Rebekka Weber - Sri Lanka revisited: ... after 17 years

My journey started with a highlight: without any extra charges the airline granted me an upgrade.

Several months ago, I had booked my flights with emirates. One week before my journey started, emirates told me that I had been chosen for an upgrade, but I should pay 511 extra. No, I could not afford that. A few days later there was another mail: if I like to be upgraded, I should pay only 171. Oh, I thought, if emirates continues and goes down to 100 or 50, then I will take it. Regrettably, there was no further mail.

The airbus A 380, which should take me from Duesseldorf to Colombo, can carry 500 passengers. Accordingly the queue, me included, which intended to embark on Saturday, 14th July 2018, was very long. When the actual boarding started, all passengers could quickly proceed ... but not me. I was asked to show my passport again. Although I was very surprised, I gave it to the stewardess. "Congratulations, Ms. Weber. You got an upgrade!" What the hell? After all an upgrade? And without any additional charges? Yes! The lady gave me a new boarding pass.

Normally the business class is located in front of the economy. And my new seat was 23G. However, behind row 22, there was no row 23. Desperately I was looking for help. "Please could you show me?" I asked a steward. "You have to climb up the stairs," was his friendly reply. "Stairs? Which stairs?" When this smiling crew member saw that I was at a loss, he said, "Ill accompany you!"

So the business class and the first class were to be found on the upper deck. In the biz class there were only four rows of seats. One was located at the right hand side with windows, one at the left and a row with two seats each in the middle. And I found my seat at the right hand window side with a lot of space for my long legs, very comfortable upholstery and a minibar with soft drinks. However the welcome drink, which was promptly served, was a glass of champagne! A warm cloth for hand cleaning, diner served on a single tablet (instead from the trolley), an extra layer for the mattress, a cushion and a blanket were part of this service. And for the first time in my life, I slept two hours non-stop during a flight. This goes without saying, because I could outstretch on the very comfortable seat. Shortly before the landing, I was presented a very beautiful bag made of velour velvet filled with cosmetic articles of Bulgari which, I was thinking, could be used as a clutch for evening events.

After a six-hour-night flight, we arrived in Dubai at six oclock in the morning. There I had to stay three hours in the transit zone. When boarding to Colombo, same play like yesterday evening, "Your passport, please!" And, another surprise, I got one more upgrade for the connection flight. However in this plane, the biz class was located directly in front of the economy (the Boeing 777 is somewhat smaller than the Airbus, 'only' 300 passengers fit in there). I was placed in a row consisting of three seats; I sat at the left aisle. This time I had no minibar, but again a lot of space for my long legs. Heaven! To my right hand side there was a female student from Switzerland, who wanted to work as a volunteer in a hospital, and a biz man from Colombo. We had pleasant conversations, and the time of the four-hour-flight passed quickly.

On Sunday afternoon, 4:00 p.m., local time, we arrived in Colombo, Sri Lankas capital. During German summer time, Lankan time is 3.5 hours ahead. First I went to the immigration counter and applied for a visa (USD 40). This was quickly done, but you can get such a visa also via online-service. I picked up my luggage from the belt, quickly changed some money (you get abt. SL Rupees 18,000 for 100) and stepped into the arrival hall. There was the welcome committee! One brother of my ex-husband and the husband of my exs sister had been waiting there for me. Although we had seen each other only in 2001 for the last time, we recognized promptly and hugged each other heartily. In the meantime, the mens head had become almost bold, but my hair had grown longer. When we went outside, a warm and humid breeze welcomed me, and immediately this air and smell were familiar to me.

My relatives the family relationship still remains, even after a divorce took me by car to my first hotel in Negombo (abt. 12 kms distance from the airport). Before saying Good-bye, we decided to have a family reunion on coming Sunday. When I checked in, I came across a very large screen in the hotel garden. Some soccer event was just shown there, and many guests watched it. However somehow I did not realize that this was the final game of the soccer world championship, which I had followed up eagerly at home. I thought this game would be shown later at night. Anyway, I was a little bit confused by the time difference and the long journey. However my room was nice with air condition and even a small terrace. After the long exhausting day, I fall asleep quickly.

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Negombo