Thanks Guy for the TR.

I happen to like the Tamarind Tree. Though I haven't stayed there for a couple of years. And their buffet meals were quite acceptable, especially if Sir Lankan cuisine is acceptable. The hotel environment in Sri Lanka has seriously changed in the last few years and yes, it can be considered a work in progress. The roads (as congested as they are) are seriously improved over the last ten years. And while the current government may be considered less than "squeaky clean" from an international perspective, my contacts are very happy with the program of infrastructure improvements that have been completed (and are continuing). But it will many, many years for the general population to achieve anything like western living standards. Any support for improvement in the educational standards will not be wasted. And maybe someday the "commis" culture will not be as pervasive.

And airlines into/out of CMB can be considered as a similar environment. I have yet to fly BA, but every time I have looked, the Y+ cabin seems rather unavailable. This may say something about the demand level exUK.

The airport check-in for CX and MH seems to be reasonably organized (though definitely done by the clock) compared with UL. When one considers the number of flights I guess a certain amount of confusion is expected. But hopefully it will improve over time.

And I will repeat the previous comment about a biz class seat being better than a Y class seat... Especially when on a 10+ hour flight segment.

Hopefully we will see UL in Australia sooner rather than later. CMB-PER-MEL seems like a perfectly logical route to me , And MEL-CMB-LHR divides the flight times far better than (SIN/HKG/DXB/AUH)

Happy wandering

Fred