The Colombo arrivals hall is very different from the bustling Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur airports. It is a very large space with ATM machines on one side, and currency exchange, tour packages and taxi booking booths on the other. The currency exchange booths were doing some business, but the others had no customers at all. Nimal explained that since the Iraq war, tourism has dropped to a trickle. Most European flights connecting through the Middle East have been cancelled. And indeed, very few people are staying at the TTGR. I asked Nimal for his phone number so I can book him for my return trip to the airport. At least, I thought, I can give him that much business.

I spent the first day wandering about the resort and napping, napping, napping. That night there was a whopper of an electrical storm. A clap immediately above us woke me – and everyone else – and continued for hours. It drenched the resort, not facilitating too much walking around. One silver lining – a large expanse of grass next to my cottage turned into a lovely reflecting pool.

The storm knocked out electricity (read air conditioning, who cares about light!) and wifi – aargh! A wonderful woman who seems to do everything at the resort reset my breaker switch but it took hours for connectivity to be restored. I have a roaming plan connected to my US cell phone plan so I was never completely without internet access but it took to waking up serendipitously at 4 am for me to be able to write to you.

There are seven photographers and our guide, Casey, on this trip. Wouldn’t you know – in a group of seven, there are two Diannes and two Davids. A lot of rain is in the forecast. Casey prefers overcast and rainy conditions to bright sun as it’s too hot in the sun for the animals to move around much.

This photo safari will differ greatly from African safaris that have wide open plains and animals everywhere you turn. We will be in the jungle and will have to be much more patient to make the photos we want. Casey warned us about sloth bears, the most dangerous mammal on the earth (according to him). And there are man-eating (and I assume woman-eating) leopards. Not long ago, a monk who was unwisely squatting in the jungle was consumed by a leopard. Hmmm, all that praying didn’t help! Fortunately animals see a jeep full of photographers as one possible threat, too large to take on, and the jeeps run faster than the leopards!

This morning we head north to Wilpattu National Park, arriving in time for an afternoon safari. මම ගොඩක් සතුටුයි! අපි පටන් ගනිමු! (I’m excited! Let’s get going!)