A Fisher of Men

For our final day in Colombo we took a train up to Negombo a beachfront fishing village and tourist hotspot, 30kms north of the city. The trains are one of Sri Lanka's best features. At a cost of around 1rupee (just under an Australian cent) per kilometre they are excellent value. Generally less crowded than the buses they also feel safer than the congested roads. Passengers are entertained by peddlers selling snacks, fruit or drinks and there are a succession of busker-beggars. Blind men playing flutes, a young man with missing limbs who gave a long and clearly well practised oration that appeared to be an appeal for crowd funding his next operation (that word appearing frequently in his speech) and a trio of young singer musicians. Many of the locals give to these acts, perhaps following Buddhist exhortations to be kind to others, and the going rate appeared to be 20rupees so we followed suit.

On exiting Negombo station a friendly local quickly fell in step with us. Alura had excellent English and asked the standard questions about where we were from, how long we were in Sri Lanka etc. I assumed from the start that he was probably a tourist tout but as he was a pleasant chap with a cheerful line of conversation I didn't send him away. He did a good job as a guide, showing us where to get a cup of tea, the beachfront, the fish markets, the old Dutch fort (now a prison), the old Dutch part of town and finally a place to have lunch and a beer. Along the way he told us he worked two weeks on and two off as a fisherman, told us about his family, enquired about ours, and discussed the finer points of Buddhist philosophy and the concept of karma.

Alura and his  Negombo catch of the day.

At 8.8% alcohol, the lunchtime pint of Anchor Strong Beer was clearly an essential part of his strategy. Once lunch was over came the anticipated request for a little help to feed his family. Lightened by my beer  and impressed by the job he had done I gave him 1000 rupees which I imagine would feed his family for a week or so. Emboldened by the Strong Beer I had bought him, Alura claimed this wasn't enough and painted a picture of children crying themselves to sleep that night through hunger so I gave him another 500 despite Trish pointing out that he'd already had plenty but then she had only drunk a ginger beer. Alura persisted for a while that really he needed more but when I finally suggested that if he wasn't happy he could just give me back what I'd already given and we could call it quits, he accepted that it was over.

Negombo canal.

I suppose the lesson to be learnt from all this was to negotiate a price for anything at the start but all in all I figure for just under $15 Australian, Alura gave us a good look at Negombo and an entertaining couple of hours and I hope his family enjoyed their dinner that night.