Source: insidethegames.biz
I'll be honest, I headed to Sri Lanka and Hambantota with a rather preconceived idea of what I would find. I had just spent a spectacular week in the sun-drenched Gold Coast as I followed the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Evaluation Commission in their four-day inspection of the Australian city where I could not find a single, tangible fault in their bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
I boarded my plane to the Sri Lankan capital Colombo - which is where the Commission were based for the majority of their inspection - armed with what I assumed were some key facts around the Hambantota 2018 bid.
Only one potential 2018 venue, the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium - which is down to host the 2018 Opening and Closing Ceremonies -has been built, the area had been devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the coastal city is one of the most rural parts of Sri Lanka.
In fact, I had been informed that the reason that the Commission would be based in Colombo rather than Hambantota - with only a one day helicopter visit to the latter - was because there are virtually no hotels within 10 miles of the city.
Having arrived at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games last October shortly before the event began, I remember only too well the manic chaos in the final few days before the competition when the Indian capital, which had fallen a mile behind schedule, had to summon every last resource to get the Games ready in the nick of time.
In Sri Lanka, I thought I would find another India and a 2018 bid concept that would provide far too much of a risk to the CGF just eight years after the Delhi debacle.
However, I will leave with quite another view: Sri Lanka is not India and Hambantota is not Delhi - not even close.
They are very real contenders in this two-way fight for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and they have far more than a punchers' chance against the Gold Coast.
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Through a very fortunate set of circumstances that saw me call in a few favours - nothing underhanded I assure you - I was invited to join the Commission on their helicopter visit of Hambantota.
I was actually relegated to the "smaller" helicopter that followed the Commission's gargantuan flying machine but one can't complain too much when the alternative would have been a six-hour bus ride from Colombo to Hambantota through the wilderness!
It was not long after taking to the air that we quickly left the metropolitan Colombo behind and flew over the most picturesque and colourful landscape I have ever seen.
The beautiful, largely untouched land below was pierced only by the $600 million (£375 million) highway - The Southern Expressway - which is currently under construction and will open later this year where it will help reduce the drive-time between Colombo and Hambantota to less than two hours.
Some 50 minutes later, we arrived in Hambantota at our first stop which was the piece of land that will be Hambantota International Airport. Even as a building site, it is a highly impressive scene. Construction on the $209 million (£131 million) project is set to be completed by the end of 2012 and it would be by far the most important facility in taking athletes to and from the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
But another way to Hambantota is through the $360 million (£225 million) seaport in Hambantota, which is already in use to service ships travelling along one of world's busiest shipping lines. But the real reason for taking the Commission there was to show that Hambantota is well on the way to becoming an economic powerhouse.
When it came to the discussion of the venues, things were largely made up of presentations - as understandably they had to be.
The plan is to build and complete all the venues, aside from the existing International Cricket Stadium, between 2014 and 2016, ahead of the 2016 South Asian Games.
This includes a 40,000 capacity athletics stadium, a 7,500 capacity international aquatics centre, a 7,000 capacity hockey stadium, a 2,500 capacity exhibition centre, a 5,000 capacity main arena, a multi-sport complex and a velodrome.
The interesting fact is that all of them, except the velodrome, will be developed regardless of the outcome of the Hambantota 2018 bid for the South Asian Games.
The compact nature of the concept is also a huge plus as 90 percent of competition venues are within one kilometre of the Games Village and training venues are either in the Games Village or 0.2 kilometres away in the adjacent training village meaning that athletes will have both training and competition venues on their doorstep.
You may be getting the impression that Hambantota is a city under construction with the 2018 plan currently a virtual bid.
Well you would be right.
But the key fact is that Hambantota correctly see that as a positive.
Due to the amount of work needed, the 2018 Commonwealth Games is set to generate $8 billion (£5 billion) for the economy and create up to 100,000 jobs in the region.
And with the venues set to be complete by 2016, it doesn't appear there will be the same problems seen in Delhi as two years gives a rather large margin of error.
