Sri Lanka: Last Days

Saturday, 2 June

Our tuk-tuk delivered us to Deep Sea resort and even at that early hour with bleary eyes I could tell that Batti was not the same kind of beach town as Trinco. Deep Sea seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, with nothing around it that I could make out in the darkness. In any case, we got a double room and after noticing that what Jutta had told us, that these were the cleanest rooms she’d seen yet in Sri Lanka, we went straight to bed.

Later that morning we got up and went to re-connect with Jutta and Sophie, who were sharing a room. Jutta was off to do a dive, so the rest of us lazed around until she got back. Beny, Sophie and I ended up going to town together, and after we’d eaten lunch Jutta joined us. We wandered the town of Batticaloa, which wasn’t too exciting. We visited the locked gate of the local ancient fort (turned out later we could have gone around back to get inside); chatted with the tourist information booth guys; did a little shopping; and relished what little shade and breeze we could find. It was a hot, hot day.

We motored out to a nearby lighthouse, which turned out to be the highlight of the day. We were allowed to climb to the top, from where we could see fine views of Batticaloa and surrounds, particularly the beautiful blue waters. After we enjoyed the panorama we headed in a full tuk-tuk back to Deep Sea. That night, we dined and drank with many new friends: three touring Sri Lankans from Colombo also staying at Deep Sea; and Push, a local Couchsurfer who Beny had contacted, along with his American friend Bennett. We all ate, drank and became very, very merry.

My original plan was to say good-bye to everyone that night and set off on my own the next day, slowly making my way back to Colombo. Push, however, convinced me otherwise in my woozy-headed state, and so I went to bed that night happy that the good-byes were postponed.

Sunday, 3 June

We woke up after Jutta and Sophie had departed on a boat for another dive. I wrote them a quick note saying good-bye and then we waited for a tuk-tuk driver to come and take Beny, me and our stuff over to Bennett’s house. Bennett is an American who has lived eight months of every year since the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, trying to help out locals with basic projects. He’s created an organization to help get money over, but it’s a small, simple and straightforward kind of thing. Push has a temporary home with no extra bed, while Bennett has a guest bed, and so Push arranged that we stay with Bennett.

It was a fascinating Couchsurfing experience! Not only did we get to meet and learn about Bennett and his work, but he and Push and another friend, Ragu, took us around and showed us different parts of Batti, including a lovely Hindu temple and a quiet swimming area near the lighthouse. This part was particularly fun because we had to wade through some marshy water and across an “Eco Park” consisting of sand and strange animal statues before getting to the beach. Beny was still nursing his leg wound and so had to be carried through the marshy part, causing endless amusement for the rest of us.

That evening, Bennett had other friends over and we all had a home cooked dinner together – compliments of Ragu, a really sweet guy who has a talent for cooking. After an evening of laughter and fun, toddy and arrack, I packed up my things and squeezed into the single bed with Beny, trying hard to allay the empty-chest feeling of setting off on my own the next day.

Monday, 4 June

Morning came, as it inevitably does, and I rechecked my bags, had some tea and after saying good-bye to Bennett and Beny, hopped onto the back of Push’s bike to go to the bus. Over four hours and one bus change later, I arrived in Habarana. At the recommendation of Jutta’s dive guide, I went directly to Acme Guest House (1,500 rps/night, fan), which was a little overpriced and way over-touristy, but convenient and friendly. They helped me arrange a safari in Deniyaya National Park nearby and after a buffet lunch and a bit of a rest, the jeep came to pick me up. Off I went, paying yet another exorbitant price to get into the park (3,800 rps plus 3,000 for the jeep). I was the only one in my jeep (bad planning on my part) besides my driver and my guide, which was nice; no squeezing in with five other people, fighting for space to see and take pictures! I stood for most of the safari, eyes trying to catch movement and scenery.

I saw elephants, lots of them with babies, peacocks, monkeys, water buffalo and many birds. We also saw jackals, which surprised me. It was a fun trip and yet bittersweet, because I was alone, and I missed Beny and Jutta and Sophie. That evening, after the safari jeep dropped me back at Acme, I ventured out to find a cheap dinner of hoppers with egg and coconut milk. Then I did my usual “alone-again” activity: holed up in my room and wrote in my blog! Actually, it was too stuffy in my room so I sat out in the open-air reception area, where a young man did his best to hit on me, awkwardly asking if I’d like him to come to my room. Oy.

Tuesday, 5 June

It was actually a bit nice to wake up and do things at my own speed in the morning, although I still had that lonely ache in my chest. Ignoring it, I bustled about and caught a bus to Dambulla. It was more crowded than I expected so I stood for the forty-five minute ride. As soon as I got off the bus I crossed the street and entered a little hotel (which means restaurant, or café, here) for a bite to eat. An older woman working there took a liking to me after some communication problems,checking on me throughout my short meal and smiling each time. A tuk-tuk driver came in and asked the inevitable questions: “Where from?” and “How long Sri Lanka?” and “Where going?” and “Like Sri Lanka?” He pointed out his tuk-tuk to me outside and indicated that I should come find him when I wanted to go somewhere, then smiling, backed away.

I finished my egg bun – literally, a small bun sliced open with some hard-boiled egg slices crammed in, and two cucumber slices – and a sweet bun, then went out and hailed the tuk-tuk driver. He took me to Dambulla Caves and gave me his number so I could let him know when to come get me.

Dambulla Caves is an interesting place. You climb up a whole lot of stairs, past other visitors and pineapple stands and people selling arts or wares; gain a pretty view of the surrounding countryside; and finally, huffing and puffing, arrive at the top of a large hill, where you must leave your shoes before entering a complex of… you guessed it, caves. There were four or five caves, some cavernous and others rather small, and each had a myriad of Buddhas inside, either painted on the walls or ceilings or in the form of statues, both rough and delicate. I had declined to take a guide, as I could barely understand them anyway, and so just enjoyed the quiet majesty of the place, and took lots of pictures.

I spent about an hour wandering around and then descended, called the driver, and headed back to the bus stand. The driver did his best to suggest that I stay the night in Dambulla so that he could take me out and show me around, insinuating with ever less delicacy how much fun he could be, but somehow I resisted. I managed to pay him and escape, but not without him doing this weird thing that guys have done before in foreign countries, which is to shake my hand with his middle finger scratching my palm. I’m not sure what it means but it always leaves me feeling dirty, as generally a suggestive waggle of the eyebrows or leer goes with it. Ugh.

Anyway, I stood patiently watching for buses to Colombo, hoping for an AC minibus but quickly losing hope. I noticed a well-dressed young couple, Sri Lankan, waiting and starting forward each time a Colombo-bound bus whizzed by, and so I started to chat with them. It turns out they were just married last week and the husband was headed back to Qatar, where he worked as a kitchen manager. He’d been there for two years previously and this stint would last five years. They were a deliriously happy and sweet couple, which was nice to see. We decided that an AC minibus was impossible and so we crammed onto one of the regular government buses, standing mashed up against each other for awhile, making chit-chat now and again. They bought my bus ticket for me, against my protest, bought me an impossibly sweet fruit drink at the one rest stop, and insisted I take the first seat the became available, about halfway through the five hour trip.

They got off before Colombo and we traded contact info; then I was on my own for the remainder of the trip, which wasn’t too long. I quickly made it to Subodha’s home and was able to rest and relax, chatting with his in-laws, who were home watching Akita, his two and a half year old son. That night dinner consisted of string hoppers and curries and I expressed an interest in knowing how to make them. Talini promised me that Lakshmi, their servant, would show me the next day. I tumbled into the large guest bed, feeling again the strangeness of being by myself, and feeling a bit sad.

