least the music was good...which required dancing...which required getting onto the dance floor...via the rather large flight of stairs. Definitely a health and safety risk and probably illegal in the UK...particularly as it was big enough to allow people to launch themselves from the top of the stairs and hit the dance floor running.
Which we did...Quite a lot...
Except at one point Brock jumped off ahead of me and had what can only be described as a freak accident. Given that we'd already done this quite a few times, the chances of injury were very very slim. But on this one occasion, something happened, and Brock ended up landing awkwardly...the next thing I saw was him hoping his way back to where we were sitting.
It looked painful, and as his dancing abilities were reduced to zero in one painful moment, we decided to call it a night, and hobble back to the YMCA.
There was a rather amusing and good natured incident involving several police officers, and a traffic cone being worn as a hat, which really entertained the locals...but the less said about that incident the better...
But despite the freak injury - it was a really great night out...
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