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The presentations that followed during our stay in Hambantota were largely of a technical nature but the bid team had intelligently saved their trump card and secret weapon until last as our helicopters landed in the middle the perfect pitch at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium (pictured).
This awe-inspiring stadium is not only the crown jewel of Hambantota but the very symbol of the 2018 Commonwealth Games bid.
Not because it will potentially host the 2018 Opening and Closing Ceremonies, not because it has a 35,000 capacity which will be expanded to 60,000 when the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup comes here next, but because it is stands gleaming brightly in the sun as proof of what can be done.
In order to host matches at the 2011 Cricket World Cup, it was built from scratch in just 11 months and it was fascinating when no less than Namal Rajapaksa, the son of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and also the MP for the Hambantota District, explained this to me.
"I remember well when people said that Hambantota couldn't host matches in the 2011 Cricket World Cup," he explained.
"But we built this fantastic stadium which was praised by everyone and hosted one of the most memorable games of the whole competition when Sri Lanka beat Canada. I think that this shows what we can do in Sri Lanka and why we can stage a magnificent 2018 Commonwealth Games here."
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What I found particularly interesting is that the President's son (pictured above) was happy to call Hambantota a "jungle" when I thought it was a negative connotation. He actually embraced the term and saw it as a huge benefit.
He explained that "Hambantota is a simple, clean area" which means there is no problem with planning permission, no problem with existing housing to manoeuvre around and quite simply, as Namal puts it, no "red tape", which was the Achilles heel of Delhi in their attempt to renovate old stadiums.
Delhi 2010 is clearly a tag that infuriates the Hambantota 2018 bid team and for good reason.
During my stay here, I have continually heard Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Sri Lanka's Sports Minister and co-chairman of the Hambantota 2018 bid, passionately state that: "We are not like other countries. We are Sri Lanka and we always deliver."
The words are said with such conviction and force that they are hard not to believe.
Aluthgamage himself, and his fellow co-chairman Ajith Nivard Cabraal, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, have actually been the shining stars of the Commission's inspection.
Despite their high-ranking positions and hectic schedules, they have been with the Commission for every step of the four day inspection, with the charming President's son also spending a large chunk of his time with them.
It shows tremendous political support right from the very top for the Hambantota 2018 bid and it is an advantage over the Gold Coast who could never be in a position to have their country's highest ranking political figures follow the Commission round and have police and armed escorts clearing their every step.
Quite simply, the backing of the Sri Lankan Government for the bid couldn't be higher.
The closing press conference saw Scotland's Louise Martin, the chair of the five-person Commission, praise the Hambantota 2018 bid as she stated: "We have been impressed with the vision for Sri Lanka and Hambantota and now have a clear view of where the hosting of the Commonwealth Games could fit within that vision."
She finished by stating that the Commission "have no doubt about the resolve to deliver the necessary infrastructure by 2016".
The Commission didn't say it publically, as clearly they are not in a position to, but I get the strong impression that they were, like me, far more impressed with the Hambantota 2018 bid than they thought they would be.
The Commission now tasked with producing a report on the two bids which will be published before October 11 this year. I assure you that neither city will fail it that but it will be interesting to see how they articulate their views in the report.
However, the real crunch time comes when the CGF meets at its annual meeting in St Kitts and Nevis on November 11 to vote on the host city.
So where would my vote go?
Last week, it was with the Gold Coast without hesitation. Now, I might just toss a coin as I genially find the two complete contrasting concepts so hard to separate.
The Gold Coast offers a tried and trusted safe option; Hambantota offers the option of the Commonwealth Games in a brand new country with a brand new style.
Do I see the Gold Coast as favourites?
Probably.
But this is no walkover - this is a contest between two heavyweights with very different styles.
And with the voting delegates themselves set to visit the two cities between now and the November 11 vote, the opening bell has only just rung.
Tom Degun is a reporter for insidethegames