Final thoughts

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• Entry from Milton Keynes ( not quite the same ring as Kegalle ! )

Trip Start Sep 01, 2006 Previous
Entry Trip End Oct 28, 2006

  Milton Keynes ( not quite the same ring as Kegalle ! ), United Kingdom
Sunday, October 29, 2006

After I made my last entry on Wednesday night I went back down to see Gune who was very weak and pretty much unaware of our presence, I sat for a few hours with him and Dave the Volunteer who had been working with Gune and we said our final goodbyes and although it was very sad it was also very peaceful. Gune passed away on Friday and the world is a slightly darker place now he is gone, a true gentleman who gave so much and asked for so little in return

I only had a few hours sleep so getting out of bed was pretty damn hard on Thursday morning but as it was my last proper day I was determined not to miss a single moment , after washing Rani , doing vet checks and grabbing some breakfast it was time for my last day treat of an elephant ride and elephant shower ( will add photos later ) The rest of Thursday passed by in a blur of actively interdispersed with blind panic when I could not find things including my ticket and lots of jumping up and down on bags to make them close

Thursday evening was a lovely farewell dinner with the president of MEF and my fellow volunteers and then it was time for bed ( well it was 8pm but that was pretty much bed time most nights ) One final night where I bravely did battle with the mosquito net and yet again the net won ( actually it won every night ) I awoke at 4.30 on Friday and could not get back to sleep so I got up watched the sun struggle past the rain clouds and then went down to the river to see Rani and Chandana. I managed to make it to breakfast no problem but once it was time to leave and I had to say goodbye to every one and Rani I got a tad emotional ( i.e cried on elephants, volunteers, staff, mahouts and the very confused van driver )although i was very excited to be going home it was a wretch to leave the place that had not only become my home for 8 weeks and where some very good friends live.

Journey to the airport was a tad tense when we got stuck in a huge traffic jam due to roadworks but some very fast and daring driving later( even by Sri Lankan standards ) and I arrived at the airport. Colombo Airport does not confirm with the norm for airports ( or at least any I have visited ) its the only place I have ever visited where you and your bags are searched upon entering the building ( and only ticket holders and porters can enter the building ) internally it has a very odd design but it is being rebuilt so maybe thats why its so confusing ( I just followed the porter ) checked in and lost a discussion about excess baggage ( and boy it's an expensive discussion to lose ) then past some more confusing security checks and on to the departure gate ( and more body searches ) as I was flying first class I had a Monty phyton moment with the guy checking my boarding card at the departure gate , he was insistent that I should be in the first class departure lounge and I was equally insistent that the normal one would be fine as the flight was due to board in 10 minutes, when he finally conceded I flopped down in chair and waited for boarding ( which was on time )

Flight back was pretty uneventful , no presidents, security personal, diversions, red carpet welcomes or milertry guard of honour. I did manage to blag a large amount of freebies and drank rather a lot of complementary wine ( hic ) watched 4 films and spent at least an hour pressing all the buttons on my seat to see how far back it could recline ( nearly flat I was impressed ) I also checked out the loos ( never used them on the way over ) as someone had asked me what they were like , although they was not a little man in there to turn on the taps and offer you a towel ( which personally I think was a blessing ) there was a dazzling array of toiletries and freebies in there ( so I visited a few more times than was strictly necessary ) by the time we landed I was so excited about seeing Mark , Aisling and my mum again that even the lure of free moisturizer had worn off. I was pretty much first off the plane and pretty much last out of baggage reclaim as my bags seemed to have taken an extra tour of the airport grounds before making there way to belt 7 ! Once I had them I set off at a near run to the customs ( nothing to declare guv ) and burst out into the arrivals hall where I saw my mother and Aisling but no Mark ( who had chosen that moment to nip to the loo ! ) once we were finally reunited it was a quick and pretty tame drive home ( well by Sri Lanka standards )


so thats me, home and getting used to mod cons again. I still cannot put into words what the last 8 weeks have meant to me, I have experanced such extreme emotional and felt more humble than I ever thought possible and yet I would not change a single minute

Phases like "up to my arse in shit" "don't frighten the elephants" and "shit shoveling" have real meaning now, I have learned many things , seen many things and discovered that not having hot water is not as bad as I thought it would be

You may remember the temple dogs that I mentioned in an early entry , I have made long term arrangements for their care ( and the care of others ) and details of the project should be posted within the next 7 days at www.dogstarfoundation.com

Someone asked me the other day what was the most important thing I had learnt on this trip and it is without a shadow of a doubt that it is always always always a good idea to shake your pajama's before you put them on

thanks for reading

Sam

www.marchforgreyhounds.co.uk

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