Wednesday, 6 June

After a shower, quick tea and breakfast, and hurriedly packing my day pack, I hopped in the car with Subodha, Talini and Akita. First we dropped Akita at school, then Talini at work. Subodha then dropped me off at Galle Face Green, a stretch of unhealthy grass along a coastal walkway. It was a nice morning, warm but not yet disgustingly hot, with a good stiff breeze off the water, which was crashing away against itself with waves. Somehow, as soon as Subodha zoomed off, I found myself breaking down. I sat with my legs dangling off the beach wall, letting my chest ache and the breath wheeze and tears fall. 

Why was I so sad? It was partly to do with Beny, with whom I’d traveled as a couple for almost five weeks, and the fact that I missed him sorely and felt somewhat unrequited in this; and partly to do with my disappointment of not having traveled more with Jutta; and also partly the whole “lonesome” feeling that separating from travel companions always leaves me with. Lastly, it was my last day in Sri Lanka and the beginning of the end of this trip. I guess it all just came bubbling up and the sea, always full of emotion and beauty for me, triggered my sadness.

So I let myself cry out, listening to the waves and ignoring the occasional passer-by. After a short while I felt better, and a bit light-headed, and so I walked up and down the shore. There were couples prancing in the waves, salespeople manning some of the many little booths that lined the way, and families out for a walk. In the distance over the sea was the solid gray of rain clouds and sure enough, it drizzled a bit on me, though not enough to soak. After sea-gazing and walking and getting myself sorted out for about an hour, I decided to head for Odel, a mall that Talini suggested I might like to visit.

Feeling a bit wrung out, I decided to walk, which ended up meaning I became a sweaty mess after another long hour of walking. When I arrived, though, how luxurious the air-conditioned mall seemed! It wasn’t spacious, like the ones back home, but it was cool and full of all sorts of goods. I didn’t buy a thing, but just wandered from store to store, browsing, and treating myself to a frozen fruit drink at one point. Eventually, I was mall’d out, so I caught a tuk-tuk back to Subodha’s. I pondered going to the National Museum, but didn’t feel I had the attention span for it. Also, I was starting to worry about packing.

So I spent lunch and the remainder of the day at the house, chatting off and on with Talini’s parents and family, playing with Akita, and learning to make string hoppers. It turns out Talini had had her mom go shopping for me, so I am going to be bringing home the apparatus and flour to make string hoppers! I can’t wait to give it a try…

Packing went well and I had a nice last phone call with Jutta, during which we caught up on our various travel plans and thoughts and I got to speak briefly with Sophie too. I told Jutta to hint to Beny to give me a call on my last night in the country. Don’t ask me why, but I felt unable to call him. Since we hadn’t ever been a serious “thing” I wasn’t sure how to vocalize how much I missed him without sounding overly dramatic and attached. So, I settled for sending him a ‘good bye and safe journeys’ text message and went to bed somewhat early, since Subodha had arranged to have a taxi pick me up at 1am. I woke up at 12:30am, turned off the phone and put it in the closet (Beny had loaned me his) and headed downstairs with my packs.

So long, Sri Lanka!

 

Thursday, 7 June

The trip to the airport was uneventful and after an interminable wait at the check-in counter, things went very smoothly. My big pack weighed in at 15.1 kilos, or about 30 pounds – not too bad! There were desktop computers in the waiting hall with free internet, so I messed around with Facebook and e-mails and scanning the international news sites until we were allowed into our gate area. There, we waited until an hour past our takeoff time before boarding. I snoozed on and off for the four hour flight, sure that I would miss my connecting flight to Istanbul and thus forfeit on the other plans I’d made for the day.

I decided that instead of ‘figuring it out on the go’ as usual, I would sign on to a tour for my one week in Turkey. Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time online, booking a gulet boat cruise and Cappedoccia tour and buying a ticket from Istanbul to Fethiye. Besides the flight, I should have everything taken care of, which will be a nice change of pace. It’s a different type of travel but I‘m not going the expensive route and both the cruise and the hiking are things I want to do, so I’m letting myself be a pampered tourist this time.

We’ll see how it goes! I made my connecting flight in Dubai, just, and am now enroute to Istanbul. We should arrive on time and I’ll have about two and a half hours until my flight to Dalaman, where I’ll have to catch a bus to Fethiye and then find my way to Fethiye Guest House for my dorm bed reservation. Tomorrow I’ll board my gulet for a four day, three night cruise!

Sri Lanka: Week 4

 

Saturday, 26 May

When we met some of the other foreign volunteers last night, one couple offered to give us a walking tour of Jaffna, so today we took them up on it. Wendy and William are an older couple, very chatty and comfortable in their roles as foreigners. They’ve learned a bit of Tamil. Wendy does social work with the adults here and had a lot to say regarding PTSD and the ongoing war… perhaps the major war is over, she says, but the after-war is not. There are still disappearances, torture and subjugation that are part of everyday life. It’s hard to hear and take in. They took us to see the old Dutch fort ruins, various lanes of town, a local market, a Hindu temple. For lunch, we ate at Malay Café, which was delicious. They serve you on a banana leaf instead of a plate, and you eat with your hands. It’s rice and dahl and curry and various vegetables and a sort of deep fried, salted pepper which was particularly tasty. We walked a bit more and had some ice cream, a relief after the terrifically hot day.

The rest of the day was spent cooling off at Gerd and Maria’s. We helped them make pizza and set up for a dinner get-together that night, and we got to meet even more volunteers and workers. It was a lot of fun and once more I was reminded of how nice it was to be couchsurfing!

Sunday, 27 May

The three of us – Jutta, Beny and I – decided that this was the day to go visit Delft Island. Off we went to town, ready to find the bus to the ferry and take the ferry to the island. Simple, right?! Hah!

First off, unlike any of the other places in Sri Lanka that we’ve been, it’s hard to get a tuk-tuk in Jaffna. Eventually we were able to convince one to take us to the bus stand, but then we had a hell of a time finding a bus that went to the ferry. Part of the problem is the language barrier, which is a bit thicker here than in the south part of the island. People didn’t seem to understand what we meant when we said “Ferry to Delft.” Eventually, we got on a bus and took a forty minute ride to the ferry. There, we waited for perhaps thirty minutes in a cement room with a whole crowd of folks. When we were allowed to start boarding, there was the usual hustle-bustle of standing in line. The “ferry” turned out to be a wooden boat, which we climbed into and sat or stood inside. There were windows – not glass windows, just open spaces – but for the most part it was stuffy and hot in there. At first, things didn’t seem so bad: sure, it was crowded and stinky, but as the boat moved out and started the journey to Delft, wind came through the windows. I stood, preferring to have my face close to the fresh air and being able to see the horizon. At some point, Beny wrangled his way to a place where he could stand on the steps with his upper body outside. I joined him there until I was soaked to the bone; the waters got rough and the little wooden boat started tossing and bouncing.

Jutta looked at me at one point and said, “This is suicide.” I couldn’t really hear her but I could understand her anyway. Water splashed in through the windows now and my hands cramped from gripping the window ledges so tight. My legs got used to the rearing of the boat and I made sure to inhale as the front of the boat reared up and exhale as it slammed back down. I spit salt water out every few minutes, wiping my face. Jutta clambered over and around people to stick her head out into the wind, feeling nauseous. Beny’s face was stoic but he didn’t say much for the entire hour and a half trip.

