Lanka Challenge Day 12 & post-race relaxation

The small mountain town where the last day of the Lanka Challenge started out...

Day 12. The last day of the Lanka Challenge 2012. We already knew that we were expected to finish at the hotel that we started from on Day 1, and the sheer distance between us and that destination was causing some concern. This would be a big day, no doubt about it.

But first, we had a couple of appointments to see to. Our first stop was in the middle of the town, where everyone was lined up for a quick media photo opportunity, and a chance to shake hands with the mayor of the town. The only drawback was that we were all extremely tired. Hey, give us a break, everyone had just spent the last week and a half in a tiny little tuk tuk, so a bit of fatigue was to be expected. Hopefully the mayor didnt think that we always looked like that.

Juan Paredes - Challenge Organiser

After leaving the town in an orderly convoy, we converged on a local school, which was the recipient of a significant portion of the funds raised by the Challenge. Everyone was greeted by an army of smiling children, all quite amused by the creatively decorated tuk tuks we drove in on. All challenge participants were involved in a fruit tree planting activity around the school grounds, with the help of the students and teachers, as well as the official ribbon cutting and opening of a new english room and a new library room. After some speeches by various school officials, and a couple of well choreographed dance routines by the students, everyone loaded back into their tuk tuks and took off toward the very distant chequered flag.

Given the distance between us and the finish line, there was no time for any daily challenges. Kate and I just teamed up with a few of the other tuk tuk teams who we had become friends with over the duration of the challenge, and gradually weaved our way down the mountain roads as quickly as we could.

We reached the finish line around 4:30pm, the first convoy to cross the line. Relief and joy were feelings shared by competitors and organisers alike. Big smiles and cold beers all round! The final readout on our odometer was 1,473 kilometers; hard to believe that our tin can tuk tuk managed to roll that far around Sri Lanka! The poor thing did look a little wartorn by the end of it's time in our care. Our mechanical repair bill wasn't that bad overall however.

All other teams made it back eventually, and joined in the celebrations. Knowing that everyone made it through without any serious injury or accident was reassuring, and a little surprising considering the road and weather conditions we encountered along the way.

That night the points totals were added up and the final points tally was announced.

The Chilli Express came in a very respectable third place! Kate and I were very proud of our little wooden tuk-tuk trophy which was presented to us as a symbol of our bronze medal effort.

The first place went to the Car Wars team, consisting of two friendly german guys, who earned a reputation for being insane when driving. They definitely earned the first spot, and were loads of fun to have around during the challenge.

Another award worth mentioning was the one for the most money raised by any single team. The prize went to our mates from the Aussie Tuk Tuk team, Mal and Josh, who raised over $7000 for various causes in Sri Lanka. Top effort, and what a fun way to raise money for charity.

The next morning was very quiet. It could have had something to do with the headaches of varying intensity amongst the guests at the hotel, but I think it was also due to a mild vibe of melancholy and finality being felt by everyone now that the challenge was over, and it was time to say goodbye. But all good things come to an end, and luckily the lurking sociopath inside me was able to turn my attention to our next goal; the beaches of Southern Sri Lanka.

Ah yes, after 12 days hunched over the handlebars of an overgrown go-kart, we finally had a chance to put our feet up and chill out. We made our way to Mirissa Beach, a small stretch of sand roughly 30km west of Galle, the old fort town. Aside from exploring Galle Fort and it's surrounds on our last day in the country, Kate and I did pretty much NOTHING for the few days we were in Mirissa. Mostly because we were tired, but also because by that stage, we kind of felt like we had done enough exploring of Sri Lanka for one trip. Books, videogames and local restaurant menus were about the only thing we explored during our time down south, and that suited us both just fine.

Back to Dubai.

First day back I (brendan) quit my job as branch manager of Limetree Cafe. Turns out that it isn't only good things that come to an end.

What happens next? We aren't entirely sure. Watch this space.


//Brendan