The Indian Subcontinent: Final Day at the Resort, Mirissa

Vegetable roti and lentil flour doghnuts

Our last day flowed between "I don't want to leave" and "I just want to go now" and back again as we prepared ourselves to say goodbye to Sri Lanka and hello to India.

After our final buffet breakfast for the week, and taking advantage of the air conditioning, we partook in the usual morning of swims and lazing and lunching on the balcony. Today, they had lentil flour doughnuts! Yes!

While Chris was productive and packed, I gave the yoga app I downloaded onto the iPad a go. I had woken with a stiff calf muscle and we were both feeling lethargic (or relaxed) thanks to not doing much all week so I felt I needed to get moving. It was a good choice and inspired dreams of becoming a yogi in India.

Final swim, Mirissa Beach

After being slightly productive we rewarded ourselves with our final swim in Mirissa. While the waves had grown and were churning up a fair amount of sand, it was nice to cool off and enjoy the tranquility while we could. With what everyone keeps telling us about India, we need to be as relaxed as possible if we're going to tolerate the craziness.

Chris' favourite chair (not!)

We then enjoyed a swim in the resort pool and lazed on the day beds, again just because we weren't sure when we would next be able to do so. Similarly, we took advantage of the wifi (we're not sure if our $5/night accommodation in Chennai will have it) and chatted to friends and family both in Australia and New Zealand. The joys of technology.

Lauren's imitation of a polar bear

It was then time to get organised. We scrubbed, soaped, shampooed, shaved and soaked ourselves into some kind of normality, relishing the hot water and the opportunity to get properly clean. So long salty, dirty, ringlets of hair...you have convinced me of the joys of going without shampoo for a week but it's time to go.

Rice and curry with vegetables and kottu roti

We finished the day at the cranky lady's restaurant only tonight...she was far from cranky. Recognising us from two days ago she smiled, served us up our favourites and even gave us our bottle of water for less than the 'maximum retail price' which is printed on the bottle. Unheard of! Generally we're charged more than the RRP, even thought from what Claude told us that's illegal. What a perfect end to a perfect month in this beautiful country.

Thank you Sri Lanka for your warm hospitality. Your food, despite making us slightly ill, was delicious. Your weather, despite the monsoon, has shined upon us in all its glory, coming through especially on occasions when we really were reliant on it (i.e. Adam's Peak and World's End). Your people, despite ripping us off on occasion, were warm and friendly and helpful and smiling and gave out more waves than we could ever have hoped for. Your beaches, despite being rainy in the East, were pristine, rivalling even those of our home. Your accommodation, despite hard pillows, short beds, cold water, geckos and more bugs than we can name, was affordable and, despite a man entering our room in the middle of the night (and again this afternoon) made us feel safe. Your money, despite being stupidly confusing (10 rupees coming in both note and coin form and 20 rupee notes coming in a few different colours) kept us well fed and sheltered.