Set Lunch Set Back

Went for a swim this morning and was planning to have lunch at the Citadel (where I go swimming) , but instead of the usual fantastic-value set lunch there was a buffet, which costs twice as much, so I ended up driving into town and had rice and curry on a banana leaf at a new place that's opened not far from the British Council - which at Rs.70 is amazing value! It's actually in the same location as a place I used to frequent when I first came to Kandy. Unfortunately that place closed down, so I'm glad that somewhere just as good has opened to take it's place. It's a Tamil-run place, which means along with the rice and curry you also get rasam (a southern-Indian soup made with tamarind juice and pepper) and buttermilk. Delicious!

Apart from going for a swim I'm having a lazy day at home - which is generally how I spend every Tuesday. Am re-reading The Life of Pi at the moment and have just finished a great book called The White Tiger, a very dark look at modern India by Indian author Aravind Adiga. Although Sri Lanka can't compare to India (is there anywhere that can?) there are definitely similarities in terms of the differences between the haves and the have-nots. Although I'm just a teacher, because my salary is high relative to the cost of living here I lead a very privaliged existance. There are definitely people who here who have a lot more money than I do, but relative to the majority of the population I'm extremely well-off. I live in a beautiful house in one of the best parts of Kandy, have a car and employ a gardener and a cleaner - something I would never be able to afford anywhere else - basically I live in a bubble!

Back to work tomorrow. Hopefully I'll manage to be a bit more with it this week as I found it very difficult to focus after a 4-day weekend. Holidays are great, but the problem is always going back to work after a holiday!