At one point, as my stomach started roiling along with the waters outside, a man behind me started singing. At first this didn’t seem odd to me, as I was singing to myself, too, to distract myself from my stomach. However, his voice soon rose in both pitch and volume and I began to pick out some words. It was no song, but a prayer to Krishna, a Hindu god. It went on and on, his wailing voice terrified, until abruptly he began to vomit. Loudly. My own stomach seemed ready to sympathetically join his. I could help it… I started to laugh. I covered my face with one hand, the other hanging on for dear life, and giggled, my eyes tearing up. I managed to not puke, even though the man continued to vomit at high volume for a long while.

We arrived to Delft two hours later and staggered off the boat, glad we hadn’t eaten anything much that morning. As it turned out, we only had two hours until the last return boat departed, so we got some water and soda at the only shop there, and then hired a tuk-tuk to do a speed tour of the island. None of us expected Delft to be as large as it was, but it was an interesting zoom around the place anyway. We saw ruins and criss-crossing walls all made of corals; “wild” horses supposedly descended from the Dutch breeds from long ago settlement; a hospital; beautiful stretches of beach; a baobob tree with a trunk we could stand inside; and some odd local “sights” like a hold in the ground vaguely in the shape of a footprint, and a statue or coral coming up from the ground that is revered for some reason. Throughout the day I felt vaguely ill, not able to throw off the nausea of the earlier boat ride and dreading the return trip. Beny chatted with a Sri Lankan Navy guy at one point and found that most people don’t like to travel to or from Deflt at this time of year, since the seas are too rough. Good to know…

The ride back to Jaffna wasn’t as bad. The boat trip was calmer and we managed to sit up on the top of the roof. Jutta and I had to push our way there, because they didn’t seem to allow women up there, but eventually we joined Beny and had a quick and windy ride back. Near the end we had to go down into the under-area and suck in the diesel fumes, but it only lasted about ten minutes. The bus back to Jaffna didn’t leave for about twenty minutes, but eventually we got back to rest and recover back at Gerd & Maria’s. For dinner, we went to Mango’s, which had come highly recommended but we weren’t terribly impressed. I was too hungry, and thus grumpy, plus tired and hot, so I could hardly eat.

We had decided it was time to head to Trincomalee, so we took a night bus. We didn’t book the night bus but had been told if we showed up an hour before departure we’d be ok. This turned out not to be true: although they found us seats at first, within five minutes of the bus starting out we were led to the front of the bus to manage as well as we could. Jutta and I sat on the engine compartment next to the driver while Beny sat on the floor by the door. Part way, I switched with Beny for the remainder of the ride, since I knew I would even doze, let alone sleep. At border control, we had to show passports again, and I attracted the attention of a young Army guard who told me to write my number on a form and then put his number into my phone. I was groggy and tired and confused, but just did as he told me. The trip took about seven hours, so we arrived in Trinco around 4:30am. One of the expats we’d met with Gerd and Maria owned a hotel and was also on the bus, so we all tuk-tuk’d together and she put us into a triple. As you might expect, we passed out. 

Monday, 28 May

We awoke late in the morning, hungry and groggy. We wandered out and were welcomed with a view of the beach, just thirty feet away. Jo, owner with husband Fernando of Aqua Inns, took our order for breakfast and we sat up in an elevated tiki lounge to drink tea and eat. The rest of the day was spent napping and sunning and swimming: heaven! Beny started his open water diving certification course, which impressed me since I was exhausted. Jutta and I hung out for the day together just being vegetables in the sun. It was truly fabulous.

It turned out Sophie was in Trinco also, just down the beach a short ways, so we all met up for dinner at a local Italian place. I thought it was pretty good, if a bit pricey, though Beny wasn’t quite as keen on it. It was good to meet up with Sophie again, too. We all walked back to our hotels along the beach, but I stayed out on the sand listening to the waves and dancing to the occasional beats from a nearby place. It was a lovely evening and I slept really well that night.

Tuesday, 29 May

I got up early for breakfast and then went scuba diving with Jutta. We had two nice dives with fun fish and corals. Nothing incredible, but one stingray and lots of moray eels and interesting fish to look at. Later, I went into Trinco with Jutta and Sophie, bought bus tickets for Beny and I for the following night, got some cash and generally just wandered around town. We saw the inner harbor, a huge natural one, and met a guy who called himself a mini Michael Jackson; he could make a pretty cool beat-box sound! And he also decided he should come home with me, the American. The three of us smiled and laughed and eventually turned him away, heading for the Hindu temple of Swami Rock, which was pretty cool. We met Beny for dinner at Green Park hotel, which served delicious north Indian food.

Our really confusing adventure of the day happened during the tuk-tuk ride home. We crammed four of us in, which you’re not supposed to do, and we were just a dozen feet from our hotel when an Army truck pulled us over. They were stern and wouldn’t explain anything to us, though they did shine their cell phone lights in our faces and ask where we were from, why we were there. They started to insist the tuk-tuk go somewhere, with us in it, but eventually let us out. We still have no idea what was going on but they drove away with the tuk-tuk driver. It was a bit scary, to be honest, especially after hearing the stories in Jaffna. I hope we didn’t get the tuk-tuk driver in trouble. I walked Sophie back to her place, close on the beach, then spent time by myself on the beach, sharing salt with the waves. I really like being on the beach!

Wednesday, 30 May

Today was another beach day: tiki lounge for breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, tea and fruit salad while watching the ocean, another dive to see interesting corals but not so many fish, swimming, walking along the beach, sunning… all is well in the world. We all checked out early, Beny and I putting our bags in the manager’s office for safekeeping and Jutta moving to another guest house. Beny and I head to Colombo tonight to renew our visas, while Jutta will stay and dive. Jo printed out the forms for us, which was really nice. We all (including Sophie) went out for dinner, a cheap one tonight of kotthu rotti. Once more, I couldn’t eat much, although hungry. I was really out-of-it feeling.  Later in the evening we said good-bye to everyone and headed into town, which is a bit of a tuk-tuk ride away, to catch our AC luxury night bus. This was the first time we planned ahead and bought tickets ahead, so we were hopeful of a comfy ride, especially given our last night bus!

The bus was nice, with somewhat comfy leather seats covered with plastic wrap and a god amount of AC. About fifteen minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave, I decided to run to a nearby Food City (grocery store) to buy snacks and water. Wouldn’t you know it, about twenty feet from the bus I managed to kick the stuffing out of something concrete, making me literally see starts and fear for my big toe, which went numb momentarily. I hobbled on to the Food City, bought some Snickers bars, cold water, cookies and gauze and tape. My toe was a bloody mess and was throbbing, although it didn’t feel broken. I hobbled back to the bus and clambered into it, sniffled down the aisle and sat down next to Beny. He took one look at me and asked what was wrong. I just pointed at my toe, which I’d poured water on but which was still bleeding and ugly. I managed to get it cleaned up using toilet paper and the gauze and tape, then promptly burst into tears. Beny hugged me and comforted me as I bawled about not doing anything right. He did his best but eventually broke out laughing, which made me start to giggle, too. A few minutes later, the bus was on its way.

Aside from my toe hurting and the loud music or terrible soundtrack from a movie, which they alternated all night, it was a decent bus ride. At least it was cool and we had seats!

Thursday, 31 May

We arrived in Colombo at 4:30am and took a tuk-tuk to Suboda’s. A two hour nap and a shower later, I was up again to go to the visa renewal center. It wasn’t too painful a process, despite my worries: I was taking not just my passport but Beny’s and I wasn’t sure they’d go for it. Beny was at Apollo hospital, a private Colombo hospital. A few weeks ago he fell down some steps and really scraped up his shins, and one of those scrapes started to look pretty funky, so he decided to have it checked out (with the recommendations of both Jutta and his mother, who are doctors). Anyway, it took time but wasn’t really any problem; it took about two hours to do the whole shebang. My visa renewal cost $100 USD and Beny’s cost $18, both of which had to be paid in rupees, which meant another visit to an ATM.

