Enlightning Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was a surprise for me and rates as one of the best trips of my Odyssey. 
It was my introduction to Buddhism and a country that has so much to offer with ancient cities, magnificent beaches and UNESCO Heritage sites.  With a FANTASTIC guide and an AMAZING group-this trip will be long remembered.

THREE ASIAN COUNTRY HOP

WEATHER: Travelling day

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Departing and arriving on the same day

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Such an early start

WORD OF THE DAY:  window

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 5124.20KM

BUDDHA QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

Let us rise up and be thankful,
for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little,
and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick,
and if we got sick, at least we didn't die;
so, let us all be thankful.

The one good thing about travelling within a continent is you should get to your destination on the same day if you had a morning flight.  This was the upside for me getting up at 3.30am this morning for a 4am pick-up from the hotel.  I didn’t end up having any of the breakfast items I had bought at the supermarket yesterday, but I thought of knew that would happen.  I know that the ‘trio’ will be able to eat what I left thought as they were staying in Colombo a few more days after the tour.  It would be contribution to happy hour.  At 3.55am there was a knock at the door and Christine was standing there as promised last night and Lenore had also changed as we waited in the lobby for the transfer to arrive.  There were a lot of men hanging around the lobby, I think some of them were taxi drivers and the reception guy was fast asleep behind the desk.  The transfer arrived right on time and the girls helped me with my bags and with a final hug and promises to keep in touch I waved goodbye to 2 people I know I will keep in touch with.  It was super sweet that they got up so early to wave me off.  Thanks gals. 

It was still dark so early in the morning and there was no traffic on the roads and even taking that into account the transfer took 45 minutes.  I would hate to think how long it would take during normal traffic, as the Sri Lankan traffic can be a nightmare at times.  That is also another plus of arriving/departing into a city at god awful hours.  The first time I arrived into Nairobi was at 3.45am and it took me 15 minutes to get to my hotel.  The second time I went back my flight was delayed by 5 hours arriving in at 8.45am and it took me 1 hour and 35 minutes to get to the same hotel the only difference being was the traffic.  I arrived at the airport at 4.45am and I am not sure how my arm is going to hold up hoisting my bag to and from trolleys, but I really don’t have a choice and I have made sure that I have plenty of pills on hand to get me through the day if needed.  I really haven’t noticed any real improvement since the accident, so I will just have to keep an eye on it in the coming days and if it doesn’t feel like it is healing I will need to make a doctor’s appointment in either Cebu or Boracay.  In the meantime the transfer guy got me a trolley so I was spared the first lift of the ‘monster’.  You had to go through a body scanner to gain access to the building, you then had to work out what gate your flight was leaving from, which differentiated what security check you went through to get your bags scanned and then finally to the check-in counters. So the trolley had to be left, all 3 bags hoiked on the belt, the run to find a new trolley, and then reload so as not to use my arm too much.  There were over 10 counters open so I didn’t have to wait at all.  My bag was 22.2kg and when I asked for my usual window seat, he told me there were none available.  WTF.  What is with Sri Lankan Airlines and their seat allocations?  I emailed the girls in the office about pre-booking the seat on the way home after I didn’t get the window seat initially on the way there and the computer system wouldn’t let you do it, so how the hell 2 hours and 10 minutes before the flight there are no window seats left of they don’t let you pre-allocate seats.  Well the flight is only 4 hours, so I will just have to suck it up, but I know that I will be sleepy after such an early start, but I will just have to do the head floppage for this section of my journey.  There was another passport and ticket check before you finally made it into the departures area.  There were a lot of people around for 5.30am in the morning and when I checked the departure monitor there were 12 flights departing before mine and my flight was at 7.20am.  I guess there is always people worse off than you, just imagine what time they had to get up to catch their flights!  So I had nearly 2 hours to kill.  All the duty free shops were open and all the food outlets, but I didn’t have my shopping mojo with me, I think I may have left that in the US somewhere as I have had no great inkling in buying souvenirs (except magnets and postcards now).  Maybe after 19 months the novelty is starting to wear off.  I did see those masks again that I liked, but I still have no more room since yesterday so I had to walk straight past them.  The great thing about Colombo’s International Airport is they have free Wi-Fi internet at just about at every departure gate.  There are no seats, standing only, I guess this discourages people from spending too much time on them, but as there was no-one waiting I spent the next 45 minutes cleaning up my email account and stalking on Facebook.  The internet is always a great way to kill some time and the plan works, my legs were getting tired from standing so long, so I logged off and made my way to the gate.  It wasn’t open yet, but I found a seat and, and just tried to keep my eyes open as I played solitaire on my IPod.  The gate opened 30 minutes later and we filed in for yet another passport and ticket check, a scanning of our hand luggage and a frisk for me with my Ethiopian bangles.  When I got to the ticket scanner I enquired if there was a window seat available and the woman told me that check-in hadn’t closed yet, but she would keep an eye on it and if one came up she would let me know.  I thought that was nice till I saw her scan me in and then added my boarding pass to where everyone else’s had been filed and no note written down.  She had no intention of doing anything.  Oh well, I lucked out in Singapore on my way down, so I will just need to suck this one up. 

