Thursday: Dhulikhel to Kathmandu to Colombo, Sri Lanka!

Dr. Kafle arranged for a hospital driver to take me to the Kathmandu airport this morning. He was a good driver in a nice small pickup truck. This is my view from the backseat.

As always, the views of the Himalayas in the distance are spectacular.

The traffic was bad (as usual).

At the airport lounge, I had some breakfast.

Airport security confiscated my small blunt-nosed mustache scissors. Those have travelled with me for several hundred flights and somehow today they became a dangerous weapon.

I ran into my German dental student-friend, Nis, who was flying back to Germany today. He said that security confiscated a "dangerous" bungee-cord of his!

I flew Sri Lankan Airlines to Colombo - direct! I had pre-ordered a "Diabetic Meal." it was really good (fish). It was a 3.5 hour flight. We were over water longer than I expected.

In Colombo, a driver was awaiting me. I was surprised at how good the roadways are here. There was very little traffic on this toll roadway.

Here we approached the city center.

I am staying at the Galle Face Hotel, a historic property right on the beachfront in the heart of the city. The sunset was fabulous.

After sunset, I met up with the others in my group. This is a group of 13. There are 8 dentists, 2 hygienists, and 3 family members. There are 10 women and 3 men. This group trip event is part of Dental Care International (DCI-- you can Google it). My pediatric dentist-colleague, Dr. Dawn McClellan, founded this charity 10 years ago, establishing an in-residence year-long dental assistant training program in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She has now graduated 100 women from that program --so we are here to celebrate that milestone. 

We gathered for a dinner at the hotel restaurant tonight. I must have been hungry, because I devoured my seafood skewers and french-fries, before remembering to take a photo.