I was hungry and tired, my toe hurt, it was hot, I had a bit of a sickish feeling. So, I went straight back to Subodha’s and napped alongside Beny, had a cleaned up wound and was on two types of antibiotics. Lunch was fried rice and veggies and Pizza Hut veggie pizza, delivered. I decided our laundry just had to be done (everything smelled bad) so out I went with Talini and Akita. We visited a laundromat, where they stated that it would take two days, which didn’t work for us. Talini said she had a washing machine but didn’t know how to use it, so we went home and decided to give it a try.

It really took some doing: the machine was not hooked up to a water source, so I started filling it with buckets of water from the shower. At first, it didn’t look like it was filling at all, but eventually the water level rose. Next, I dumbed in all the laundry and a liberal amount of laundry powder. We turned on the power and pressed start…. nothing. It hummed, but that was it. We tried changing all the settings, unplugging it, settling the laundry more evenly… nothing. We decided to give it time to hum and work things out, so I went up to the room. I sat down on the bed and told Beny, who was cooling off under the fan and reading a book, that laundry machines really aught to wash laundry. He looked up, started giggling, and once again did his best to comfort me. Eventually I broke down and joined the giggle-fest.

When I went back downstairs, the machine hadn’t done a thing. Talinin, never one to give up, suggested putting more water in, which I secretly thought was silly. It worked, though: one more bucket of water and the thing started churning away! After the wash cycle we drained it and refilled it with rinse water; after that we drained it and put it on spin; and after that we put it on spin-dry. I dragged Beny down to hang it all up to dry overnight. We had dinner with the family: potato curry and rice and vegetables.

Friday, 1 June

Today I went off shopping for gifts to take home. I visited a place called Lanka Hands first, then walked around and visited Laksala (a government run souvenir place) and one or two other places. Lanka Hands was the best, in my opinion, and I got several small things to bring back. I met Beny for lunch (he had been off figuring out how to do an Indian visa) in Colombo Fort, where he’d bought tickets for the night train for that night. After lunch, we lazed around at Subodha’s for the day; in the evening, we hired a tuk-tuk to the train station, picked up snacks and water, got on the AC car of the train and settled in. It was nice having assigned seats on the train and the AC was great. Yep, we’re spoiled tourists! Ah well, we’re doing too much night travel to torture ourselves too much with the heat and bugs.

The night train wasn’t too bad, although the ride was very bumpy for the last hour or two. It was a seven hour train ride. At least there was no loud music!

Sri Lanka: Week 3

Saturday, 19 May

Today we took the train to Nuwara Eliya. Well, really the station name is Nanu Oya, which is nearby, so we took a taxi with some Germans to Victoria Inn, which Beny had called up earlier. Our room there was ok, a small square box with a nice window looking out over Victoria Gardens, for 1,300 rps per night. We decided to rent bicycles and ride around town. Originally we took some scary paths, but eventually got onto roads and patchwork roads, eventually getting up to a Buddhist dagoba with a very pretty and city view; we soared back down (the gears and brakes were a bit sketchy on these bikes)  and visited the bazaar. After mosying around a bit, my bum had had enough, so we zoomed back to Victoria Inn. I rested while Beny cycled a bit more. When he returned, we walked into town for dinner. For whatever reason, I was grumpy/headache-y. Nevertheless, an egg sandwich and veggie soup cured me. Not as helpful were the cupcake and choco ball for dessert, which were both disgusting!

Sunday, 20 May

We took a morning wander around Nuwara Eliya and split ways this morning; I went to Victoria Park, Beny walked around town. We met up back at Victoria Inn, packed up and caught a bus to the train station. Quick aside: at the train station there was a large billboard advertising a National Women’s Day earlier in the month. The funny part of the sign was the sponsor: Minister of Agriculture. Beny couldn’t stop giggling for at least ten minutes. Anyway, we got to the train station early, so we bought tickets to Peradiniya (where we’d heard we had to go instead of Kandy) for 110 rps each for 2nd class, and waited. It was a four hour train trip that was packed full of people, so we had no seats. We hung out at the end of the train car, by the doors, taking in the countryside as it whizzed by. We met an Australian/Spanish couple and ended up taking a taxi with them to Green Woods guest house (2800 rps/night for two rooms, one for us and one for Jutta), which turned out to be very nice – lots of monkeys! Later we all went out for dinner at a place they’d had recommended to them, Muslim Hotel, and I had kotthu string hoppers rotti, yum! Afterwards, we bought some arrack and ginger beer (and I got tooth paste for me), went back to Green Woods and had a few drinks before bed.

Monday, 21 May

We woke up and decided almost immediately that we needed to do laundry. First, we had a quick visit to a nearby bakery for breakfast, and then we wandered around town. I was a bit grumpy, due to a tiff with Beny in the morning, but eventually shook it off. We found a post office and checked out Olde Empire, another guest house option, but it wasn’t as good as Green Woods. When we got back to the guest house, we followed the owner’s wife with our stinky stuff to an outdoor area where we learned to do our laundry: we filled one tub with laundry powder and water and tossed our clothes in, soaking them. Then we took a piece out and threw it violently down onto a stone/cement slab, squeezing it and pounding it and brushing it. Then it was pound and squeeze again before dunking it in another tub of plain water. Needless to say, we went through several tubs of both soapy and rinse water.

Our Finnish friend Jutta arrived to the airport near Colombo and ended up taking a taxi to Kandy to meet us. We met her at around noon at the guest house and after she got settled in her room, we went to lunch at the same Muslim Hotel place. After, we walked around Kandy City Center, visited an ATM for Jutta, went to small market where Jutta and I dealt with an angry shoe store guy, and finally to the mall with Beny so he could buy some sandals. We sat by the lake for awhile, wondering about strange fireworks that would go off now and then; it sounded like gunshots and startled us every time. Eventually, we took a tuk-tuk to Dhanushka’s parent’s house for dinner. They stuffed us with rice and potato curry and string hoppers plus chicken and fish balls for Jutta, along with a dessert of fresh fruit (absolutely divine mangoes, pineapple, bananas and honey). They showed us around their home and talked to us about Sri Lanka in general. They explained that the fireworks were because a Sri Lankan general who had been imprisoned for two years had been released that day. There was a bit of a language barrier but we did all right. They have a nice view from their roof and showed us places we could walk to and visit. Later, back at the guest house, all of us felt stuffed and went to bed by 10pm.

Tuesday, 22 May

We liked it so much we went back to the Muslim Hotel for breakfast. Then the three of us took a bus to Peradeniya Gardens (1,100 rps each) and spent a few hours roaming around. We’d bought food with us, so we picnicked and climbed trees, enjoyed flowers and serene park atmosphere, and watched the locals around us. We bumped into the Australian couple Beny and I had met back in Ella and chatted with them for a bit. We hopped on a bus back to Kandy and visited the Temple of the Tooth (1,000 rps each) and had an ok guide (500 rps). After that, we saw a Kandyan dance show, which was interesting but I ended up more curious about the history of it, as some of the dance seemed rather influenced by modern-day dance in other countries, perhaps. There were firewalkers at the end! After a quick shower and cooling off at the guest house, we walked to Slightly Chilled pub and had dinner there. Beny was moody; personally, I think he maybe has some travel burn-out. He said he was fine, though, so Jutta and I let him be.

