The purpose of our visit was to take an undergraduate student to follow lectures at the Uni. The forecast for the day was bad. Due to unavoidable circumstances, we could start only two hours later than the scheduled time. In spite of the water splashing on the shutters and the car swaying due to the cross wind, the boy handled the Toyota steady and straight.
“Chummy wants two packets of fried rice,” said his mum. “That won’t be a problem as ‘Mr. and Mrs. Chef’ -the Sri Lankan café- will be open till late”, replied the boy. Wanting to break the monotony, I asked: “Can anyone name something that is found in Sri Lankan roads but absent here?”
As the correct answer did not come, I continued. “Mile posts. Here they are not necessary. We get the location on the mobile.”
We were all eager to taste a nostalgic Sri Lankan meal at this popular restaurant. Taking the Transmission Gully at the Kenepuru intersection, we sped while following the GPS directions from a mobile phone. We started at 11:30AM, filling the tank on the way, and reached the destination at about two o’ clock, having covered a distance of 120 km.
What a pity! ‘Mr. and Mrs. Chef’ was closed. Monday had been the rest day of the town. After traversing round and round for quite some time, we found a café. It was almost full, yet we were directed to a table in the upper deck. They catered to vegans too. Our plates included tasty bits such as avocados, mushrooms, and a kind of cutlet made of pumpkin. More than half of mine consisted of fresh lettuce and basil. In one corner there was a blot of sesame seeds with a section filled with chickpeas.
We had to use a fork and knife. The boiled chickpeas would not yield to the piercing prongs of my fork. So, I had to scoop them up one by one. My niece, the boy’s mum, remarked it was a case of a ‘fox serving soup to a stork on a plate’.
We had to leave the boy there and navigate back by ourselves. Although the path on SH1 is a straight drive, entering the highway was not easy. We had two mobile phones displaying the route. One was telling us to go east while the other was pointing towards west. My niece had no other option but to follow her phone. We were all novices at this task.
When we passed Massey University, we got a bit upset. On our way up we did not pass. There are two highways from Palmerston North to Levin. SH56 and SH57. When we saw the ‘Levin’ street sign, our fears vanished. But after a while one mobile went crazy. It started screaming at us to change our path. Ignoring that, we continued and finally got to SH1.
After coming back, when I narrated the plight I experienced eating chickpeas with a fork, a friend pointed out, “You could have used your fingers”.
“Yes! I forgot about that.” I replied.
By Upali Salpadoru – Wellington
