I haven’t had time to blog much lately as I have been really busy but just wanted to share this with you today. Dale Mahon, a great friend of mine, wrote this out of the blue on his phone on a train journey from Colombo to Hikkaduwa. It’s poignant, poetic but most of all brings to life imagery in words. Simply stunning:
“Looking out on coastal seas vibrating train and shaking knees, some on seats and some who stand, a beggar begging, a singer chants, “wade wade” sellers pushing through the crowd, the wheels making noise like a marching band.
Different stations as we stop, more get on, it feels just like a cattle truck, oceans blue and golden sands. In between ramshackle huts that people call home, some with families, some alone.
Palm trees blowing in between washing lines, polythene fences and regi foam, 5 star hotels as we pass the rich, poor people looking at mobile phones, carpenters working beside the track, coconut toddy tappers on ropes so high, waving hard as the train goes by.
Couples are courting between the rocks, not to be seen with umbrellas up, many people in a confined space, no expressions can we see upon their face, chewing betel, pushing past, chucking litter on the track so fast, not a hassle that we can see, and for them this is not a pain, just a usual trip on a Sri Lankan train.”
©Dale Mahon 16/03/2013 Colombo to Hikkaduwa 1430 express
Dale Mahon is the owner and Manager of Asian Jewel Boutique Hotel in Hikkaduwa.
Sri Lankan Train Journey
Daily Life on a Sri Lankan Train
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