A Dream Come True?

A Dream Come True?

        I thought it was a dream come true, but that’s not how it turned out.

        I was looking forward to sunny beaches and soothing winds. I was picturing sweet cocktails garnished with fresh fruit. But it was utterly different.

It started two months ago. The thought of going to Sri Lanka popped up in mind. The more I thought about it, the more exciting it seemed. How wonderful it would be to enjoy the unique factor of Buddhism in a country that houses a totally different community from China! My imagination grew out of control and within the week, I was with an airline ticket to Sri Lanka, getting ready to go. I was straining at the leash to set off for my trip.

        “Welcome to Sri Lanka! We hope you’ll have a pleasant stay,” boomed the speaker as I stepped out of the airport. I had hired a ‘traditional private limousine’ to take me everywhere I intended to go. I had asked the driver to be five minutes early, and to my utter disappointment, there was nothing but a cheap, old buggy.

        “Mr Lo?” enquired an Indian man. Before I could answer him, he showed me the buggy on the street and said joyfully, “Welcome, Mr Lo, to my private limousine.”

        “No. You said that you would pick me up in a traditional private limousine!” I bellowed. I sat on the squeaking seat, feeling furious. “Is this some kind of joke?”

        “Definitely not, Mr Lo! This is traditional, and also a private limousine! Can’t you see?” questioned the man politely. I sat back on the seat. I felt like I had been punched in the gut. But I had paid for the trip, so I reluctantly took the ride.

        After 15 minutes of bumping on the road, I finally reached my hotel, The Mirage. As I stumbled out of the wobbly car, I stretched and looked at the hotel. The description and photos I had seen before my trip showed a beautiful hillside with a golden beach just in front of it. As I took a brief look, I nearly fainted.

        The walls were crawling with insects, while the building itself looked as if it had been burnt down and built with the remaining rubble. The painting of the hotel was awful. I was speechless! I sighed, took my bags and entered the building.

        For about 30 minutes, I had been ‘making conversation’ with the reception about my room before I got the keys. Apparently, the hotel staff speak very bad English. As I was given the keys to my room, the receptionist said that I should learn the local language before going there. How was I to know?! Having set my bags in the closet, I quickly changed and went down to the beach.

I hoped that the beach would alleviate my hardship there. However, the sun had already set and the originally sunny beach had become a chilling, horrifying place. The strong gusts of wind scooped up the sand and blasted it onto my face. I winced at the enormous sea, which seemed to be a giant tsunami rather than a peaceful sight. I abandoned my thoughts at resting on the beach and returned to the safety of my uncomfortable room.

        Having a good night’s sleep, I woke up to a bright and warm sun, with the soothing sunlight saturating my room. I forgot all the disappointments of the previous day and happily went down for breakfast. Unfortunately, the breakfast was the same as everything else in the hotel, soggy and of low quality. The sausages it provided were oily and tasted like some old, rotten pork. The bread was beyond reason. Moulds were everywhere, and the bread was the nest of mosquitoes and flies. “This is the last straw,” I said. I couldn’t bear any more of this craziness, the unbelievable service and poor quality.

        I wobbled my way in the ‘private limousine’ to the Yala National Park. The lions and snakes were vicious and scary on my journey. They looked as if my presence was a special gift – raw human with fresh fruit. I shivered, and asked the driver to move faster.

        As we met the elephants, the most horrifying thing happened! One of the elephants seemed ‘attached’ to me, following the car at high speed. Then, it raised his trunk and shot a big funnel of water at my face. I was almost thrown out of the car, but luckily was saved by the seat belt. I was terrified. What kind of bacteria could there be? Would I get some kind of rare Indian disease? I quickly wiped the water off my face with my very own sterilized, bacteria–free napkin. The driver looked in disgust.

        After the visit to the park, I had enough. I quickly checked out, got my bags and took the first flight back to Hong Kong. As I finally sat down on the aeroplane, I heard a sigh of relief. Suddenly, an announcement beeped, “Ladies and gentlemen, due to unforeseen circumstances, this flight has to be cancelled. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience cause…”

        “No!!!” I shouted. As I was about to stand up from my seat, a flight attendant made another announcement, “To compensate for the delay, our airlines have provided free accommodation at a five–star hotel, The Mirage, for all our passengers and we are delighted to take you there in our private limousines.”