Wednesday, 23 May

We all slept in late today. I had breakfast with Jutta at a different nearby bakery. I brought back sweet buns and bananas for Beny while Jutta shopped at Kandy City Center. After making plans for the day with Beny, I went to meet Jutta downtown. She introduced me to Rory and Mark, Irish and English buys, and we all walked around a bit. We visited banana square, dubbed as such by Jutta and I, and bought some munchies before heading to a temple in the woods. It was a simple Buddhist temple but had one fairly interesting feature: a wall painting showing the decomposition of the Buddha’s body. It was pretty graphic and disturbing, not to mention confusing. There was no one there able to explain it to us. We went to visit a forest park up the hill, but were told it cost 650 rps apiece. So, we walked down the hill, back to city center. Rory and Mark went off their own way and Jutta and I met Beny for a late lunch, after which we visited the tourist center to get info on going to Jaffna.

Later, Jutta and I went back to Dhanushka’s parent’s house for dinner. Beny opted to go out with Sophie, the Belgian girl we met in Galle, instead, and missed out on a fabulous dinner of dosi and curry and sambol, plus a three-dessert finish of pitthu (rice/coconut mix with honey and coconut milk poured on), a fruit pudding kind of thing that was to die for, and fresh fruit. I again ate way, way too much and felt about to burst! Afterwards, Jutta and I took a tuk-tuk to Slightly Chilled again and meet Mark and Rory for drinks; Beny and Sophie joined us a bit later and we all gabbed and joked. At 10:30pm, I went back to the guest house because they lock their doors at that time. I loaded up on bottled water, arranged a tuk-tuk for the next morning, packed, and went to bed. 

Thursday, 24 May

We were up at the ungodly hour of 3:30am to finish packing and meet the tuk-tuk at 4am. Even so early in the morning, Beny was able to bargain down the price to the bus station! We ended up finding a bus to Vavuniya, which left at 5am and arrived there at 9:30am. Beny and Jutta sat together and I sat in the aisle seat next to a young-ish Sri Lankan man who seemed to feel a bit awkward at first. He eventually fell asleep and I also snoozed on and off, even through the bus becoming over-crowded and having bags put on my lap, hands on my shoulder, and the other usual crowding symptoms. We caught a quick snack in Vavuniya, which seemed at quick look a bare town at a junction of many roads. The next bus took us to Jaffna and took about six or seven hours.

Let me tell you about Sri Lanka buses. The ones we took are the same that the locals take. Each bus usually has a driver and at least one helper, usually two on long-distance buses. In the case of our trip to Jaffna, it was two. These helpers act as ticket-takers, destination callers and human blinkers. By this last, I mean that when the bus passes another vehicle, the helper will lean out the door (which is always open) and wave frantically at the vehicle we’re passing, indicating that we’re passing and will pull in front of that other vehicle. Without fail, when the bus passed someone we’d see on-coming traffic in the form of other busses, tractors, trucks, tuk-tuks and people on bicycles. It always seems as though it’s a near miss, too, when we don’t kill anyone or crash.

On our way up to Jaffna, we had to go through a military checkpoint, supposedly for security. As the only three foreigners on the bus, we had to get off, show our passports and provide some information. The “checkpoint” was an open-air hut with a table behind a low wall, with two soldiers sitting at it. We were waved to some plastic chairs to wait while two other men showed their papers. When it came to our turns we all handed over our passports, with Beny handing over a copy of his since his was at the Australian embassy for a visa. This last part confused the soldiers, so they went over and knocked on a nearby door. A moment later, a tall and filled-out officer came out, strolled over to the table, sat, and beckoned to us indolently. Beny went over while the senior officer eyeballed the photocopy, then asked with a bit of a superior air why he didn’t have his actual passport. Beny explained, answered a few other questions, and then we all had to fill out our occupations and local phone numbers. After twenty minutes of this paper-pushing and showing off, we were waved away.

Anyway, we arrived in Jaffna around 4pm. After hunting around for guest houses, we settled on Kandy Hotel, where we got a triple with AC for 2,500 rps per night. After showering and changing and settling in a bit, we walked around town without much direction, ending up at a local’s recommendation at Cosy’s for dinner, after which we walked back to Kandy Hotel. Before crashing for the night, I sent a couch request to the only Jaffna couch surfer.

It’s a very different vibe here! Never mind the construction going on here and there, or the bombed out buildings with trees and flowers growing in them; ignore the rubble fields and general disarray and mid-reconstruction feel of things; it’s just a different feel. It’s not touristic at all. People are friendly but not overly so, for the most part, although I think the men really notice Jutta for her blond hair. It’s just… quieter, simpler, almost even nicer here. It’s not something I can put my finger on directly, because it’s a mix of sad and depressed and determined and moving-forward-ness. Sri Lankan military is everywhere, too.

Friday, 25 May

All three of us slept in, no surprise. Once up and showered, we booked a tuk-tuk driver for the day. We went first for a rotti breakfast, then headed to Kayts, which took awhile. We passed Sri Lankan Navy signs, like “first line of defence” and so on. At Kayts, we boarded a strange platform with an outboard motor attached on the side, a 40-horse power thing like off a boat, and motored across the bay to another part of the peninsula. Our tuk-tuk, a couple of bikes and pedestrians motored across to Karaitivu. Then we headed to Casuarina Beach, but on the way we stopped at a Hindu celebration of a new temple, or statue, or something, that was inside a tin-roofed shed; people were putting tikka on their heads and offering fruits and rices, it was quite the party atmosphere. After taking this in, we went to and swam at Casuarina Beach. It was warm water, and too windy to really sit on the beach – instead we got a bit sandblasted. It was also incredibly hot out! Our next stop was Kantarodai, which is the site of some strange dome-like structures, supposedly dagobas, apparently 3,000 years old. The reason for their construction is completely uknown. It’s not much of a “site,” with no explanations or signs around, just an old man who eagerly pointed to some of the structure bases and said, “Original! Original” But it’s strangely appealing anyway. The tuk-tuk then took us to Tellippalai, where we saw a Hindu temple being rebuilt and talked to a young man who we later found out to be the son of the high priest. He told us the story of the temple (a horse-faced woman who wanted to be beautiful followed god-sent orders to come to Sri Lanka and build a temple).

Back in Jaffna, I got a call from the one couchsurfer in Jaffna, who offered to host us that night. So, we went back to Kandy Hotel, showered, and headed out to Maria’s.  She and her husband are a German/Albanian couple doing aid work with the World Food Foundation. They have a cute 16 month old, shockingly blond and pale, named Marek. We had dinner with them and went out for drinks with other volunteers/expats. They have to single beds, so I ended up sleeping on the floor on a bunch of yoga mats.

Sri Lanka, Week Two: Hill Country

Saturday, May 12

We were up early this morning to take our guided hike through Sinharaja National Forest with Bandula, the Sinharaja Rest owner. It was cool-ish, but super humid (humidity is generally above 80% in the rain forest). Bandula really knew his stuff and showed us all kinds of trees and plants, including a carnivorous fern and a cocoa tree with fruits that they make cocoa from! On our walk through the jungle, we saw snakes, spiders, lizards and bugs, a monkey and some pretty birds. I also got my first experience with leeches, which was creepy and icky. Some of my socks will need to bleached because of the blood stains. It wasn’t a difficult walk but it was about two hours long and we had a lovely morning of it. We also got to swim in a waterfall, which with some effort I could swim to and float beneath for as long as I could take the beating!

