I have a funny story. After drinking a few large beers (Three Coins, Irish Dark) In Columbo, I took a three-wheeler to where I was going to meet my host for the night. The three-wheeler departed, I called my host to get a ride, then I went into the Food City and bought a bottle of water. When I walked out I realized I was in Dehiwala, not Mt Lavinia. So I called my host, Raju, to let him know I was in the wrong place. Then I flagged down another three-wheeler. It was not clear if he actually know where the Mt Lavinia Food City was located, but I told him the bus depot and he seemed to know where it was.

And so began my hair raising ride down Galle Rd with the craziest driver ever. There was so much traffic. We were weaving in between busses and trucks and vans. We even lightly grazed the side of a bus and our vehicle was kicked by a motorcyclist when we almost crashed into him. We drove on the sidewalk and also drove on the wrong side of the road for much of the way. I had a mix of feelings. I was frightened for my life, and I was also a rush of adrenaline. Soon traffic came to a stand still. Maybe from an accident or just too many people on the wrong side of the road, who knows.

What was the solution? To drive on the sidewalk of the wrong side of the street, of course. But that was only for a few meters before the driver swerved onto some dark side street. This was equally frightening because his head light was crooked and we could hardly see where we where going. We kept turning onto smaller and darker streets. These are the kind of dark side streets where people get robbed and beat up. But the light at the end of the tunnel was when we turn yet another corner and there was a sea of busses and ahead was the gridlocked Galle Road. And there was Raju and his Wife waiting at their car. What an experience!