an itinerant observer

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon when I came across the store. “Ai’s Cream!” the banner outside screamed in bold red letters. Scrawled underneath was illegible (to me) text 诶 艾 ' 娜 西艾伊 诶 , also in bold red, that I assumed referred to the English above it. There was no way for me to confirm it.  But, I was intrigued all the same. The name, as well as the store, seemed to be an anomaly in Hikkaduwa, the well-known beach resort along the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, where I was sojourning for a week. Perhaps the Chinese have infiltrated Sri Lanka too, I mused. I had been told by my much better half that there were two reasons for being in Hikkaduwa then: (i) For Relaxation and Rehabilitation (or R and R, to be hip); (ii) Our friends accompanying us (or us them); in fact, they were the ones who had decided the itinerary.  Also, worth mentioning here is that it was a self-imposed vacation away from home, kids and work - an ‘away vacation’ happening a second time in th