Our call came to board and my check-in chick didn’t even bat an eye lid and I was far too tired (already) to make a fuss or double check, so I boarded and I was sitting in the last row on an aisle and when I arrived there were 2 Japanese business men in my row and they were sitting in the aisle and middle, the window was free!!!  So I told the aisle guy that was my seat but I would be happy to sit by the window and they were so nice and so accommodation they said wherever I wanted to sit I could.  How amazing is that, so I wasn’t going to play the ‘are you sure’ game and I thanked them profusely and took the window.  Thank-you Japanese business men, thank-you travel god and maybe that is a little Karma coming back to me in a good way?  The flight was 3 hours and 40 minutes and we were in an A320 aircraft with a configuration of 3x3.  Both planes I have been on with Sri Lankan have seemed brand new and they also had in seat TV’s where they had a selection of movies, games etc…. to choose from.  We took off on time which is always a relief as I only have a 3 hour connection in Singapore.  This is a comfortable transfer.  The last one I did where I had only 2 hours was also ok, but I didn’t have a lot of time to fluff around-I had to keep moving the whole time to make sure I was at the gate on time.  So for anybody having separate tickets in Singapore when you have to collect your bags and change terminals you need at least a 2 hour window.  Anything less than that you would still probably make it, taking into account no snaffu time, and it would be a rush and stressful-but you may just do it under 2 hours.  Breakfast was served pretty much after takeoff and then before my tray was even taken away I was fast asleep.  When I woke up my tray was gone.  I went back to sleep.  When I woke up the Singapore immigration card was in my pocket.  I went back to sleep.  When I woke up again my Japanese friend was handing back the menu as they were being collected before landing, and then I stayed awake.  It turned out my Japanese business men were a blessing for me and they looked after me as I was asleep.  Every time I woke I could hear them talking though, they didn’t stop the whole flight-but they were super nice to me and they even got my bag down from the overhead for me and they waited for me to go first when we went to get off the plane.  So thank-you guys for looking after me, it was nice to see some chivalry from complete strangers and a nice way to start a travel day.  I walked off that flight with a smile on my dial. 

We arrived into Singapore at 1.30pm.  There was a 2.5 hour time difference making with Singers in front of Sri Lanka.  So with no dilly dallying I said goodbye to my Japanese flight angels and wasted no time in transferring from terminal 3 to terminal 1.  This is the 4^th time I have done it in a month, so I know the ropes and I have a small system happening now.  You need to get yourself from the gate to Customs and just before the escalator takes you down to the Customs hall there are the free internet stations there and an information desk.  So I jump on the free internet, check my messages and then showing my passport I get the free Wi-Fi code for my IPod which I use once I am back into the departures.  I then head down to Customs and I have my IPod at the ready, as I haven’t printed any of the flight information I have it saved on there, so when they ask what flight I’m on or to see my ticket I can show them that.  I grab a free trolley and by the time all that is done, my bag is on the carousel, I swing it onto the trolley and walk out of the ‘nothing to declare’ exit where I have only been stopped once.  The trolleys aren’t allowed on the airtrain, so this was a test to swing my bag onto my back with my dodgy arm and without too much pain I got it on my back-the sky train comes every 3 minutes and the ride is only a minute if that and wallah I am at terminal 1.  And that people is how to change terminals in under 50 minutes. 

I didn’t bother getting another trolley, my monster was on my back now so I walked to the Jetstar Asia counters, took my pack off, zipped up my straps and then it was my turn for check-in.  At least I know on all these next flights I have a window seat.  You can pay extra (I think it was 5AUD) to reserve seats and even Malaysia Airlines gave me this option as well for my next round of flights to Nepal.  For me it is money well spent.  So my check-in guy was asking what I am going in Manila and when I told him my itinerary he was impressed I was heading to Boracay and said I will have a magic time there but if I truly wanted a beautiful beach then Goa in India is the place to be.  I have heard that, but I have no dying inclination to go back there, but I wasn’t going to tell him that, as my bag was 2.4kg over the limit and I didn’t want to be nasty and then he charge me for the additional.  So passing the security scanner I was back at customs again, stamped back through and now had 2 hours to kill till my flight.  I had made a pact with myself to stay away from the Pandora shop, which was relatively easy as I was so TIRED.  I needed to get lunch as Jetstar you have to buy food, so I made my way back to my usual haunt, BK, Burger King and had my 6 chicken drummettes and my passionfruit Iced Tea, jumped onto my IPod with my free Wi-Fi code I had obtained earlier and managed to kill an hour there.  I also changed 100USD into Philippine pesos, so I had some cash when I arrived, just in case my transfer wasn’t there, with it being 8.30pm at night the last thing I want to worry about is getting some money and then it was time then to head for the gate, as you have to be checked and re-scanned again for access to the lounge and there we waited till the flight was called.

