Well, it wouldn’t be Two Wheels In if there wasn’t a small amount of chaos. As much as Dalma tries to be organised, and as good at it as she is, the whirlwind of mayhem that is me sometimes overwhelms her. Our flight is at 5.20pm, and I somehow conspired to put it in the diary as 3.20pm. Oh well. At least we have more time.

Once again, this has been a full on year. Well, either a full on year, or our tolerance for bullsh*t is getting dangerously low in our fifties. We’re both feeling burned out and looking forward to a few days’ respite in Negombo. Just time to stop and be. At the moment, leaving feels less like a rush towards adventure than an escape from noise.

There’s a strange calm as the moment is locked in. Bags are packed. In a moment, we need to call the taxi. If we’ve forgotten anything, we’ll buy it on the road. Dalma had a friend that used to travel with what he was wearing and a credit card. We’re not quite that hardcore yet.

Dalma hasn’t ridden a lot this year, and she’s anxious about the ride. Fortunately, we’re leaving Negombo on Poya, the full moon festival. Positives: less traffic on the road. Negatives: dry island. But we’ve experience in dry days of travel from South India last year.

We actually don’t know what to expect. We want to see places. Experience them. Listen to people. Ride. Eat strange foods and drink strange drinks. That unfamiliarity is seductive.

But first. A 14 hour flight with Sri Lanka’s national carrier. Not sure what to expect there either. 😬