Some days are diamonds

"Some days are diamonds, some days are stone" - John Denver summed it up beautifully in his famous song.

Other days come with lots of sparkle but then you find the hard edges that scratch and leave you feeling uncomfortable. Today was one of those days.  

The day started like any normal day.  Rise at 5am, spend several hours on jeep safari driving through a beautiful national park, watch wild Asian elephants less than a metre away, drive up into the hills and tea plantation countryside, find guesthouse with beautiful valley view, go to bed ....... get robbed while you are asleep.

There is nothing quite like a shot of adrenaline at 3.30am when you open your eyes to see a torch shining around your room.  My screaming did the trick and the intruder was gone in a flash while I continued to yell abuse as the torchlight disappeared down the road.  Who knew I was such a pottymouth?  The upside was that even with full access to my valuables, all they grabbed was a small amount of cash (and my train ticket), leaving my credit card, passport and most importantly, me, untouched.

It was a good reminder that, like every other country in the world,  there are good and bad people in Sri Lanka.  The person with my money probably needs it more than me, so I will let karma take it from here. 

While stoney days may leave a temporary bruise, the trick is to remember that diamonds will always be stronger and shine more brightly.