My travel buddies and a fairytale 70th birthday

“I started with noithing and how far I’ve come”

by Sumi Moonesinghe as narrated to Savithri Rodrigo

Having always been fascinated with history, I wanted to constantly walk through historic routes and relive historic tales. One of these was Route Napoleon, which was voted the best road in France and one of the most scenic routes to the south of France. Although I had decided to take the train, that plan went under as a bridge had collapsed. A tour company arranged a driver and car for about EUR 1,000.

The driver was a 32-year-old French ex-marine who turned up at six in the morning and was the perfect tour guide because every time I said something was beautiful, he would immediately stop so I could take in the view and a photograph and maybe even have a cup of coffee. We reached Geneva at 1700 in the evening, in time for my flight to Heathrow, where I connected for my return flight to Colombo.

I had also amassed a coterie of girlfriends who loved to travel. Dawn Austin, Rohini Nanayakkara, Thanchi Coomaraswamy and I booked ourselves on the Grand Mediterranean Cruise in 2007. I was already in London visiting Aushi and joined them in Rome. We were booked into adjoining rooms with balcony cabins. I remember walking into my luxury cabin and sitting on the bed and thinking about how I had started with nothing and how far I had come. Was it karma, hard work or destiny?

It was truly a super-luxurious cruise; we were pampered with anything and everything. From Rome, we sailed to Florence, then on to the Isle of Capri and the Greek Islands. We were four completely different personalities but got on absolutely well together. There was Rohini who wanted to see everything and Dawn who would feel sorry to see her go alone and therefore, accompany her. Thanchi and I didn’t care either way.

When we visited the Parthenon for example, we decided to have a cup of coffee before walking about. But Rohini was antsy, constantly asking if we can move on. At one point, Dawn said, “Rohini, this has been there for a thousand years and it will be there for another thousand years. So there is no need to rush. Let’s sit down, have a croissant and a coffee first.” Rohini finally sat down for a leisurely morning but not before some convincing and an assurance that she could walk about the Parthenon as much as she wanted and we wouldn’t rush her.

The guides were expensive, charging about EUR 80 per tour. I refused to pay such exorbitant amounts.. The three ladies looked at me, laughed and said, “Sumi, you spent so much on this absolutely luxurious cruise and now you don’t want to spend EUR 80 on the guide?” I know it sounds a little foolish but I couldn’t get that thrifty habit out of my system. We would shop a little en route, buying whatever took our fancy.

We also took a cruise to St. Petersburg in August 2009 anal enjoyed it thoroughly. Russia truly is a land of wonder and St. Petersburg, founded by Russian Tsar Peter the Great and named after the apostle Saint Peter, is absolutely beautiful. It is the cultural capital of Russia and judging by the limited sites we were able to visit due to lack of time, it’s a title well bestowed.

I simply adored the Hermitage Museum, which is the largest art museum in the world. Each wall showcasing the masterworks by great artists and the impressive collection that Catherine the Great had acquired from Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky. From there we took a short walk to the Winter Palace, the iconic symbol of the Russian revolution but prior to that, was the official residence of the Russian emperors for nearly two centuries. The green and white palace has an imposing facade and we were told it probably has the most number of doors, windows, rooms and staircases in any single building constructed at the time – 1,886 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms and 117 staircases.

There was so much to explore in St. Petersburg and I just wish we had more time. Sadly, we wasted one evening going to the ballet, which technically we could have seen anywhere else in the world and missed out on seeing Catherine’s Palace, the summer residence of the tsars. I could only imagine the striking architecture, being awed in the Hall of Lights which is the one thousand square metre ornate grand ballroom and walking in those acres of landscaped gardens admiring the gorgeous sculptures.

Rohini joined me to go to Egypt and on the trip to Israel, I traveled with Rohini and Rohini – my sister. We first flew to Jordan and had the most amazing pica bread in Petra. Then we hired a car and driver for our Israeli tour. Our driver was Israeli so he couldn’t take us into Palestine. At the border, a Palestinian driver would pick us up. I remember him saying, “Don’t believe anything I say. Just talk to the people you meet, listen carefully and make up your own mind.”