On our drive back to Deniyaya, we visited Lumbini tea factory, which was really interesting! The process is pretty complex and this particular factory fairly modern and complex. In general, this is how the tea we drink comes to be:

First, tea plantation workers pick the leaves. These are gathered, bundled and delivered to the factory. If it’s white tea, the flowers are picked by hand from the leaves and separated for their own treatment. Otherwise, the first step is withering, where the leaves are spread out on long tables which send steam through them. This doesn’t cook the leaves, just “withers” them a bit. Then they’re shoveled through a chute which has large holes in it so that smaller leaves are discarded. Then the leaves head for sorting, which involves a process of rolling and shaking. This can happen up to five times if the leaves don’t get crumbled correctly the first time. Next comes the "cooking,” and discarding burnt bits using a high-tech camera machine that senses the color of the leaves. The leaves are then graded according to size and packaged. Unfortunately, due to competition I’m guessing, we weren’t allowed to take pictures. I did buy three different types of tea for about 3420 rps (~$30 USD). Then it was back to the guest house. A good, tiring day!

Sunday, May 13

We seemed to have started a trend, because we were up early again today. This time it was to catch our first of two buses for the day. Have I explained buses here yet? They’re quite the experience. The seats are made for slightly smaller frames than Westerners generally have, so Beny and I have to squish to fit on one. The ones we’ve been taking are primarily local buses, which means no AC, which is fine when the buses are moving. Unfortunately, the buses stop a lot and then the heat settles in and becomes a bit stagnant. Also, when the bus becomes packed with bodies in both the seats and the aisles, well… it becomes stifling. I was lucky for the first bus: I had the window seat. Beny had the apparently common Sri Lankan bus experience of having elbows in his back and bags placed on his lap as the aisle filled and people were jammed against those in the seats. The first bus to Penduwala took four hours.

The next bus, which took us to our destination of Haputale, took about two and a half hours, and the only time we got to sit was during a rest stop when everyone left the bus for a few minutes. Otherwise, we stood in the packed aisles, never positioned far from the huge speakers that were bungeed into place on the luggage racks, alternating the length of the bus, and blasting the entire way. I didn’t mind the standing but the music made my head pound.

Haputale was beautiful, luckily, and after getting ourselves fed we eventually found Bawa’s Guest House. Arrived Haputale exhausted, bus back door not opening for bags, went to look at Sri Lak but weird with pricing; ate lunch for 200 rps and then went to Bawa Guest House, which had a very nice room with balcony and hot/cold water for 1,000 rps. We walked to a nearby Christian monastery but arrived fifteen minutes after the gates closed. It was a nice forty-five minute walk with a stop to buy fresh strawberries and check out a bit of bird sanctuary forest, so all was well! We had dinner at Bawa’s which included really nice curries and vegetables.

Monday, May 14

After a nice breakfast at Bawa’s, we took a bus to Dambutale tea plantation and then hiked up to a viewpoint called Lipton’s Seat. Apparently the tea baron Lipton enjoyed bringing guests to this viewpoint, which is a concrete gazebo perched on a cliff overlooking his plantations. It was a real climb up through tea plantation which was huge and quite beautiful, row upon row of tea plants arrayed on the sloping hills all around. We saw many women and some men working in the fields, picking tea; most waved to us with big smiles. By the time we arrived to Lipton’s Seat, though, there was no view due to the mists. On the other hand, we parked our butts in some plastic chairs and had a picnic lunch there, with our staple foods of buns stuffed with spicy cooked vegetables and bananas and water.

We then hiked around blindly in the woods bordering the plantation for a bit before coming back onto the regular paths to start the hike back down. On the way, we met plantation kids asking for pens and money and photos. It made me really wonder about the whole business of tea, you know? I mean… there are plantation kids. Most of the workers are Tamil's imported from India and I wonder about the fact that there are schools and hospitals on the plantation. Do the families ever leave? Is there a choice, really? It made me feel really uncomfortable. We were able to catch a minivan bus, which was weird because it was packed with plantation workersand us. It made me feel like a real jack-ass for taking a seat.

One other thing about tea plantations, on the “nice” side of it: they’re really quite interesting to look at in terms of landscaping. The rows of tea bushes are interspersed with tall, Dr. Seuss-like trees, which we learned a few days earlier are actually bean plants that help put nitrogen in the soil. They take different shapes in different climes, but they always have a sort of odd look to them.

On our way back, we were discussing the phrase “every cloud has a silver lining” because there was a bit of silver lining in the sky, and Beny hadn’t ever actually seen that before. As we looked at the sky, we realized something far more awesome was there: a sun dog! It’s the first time I’ve ever seen one and my camera couldn’t quite catch the glory of it, but let me tell you, it was freaky and beautiful at the same time even if we could only see the edge of it from behind a cloud! Iridescent and glowing, it seemed otherworldly.

Tuesday, May 15

Although we debated it because of the reputed high price, we decided to drag ourselves out of bed at 4:30am to take the two-hour tuk-tuk ride to Horton’s Plains National Park. It’s really hard to nap in a tuk-tuk, in case you were wondering, but it was a rather pretty drive at least. Once we paid the 5,540 rps (~$50 USD) entry fee, we took the nine kilometer path to see World’s End, mini World’s End, and some waterfalls. The name “World’s End” is really what attracted me, and the descriptions of “an escarpment abruptly ending and dropping down” (paraphrased from many sources). Overall it was a nice hike but not worth the exorbitant entry fee, sadly. The views were pretty neat, the landscape different and interesting, and the red rhododendrons dotting the path and hills were pretty too. It’s just that seeing the local price set at around ~$5 USD and then seeing the “foreign visitor” price at so much more was really frustrating. I understand that it costs money to maintain and protect these areas, but they’re pushing it with the 10x inflation for tourists. Especially when that nine kilometer path is it – you can’t do anything else in the park.

When we were done with the hike, we took the two-hour tuk-tuk ride back, which set us back another 2,300 rps (~$20). We had a cheap lunch in Haputale’s main town area, then headed back to Bawa’s for showers and a nap. Later, we packed up and took the evening train – our first train in Sri Lanka! - to Ella (100 rps). It was such a BEAUTIFUL train ride, so much nicer than buses! Beny smiled a lot, pleased, and hung out between between the train cars to watch the lovely landscape and gorgeous sunset go by; I watched from my window, enjoying the breeze and beauty. At Ella, a tuk-tuk from Soorya’s Guest House, which we’d called earlier, met us, a surprise! After checking in to a 1,000 rps room, we crashed. 

Wednesday, May 16

Not surprisingly, we slept in late. Once we did manage to wake up, we went to a highly recommended Curd Shop for breakfast and ended up meeting Sophie, the Belgian girl that we met in Galle. We all decided to do a hike to some nearby waterfalls, and instead of taking the path up the hill, we clambered up the rocks, which was an adventure. We swam in the pool at the foot of the falls, which was lovely, and sunned on the rocks.

When we got back to Ella, we had lunch at a place Sophie had been often and the staff all knew her there, so they were super nice. Beny and I switched guest houses to go to Mountain View, where Sophie was staying and which had a nicer view (1,000 rps/night). Unfortunately, the place we vacated decided we had to pay an extra 300 rps for leaving “after checkout time” which was a bit of a swindle, as no checkout time was mentioned and we’d been there less than twenty-four hours. Ah, well, it’s down season so I guess they get what they can from who they can. Beny and I did a sunset hike to mini Adam’s Peak, which had pretty views. We made it back for dinner with Sophie at Dream Café, which was good, but I realized that I wasn’t too hungry and that it was a bit unusual because I haven’t been eating much at all lately. Odd, but not too worrisome.

