Today was my one day off which was good timing consider jet lag was horrible last night resulting in very little sleep but great progress in my book and email response rate. Today I moved hotels from the mayhem of some part of the city to a much quieter neighborhood and a smaller Sri Lankan run hotel. Also, since it was my only down time, I decided to try to find a well-known handicraft store. This proved to be much more of an adventure than intended.
Since arranging transport through the hotel seemed expensive, I decided to try my luck on the street hailing my own vehicle. Minutes later I was in the back of a bicycle rickshaw bumping over the pot-holed back-streets, with the occasional hair-raising moment on main roads. Turns out the "driver" didn't know the store but took me to a popular shopping area. I called over a bystander who spoke English and she, plus a bevvy of other rickshaw men, helped explain to him where I was going - another 3 km away. It doesn't matter if they have an address or not, transport finds your destination by getting into the neighborhood and then asking every passerby until they find it. The driver was finally stopped at a neighborhood boundary and I had to disembark and cross over myself. Fortunately a stranger helped me get into a tuk-tuk for the last 1/4 mile to the store. The drive back was less adventurous but still a bit of hassle in a tuk-tuk. I now get why they are en-caged vehicles. Perhaps to keep the beggars and street vendors separated from passengers. That was enough adventure for one day.
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