In just one month after we returned, conflict broke out in that region. In 2001, Thanchi, Romi and I decided to go to China, adding to our itinerary that we also wanted to experience the ‘real China’. We excitedly picked where we wanted to go – Beijing, Xian, Guilin and Shanghai. I contacted Robert Kuok’s office which as efficiently as always, organised the entire trip for us.

In every city we visited, we stayed at the Shangri-La. Now this isn’t quite the real China in the actual sense of the word, but We consoled ourselves that while we spent the day in the ‘real China,’ having a bit of luxury when we got back was worth it. We visited markets, looking for bargains with Thanchi being best at bargaining.

Thanchi spied a Chinese silk cheongsam and asked the vendor for the price. Knowing we were tourists, she promptly tapped out 250 Yuan on her calculator, which was how we communicated as we didn’t know Mandarin. Thanchi turned on her heel and walked off saying, “Expensive, too expensive!” When the woman said, “How much you pay?” Thanchi promptly replied, “I pay 40 Yuan.” I was flabbergasted and thought we would get assaulted or at the very least verbally abused by the vendor. Incredibly, Thanchi got her cheongsam for 40 Yuan.

Not too long ago, I asked Aushi if we could go to Morocco because I have always been fascinated with Humphrey Bogart and the movie ‘Casablanca’. From the moment we landed in Morocco, I was raring to revisit Humphrey Bogart’s story. Aushi, Eroshan and even our driver dissuaded me saying there was nothing to see. But of course, I was not to be put off.

I got into the car and asked the driver to take me to the places that Casablanca had been filmed and Humphrey Bogart had been. The man turned around and looked at me as if I was crazy, but drove me around anyway. There was nothing to see, but what I did notice was that the city was very clean, with not a speck of garbage anywhere.

In the midst of walking those amazing shopping streets in Marrakesh, I fell in love with a beautiful Moroccan door. The massive door, embellished with intricately carved silver metal sheets and inlaid with gold and ebony had me mesmerized. It took just a few minutes for me to purchase it, have it wrapped up and delivered to the Four Seasons, where we were staying. The door was part of my luggage on my return flight to Colombo and now stands in pride of place at the end of my veranda, seen by everyone who walks into my house.

In 2015 I turned 70. The girls were keen on giving me a special day and asked me what I would like to do. “I will have some friends over and we can have Mrs. Dao cook at home.” Mrs Dao was a Thai lady whose Thai food was absolutely delicious. She was a firm favourite of mine when it came to Thai cuisine. She would come home and cook in my kitchen, which was yet another reason to like her cooking. My girls asked me to list out the friends I would like to invite and also the menu I want Mrs. Dao to prepare. Both Aushi and Anarkali were having these conversations with me while they were in London.

Three days before my birthday, I had my first surprise. Aushi landed at home. It was lovely to have her and I thought this was an early birthday gift, which in a way it was. On May 5 and my birthday dawned, I was told by Aushi to take her children Tahlia and Sidhara on a tour of Colombo because they had never quite seen Colombo properly whenever they visited. She gave me a list of places to visit and looking at that, I realized I would be out the whole day.

I fretted a little and asked her whether she had contacted my friends with the invitation for this evening. She assured me that everything was under control. I got in the car for the tour of the city of Colombo with my grandchildren and returned about four in the evening. My house and garden were unrecognizable.

Aushi’s creativity had excelled. The place was magical and looked very festive. I walked into the kitchen, expecting to see Mrs. Dao but what greeted me was a battalion of chefs. Unknown to me, Robert Kuok had sent the chefs from the Shangri-La to prepare a feast for my birthday. Robert had organized the entire meal with Aushi and Anarkali – and Kumar’s help of course.

The chefs were supposed to cook at a cafe and send the dishes over, but when they saw my kitchen, they opted to cook at home. Kumar had been dispatched that morning to the Kollupitiya market, accompanied by one of the chefs to pick and choose whatever they wanted. Robert and his wife Poh-lin sent me two beautiful pots of orchids as an additional gift – the meal itself was their gift to me.

What a fantastic birthday I had. Surprise after surprise – with even my friend Duke and his wife Cathy flying in from the UK – I couldn’t have been blessed more.