Thursday, May 17

After compromising on time the night before, Sophie and Beny and I decided to leave for a hike to Ella Rock at 7:30am. It ended up taking two hours, during which an unsolicited guide took us up a “short cut.” It had me huffing and puffing and my legs were getting a real workout as we climbed, up and up and up. As always, this hike ended in a nice view. We also visited the top of the falls that we had checked out from below yesterday. I surprised myself by taking a good two hour long nap when we got back, to be followed by chilling out on the porch, taking a shower, doing laundry and chatting. I felt like some alone time, so Beny and Sophie went to dinner and I had some me-time to look at the stars, write in my journal and in think in general.

Friday, May 18

Back to the curd shop for breakfast with Sophie this morning. The curd here, by the way, is made from water buffalo milk, and is usually drizzled with treacle, which is a kind of palm honey, and at this place it’s served with cubed fruit on top. Yum! We walked to the post office and I sent some post cards. Then it was time to say good-bye to Sophie, who was headed to Haputale, and to catch the bus to Weliwaya. It was a quick-ish drive, but made Beny a bit motion sick which is a new experience for him. At Weliwaya we battled off the tuk-tuk touts and caught another local bus to the entrance of Buduruwagala.

Here, we actually did decide to take a tuk-tuk because it was a four kilometer walk in the sun to see the attraction here: a huge slab of rock with Buddha figures carved into it. Huge Buddha figures! They’re supposedly from the 10th century AD. It was a pretty peaceful place, although not much else to see besides the one rock face with the carvings. I walked along a short pathway and found a gorgeous flower, which turned out to be the Sri Lankan national flower, a kind of lily. We tuk-tuk’d (a new verb!) back to Weliwaya and hopped the bus to Ella, but decided to jump off when we saw the Rawana falls. After the hot and stuffy bus it felt so good to take a swim, even if the locals were using it as a bathtub/shower, with soap and shampoo and loofahs. Beny stuck out a thumb and we hitched a ride back to Ellawith a Sri Lankan NGO worker. After an early dinner at Dream Café, we hung out for sunset on our porch. A lovely day!

Another fascinating week in Sri Lank!

--Z

Sri Lanka, Days 4-7

Note: This is the second blog post I’m putting up right now, so make sure you’ve read my first three days!

Day 4: Masks and Wandering

After a delicious and large breakfast of various toasts, marmalades, fruit juices and fresh mango and papaya, it was time to wander around Ambalangoda. My first order of interest was to see the mask museum, which turned out to be a dark little place with some really interesting stories to go with the masks on display. A young woman took us through the various alcoves and told some stories, a bit perfunctorily. Afterwards we wandered around by ourselves, just taking in the variety of masks and stories. Then, of course, we had to head to their showroom upstairs and take a glance at their workshop. They told me they had fifteen workers, most of whom are carvers and others who are painters.

We crossed the street to look at another mask shop, then began ambling down some smaller lanes. Most people we passed said “Hello!” It was either tentative, as in the case of most older women; or exuberant, when it came from the children; or questioning, from the men. We weren’t in the usual touristy area, I guess, because we were asked a few times where we were going, as if we needed help. But when we replied that we were just wandering, they seemed content, for the most part. We came up on a small shrine, which we were waved into, and later a larger temple complex with many Buddha statues lining each of four walls surrounding a reclining Buddha. In front of each standing Buddha was a supplicant, mostly human but not always. Pretty different!

Then my eyes caught a shimmer and we headed towards it: the Indian Ocean! We walked along the beach as the waves washed up, deceptively calm. Eventually, of course, we were soaked up to our thighs! It was really pretty, though, so we climbed up onto some rocks and dangled our legs over the edge as the Indian Ocean crashed against our boulder about ten feet below. We sang “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” being silly, and eyeballed a balcony, empty, a short distance away. Hunger eventually overtook us and we actually ended up on that very same balcony awhile later, eating our noodles or rice and vegetables.

It was hot enough out, still, that we went back to our room and showered, luxuriated in the AC a bit, then headed out to catch sunset on the beach. Beny found a place where we could climb up on some rocks and lean against what seemed to be an old flagpole. We watched the crabs scuttle along the large rock next to use, chatted, watched the sun set and in general just really enjoyed the evening. We finished off the day with a dinner back at the guest house.

Day 5: Southward Bound!

After another lovely breakfast, it was off to catch a bus to Galle. We had the plan to really bargain hard with the Galle guest houses, but once we got there it was too hot to wander around much and nobody seemed into bargaining for their empty rooms. So, we headed over to Unawatuna, just about ten kilometers away or so, via a cheap local bus, and  after asking at a few places, we employed our new plan: one of us (in this case, me) stay with the bags somewhere shady while the other goes and haggles with guest houses. Beny came back discouraged, however, so we went back to a place we’d gotten down a bit in price and stayed there.

After resting up and cooling off (a theme with us!) we headed back to Galle for a walk around the old Dutch Fort’s walls, sunset and, eventually, dinner. We met a Belgian girl named Sophie, who joined us for dinner and conversation, which was a lot of fun. We met her at a spot on the walls where local guys tell tourists they’ll run and jump off the wall into the ocean – at least a twenty or thirty foot drop – for 1,000 rupees (~$8 USD). So, we got to watch it happen a few times, which was gut-wrenching and amusing. After dinner, we headed back to our place in Unawatuna.

Day 6: Beach Day

It was hard getting up on this particular morning, though I’m not sure why. Every times my eyes would slit open I would catch sight of the beautiful blue sky with palm trees and jungly green leaves, just outside my window. And yet my eyes would then slip back shut! Eventually I pulled myself out of bed and after a slow morning, we got into our swimming gear and headed out for a day at the beach! Unawatuna is a neat little beachy tourist village on the sea and it’s cute to walk through it. For breakfast we went to a vegetarian restaurant. It was good, but we decided we need to try to cut down on costs, as both of our pockets have been feeling a bit light already.

The beach was just a beautiful, gorgeous blue, with the variations in shade that make the water so breathtaking. Palm trees, nice sand, and guys selling coconuts and hacking through them with machetes just completed the picture. We spent a couple hours swimming and sunning and reading and snoozing on the beach: my favorite kind of day! We meandered down the beach a bit later on and came across a strange party of drunk Sri Lankans, all of whom wanted to take pictures with us. It was sort of fun at first but then just felt strange, especially because one guy kept grabbing my wrist and trying to get me to kiss his cheek. Ugh. We beat it out of there and went to a little rotti shop. A rotti is like a small, thin pancake, usually with something wrapped in it. I had tomato, cheese and olive. Mmmmm! And a mixed fruit juice, of course. Fruit juice with every meal!

While we were sitting at the rotti shop, who should happen by but Sophie! We invited her to our room to enjoy the AC and chatted a bit more with her before she headed back to Galle. We went out for dinner and drink on the beach. The rest of the evening was spent planning for the days to come.

Day 7: Friday

We actually managed to get up early today, packing and showering and getting a tuk-tuk to Galle’s bus station by 8:15am, which is pretty impressive given our sleeping-late track record. We caught a bus to Akuressa, then caught a different bus to Kotapola, where we visited a rock temple and some waterfalls. The rock temple was way less than impressive, especially given the extreme humidity and long, steep climb. The waterfalls were pretty nice, though. Then we caught another bus up to Deniyaya, where we put our accommodation-finding tactic into play, this time with me going forth to hunt and bargain. As it turned out, I found a Lonely Planet recommendation and got a decent price for a fan-only room.

Deniyaya is neat, there are rice paddies, which I love, and everyone seems pretty happy to wave and say hello to us. As with the rest of the south part of Sri Lanka, there don’t seem to be many tourists here. We’ve made a plan with the guest house owner, Bandula, to go see Sinharaja National Forest tomorrow. It is the only rain forest in Sri Lanka and we should see lots of birds and interesting fauna.

