DRIVING AT NIGHT

Driving long distances is never fun, especially with two children. In Sri Lanka, long distance takes on a whole new meaning. A trip to school can take as long as thirty five minutes in the morning, when traffic is bad. However, travelling the same route in the evening it may only take ten minutes. So it is not so much the distance that gobbles up all the time. It is more the condition of the road (bad to very bad), the traffic (busses, trucks, bikes, tractors, cars, vans and pedestrians in a single lane) and the speed limit (60km on open road) that ensure that a 100km trip can take as long as two and half hours.

We have now revised our concept of a long drive. Previously anything over two hours was long. Now we consider long to be anything over three or four hours. Below that is just a part of getting from A to B. If it doesn't become too frequent the boys actually look forward to a good trip as they get to play with the trip toys - their handheld computer games. The favorite at the moment is Star Wars, which can be a bit tricky, with Brenton being the master and Jaymon his padawan. Brenton is particularly patient generally and will guide his young apprentice in the ways of the gameboy without too much fuss.

Jaymon takes just as much enjoyment out of watching someone else play, especially any visitors that happen to be in the car. He will usually berate any that are unable to help him in the harder levels of Star Wars. Observing their failure, he will launch into an in-depth explanation of the best characters (which is Darth Vader "cos he can choke") and the best way to win (obviously without the help of his new pupil).

Most of the time we travel during the daylight hours as we try to keep some kind of regular schedule for the boys. However, at times it is neccessay to travel at night. Each time we do I invariably say to Hayley, "I really like travelling at night here", to which she generally replies, "Yeah I really love it too. Don't we say that every time we travel at night?". (Yes we do)

In Sri Lanka, the night is the best time for driving. Not because the traffic is any better, because it never is (you put 20 million people on an island the size of Tassie and see how the traffic is). But you get to see an entirely different side of Sri Lanka. People are more relaxed and lively at the same time, with the night offering relief from the ever present heat that is part of the daylight hours. Its not like there are more people around, it's just that they seem to stand out more. During the day the people just form a vague moving mass, while at night you see individuals living their life.

You notice the bbq shops that are scattered every few hundred meters down the road that in the day were empty dull concrete stalls. The produce at stalls tends to jump out of the darkness as each shop is lit from the inside while the road is rarely lit except by the headlights of passing cars. Each shop has it's own version of lighting, with the most common being fluro tubes that hang elegantly by their wiring. This lighting entitles you to a glimpse into each little shop, leaving you imagining the life that is being lived in that little world.