We arrived fairly early for our flight with Srilankan Airlines. We arrived at Terminal 3 to drop off the car with Terminal Parking and then wandered like lost souls to try and find the departures and security.
I hate it when I don’t know where I’m going and this mildly annoyed me as we walked one way then another. However as we had arrived so early it didn’t matter.
We sailed through security and then Maggi asked me if I wanted to buy a bottle of whiskey for the holiday. I hadn’t even thought about the idea. The suggestion was enough. I bought a bottle of 12 year old Highland Park, a non peaty whiskey.
Waiting for Take-off
Before arriving at the airport I had checked out the lounge situation for Sri Lankan Airlines. They don’t have their own lounge, but they are a member of OneWorld and so we could use either BA or Cathy Pacific. I thought Cathy would be more interesting.
We turned up and found the place really quiet, a real contrast with the BA lounges in Terminal 5. We had a Chinese based snack to keep us going plus a couple of scotches for me all in a non frantic environment. Much better than I expected. Unfortunately a delayed flight meant we hung around the lounge for and then the holding area. Watched as the arriving passengers disembarked and then waited while the plane was prepared for us.
The flight
Everybody I know complains about British Airways, however if I had a choice between flying BA club or Sri Lankan Club I would choose BA every time. The things I preferred on BA include the cubicles and the films and entertainment. I also found it difficult to understand the attendants who spoke perfect English but with strong accents. The flight lasted 11 ½ hours which is too long to be left in one place without moving around. I managed to sleep fitfully for a fair bit of the journey.
Arrival at Columbo airport
We disembarked with our carry on cases and sailed through immigration because Business Class travellers have a special exit. We expected to receive a welcome with a drink and a savoury snack from the tour company. A rep met us without a drink and then called the driver from his parking spot.
Our driver had patchy English, but he had all the other qualities you’d want from a chauffeur. He drove carefully for a Sri Lankan, no mad speeding, but overtaking where a European wouldn’t. However he had never been to the Santani Wellness Resort and he had no sat. He depended on following a set of directions.
As a result we took a wrong turning and ended up stopping on a very narrow road and chatting to someone coming the other way who helped direct us correctly for awhile. We then stopped and asked a few more people to check we continued correctly. As a result a 3 ½ journey turned into a 4 hour trip. Given how we felt after our long flight I felt completely upside down.
Santani Wellness Centre
We checked in and said good buy to our driver. The staff carried our bags to the room and the concierge walked us to our room. He showed us where the yoga centre and sauna area sat, the dining area and the pool. In general we descended as we passed these 3 central amenities. We continued to descend down loads and loads of steps.
I told him I wasn’t happy staying so far from the centre of the resort. He promised to move us tomorrow. After a quick shower and a change of gear we climbed the steps to have our dinner. We chose the Sri Lankan vegetarian option which we both enjoyed. It resembled a tali, with a plate and lots of small dishes all around. We returned to the room and crashed out.