I don’t think I mentioned it earlier, but Beny is a vegetarian, and since I’ve wanted to try going vegetarian for awhile but never had the will power, I’ve decided now’s the time. So far, things are going pretty well! I haven’t been too sorely tempted by anything… yet. It’s only been about five days though.

Anyway, the trip is going well: I’m having fun despite the heat and humidity, Beny is a great travel partner, and Sri Lanka proves more interesting as we move along.

A New Adventure: Sri Lanka

Note: At some point I will make a picture album titled “Sri Lanka: Week 1,” for pictures from my first week in Sri Lanka. I’m not sure when I’ll get to it though!

It took me almost three days to get to Sri Lanka, but I made it just a few hours late to meet Beny, my Israeli friend, who met me at the airport in Colombo. A forty-five minute taxi ride later, we were at Subodha and Talini’s home. Subodha is the brother of Dhanushka, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota – Duluth, where my uncle works. Long story short, I visited my uncle Paul a few months ago and he introduced me to Dhanushka and her husband Keravi, also a graduate student. They in turn contacted their family back in Sri Lanka, and thus Beny and I had a place to stay in Colombo on our arrival!

Subodha and his wife Talini were so kind and hospitable, and their two year old son Akita is lively and fun, calling me auntie and Beny, uncle. On my first day, predictably, we didn’t do much. Beny and I walked around the area a bit, allowing me to soak in the heat. Literally… my clothes were soaked with sweat after just ten minutes of walking.

Day 0: Arrival Day

It turns out that we arrived just in time for the monthly poya, or holiday, that coincides with the full moon. This month is extra special because it’s the once a year festival of vesak, which is the celebration of Buddha’s birth, death and enlightenment. It started on Saturday, and Beny and I experience dansal, which are booths that give away free refreshments as part of the celebration: drinks, ice cream, snacks, etc. The lines at these booths were often many blocks long, though when we pulled up in a tuk-tuk we were served immediately (along with having our picture taken by many young Sri Lankans). We also visited a local temple, which was a complex packed with people milling around, praying, watching an elephant, or looking at the story-boards posted around. We also walked around and tried what we thought was “local food” and turned out to be something akin to cigarettes: an addictive treat of a betel leaf that turns your mouth red filled with coconut and spices, I think. The sellers had a pretty display, anyway, but it tasted AWFUL!

Day 1: A Long Day of Elephants, Family and Vesak

On Sunday, we took the two-and-a-half hour drive to Pinewalla, an elephant orphanage, and walked around in the heat of the day. We’d planned to leave early, but a tap burst while Subodha was showering and the morning was spent stemming that flood! At the orphanage we saw baby elephants and grown elephants, both chained and unchained. I’m not altogether sure how great a project it is as it doesn’t do anything to reintroduce the elephants into the wild. On the other hand, it accepts all orphaned elephants… hm. Also, this was our first experience of the tourist-price jack-up. For locals, the price is something like 100 or 200 rupees (about $1 USD). For Beny and I, the price was 2,000 rupees (~$17 USD). That’s quite a markup… a fairly common occurrence, apparently.

After lunch, during which we watched the elephants bathe in the nearby river, we were off to a relative of Talini’s, who was once a player on the national Srin Lankan cricket team. He had a beautiful home on the top of a hill, and it was a bit of a reunion with lots of family visiting. After a few hours of chatting, walking, and taking in the tea fields nearby, we got back on the road to Colombo. Because it was the night of Vesak, it ended up taking us over four hours.

Day 3: And We’re Off!

Beny and I slept in on Monday. It turned out to be the birthday of either Subodha or Talini’s mother, who stays at their home too, so we had a yummy breakfast of rice cooked in coconut milk. Beny and I decided it was time to take off on our adventures, so we packed up and got on our way a bit later than we’d anticipated. However, we managed to get all our chores done before finding and boarding an AC bus to Ambalangoda. Our chores included buying new sandals for Beny, getting me a sim card and a Dongle (for internet), getting cash and eating lunch. We managed to navigate the confusing mass of the Colombo Fort bus station and get on a bus to Ambalangoda.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that it was AC… it was still pretty uncomfortable and hot. The buses are tiny, with seats for two that barely fit Beny, let alone both of us. And we usually have to pay for a third seat for our packs. Also, the drivers here are a bit crazy. Lanes are a concept that are generally recognized but not always followed, so swerving, honking and hard braking are all part of the norm. With one butt cheek half on and half off the seat, and my knee giving me problems when sitting in one position too long, it was a long three and a half hours before we made it to Ambalangoda.

This was a destination I’d picked because it’s well known for mask carvings for Sri Lankan dances and customary rituals. It was getting dark when we arrived, though, so we picked a place out of the Lonely Planet guidebook, Sunumu Guest House, and paid a bit extra for an AC room with half board. We were pretty wiped from the long, cramped bus ride, so we just stayed in, showered,relaxed, ate and cooled off in general.

Some general observations/impressions of Sri Lanka:

• People are nice, in general. If you need directions, people on the street are glad to help, if they can. This being said, foreigners are definitely gouged for all the money possible and everything must be bargained for. It’s the off season in the south and we’re having to argue down prices from twice the high-season norms, which is a bit ridiculous.
• There’s a different pace here. Meals take forever to arrive once ordered. Distances aren’t very great here, but it takes a really long time to get places. It’s hard to get used to!
• Sri Lanka is technically a developing country, but it’s at this weird halfway point in my mind. There are nice buildings, cars and shops selling electronics and other “modern” things. But there are also tons of tuk-tuks, buses are dirty and old, there’s trash on the ground in most places, and while there are Western toilets, the flush capability is not generally there.

In the Air Again

On Wednesday afternoon, my folks treated me to a goat cheese omelet, took a stroll around the garden with me and helped me remember last minute travel stuff. They drove me to the airport and dropped me off, and with that I started my pre-job trip. Many people have smiled at me knowingly and said, “Oh, good, one last trip before you start working.” For some reason, this always rubs me the wrong way, although it’s meant to be kind. It is not a last trip, though, it is just the next trip! And the idea that work begins a time of no travel makes me feel unnecessarily uncomfortable. So, this is not my last trip before starting my job, I say! It’s merely the next in a line of travels that will hopefully last for many decades to come!

My eight hour flight to London was uneventful and sleepless, for some reason. And although I napped, my four and a half hour flight to Istanbul seemed long and tiring as well. On arrival, though, I felt a smile pulling at my lips and got that glimmer of excitement that travel sparks in me. It’s been an odd few days leading up to this trip: no real giddiness or irrepressible excitement, really, until the day my travels began.

After a crowded subway and tram ride into the city proper, I found my hostel – Neverland – and checked into my four-bed dorm. It’s a pretty chill place, easy to walk right by somehow, but very themed around revolutionaries, activists and music. If I knew anything about music, I’d probably have appreciated the lobby’s selection more. As it was, it was relaxing to sit there and lounge on one of many lounge-able sofas, futons and chairs.

Then came a few hours bumming around with Matt, a guy I met at the archaeological dig in Israel last year and who has been living in Turkey teaching English to a rich couple’s four-year-old daughter. We had dinner and then he took me to a park overlooking the Bosphorous, where we could see the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia and many minarets lit up in the night. We just chatted, catching up and telling travel stories. At around 11pm I returned to Neverland and promptly fell fast asleep.

Now I wait to start my trip to Colombo, which will take a four hour flight to Dubai, a four hour layover and another, five hour flight. At about 4am Sri Lankan time, I will have arrived!

--Z