Jetstar Asia operates an Airbus A320 on the Singapore to Manila route, seat configuration of 3x3.  The fly time is 3 hours and 10 minutes and as the aircraft doors closed I had the 2 seats next to me free for the whole flight.  Woo Hoo.  Not that I am sure it mattered too much as I will probably fall asleep at some stage.  I had a look at the inflight menu and there were some snack packs that had cheezels included in the pack and I just couldn’t say no to Cheezels, so I ordered a drink, the snack pack and then figured I probably would have dinner by the time I got to Manila and the hotel, so I also ordered a 2 minute noodle bowl as well to get me through to breakfast tomorrow morning.  One needs to think in advance about these things you know.  So with all that I was actually not feeling too bad and with no-one beside me I decided to pull out my laptop and get a blog written, might as well use the time constructively and I did this till my battery nearly died and we were only 40 minutes from Manila by this stage as too.  I also used this time to take a proper look at my Philippine itinerary.  I hadn’t really looked at it in much detail, so I familiarized myself with where I was staying, what tours we had booked and the first 3 days were going to be full on with a day of rest in Cebu before my flight to Boracay.  Taking into account the massive day we had from Galle to Colombo plus my massive travel day today-that spare day in Cebu was looking more appealing as the hours ticked by.  So this was flight number 74 of my Odyssey.  I should work the amount of hours that I have spent sitting on a plane, let alone check-in and connection times.  Now they would be interesting stats.  I also need to start to look at flights back into Ethiopia for the middle of November.  It seems like Zeme, yet again has not got his visa, but the plan was I would go back again in November no matter what.  Well I will look at the cost of the flights and then make a decision otherwise the alternative will be to go home a week earlier, which is never a bad thing and start to organize all my crap I have for my move.  Ugh I don’t want to even think about that at the moment. 

We landed into Manila on-time at 8.20pm.  It mustn’t be a busy time for arrivals as we were the only ones at customs and there was a special line for ‘foreigners’ of which there were only 5 from my flight, so needless to say I didn’t have to wait long to be stamped in and the customs officer asked what my itinerary was and when I mentioned Boracay, he looked impressed and said it is a beautiful part of the world.  Hmmmmm I have heard that-it sounds like it was a good move adding that to the itinerary and I have Jules to thanks for that back home.  I only had to wait 5 minutes and then my bag had arrived.  Talk about everything moving like clockwork.  I didn’t even have time to connect properly onto the free Wi-Fi they offer at the airport and with my free trolley I was out the doors….. to no-one waiting for me….. Hmmmmm.  Maybe I had to go outside?  I had a security guard ask me at the exit who I was looking for and when I told him All About Asia, he looked a little miffed and pointed in the direction of some signs that indicated a ‘family and friends pickup zone’.  What a great idea, so I crossed the road and they have the pickup set up alphabetical with big letters to spot your loved ones easily.  What a great idea.  So I checked A for the company and I checked J for my surname to no avail.  I had a taxi guy come up and tout for business and he said if my transfer doesn’t arrive to come back to him-yeah right I will.  So I walked back to the terminal now with my IPod in hand to see if I could find a contact number I could call, looking lost, another security guard asked if I was okay and then a guy came running up with a sign with my name on it.  Thank goodness.  Only 20 minutes late.  Apparently he was upstairs at departures with some-one leaving and he apologized.  Okay-well you’re here now.  So he calls the car to say I’m ready and when that arrives he deposited me in the back and handed me a mobile phone, a charger and numbers written on a piece of paper in a pouch for me to use while I am here in the Philippines.  What a neat touch, not thinking I would really need it, as I had my Blackberry, but as I was to find out when I got to the hotel that the UK sim card doesn’t work here in the Philippines and the phone I was given came preloaded with 300PHP (7.50AUD) and all the emergency numbers for the office here in Manila pre-programmed into the phone.  What a great idea, a nice touch. 

The ride from the airport to the hotel took 45 minutes.  It was busy and I can see that traffic is a major problem here and that is at 9pm at night.  Can you imagine what it will be like during the day?  The hotel was located in Makati City, as the ‘downtown’ area is broken up into different areas; this was one of the nicer ones.  I was in my room by 9.45pm and I was dog tired.  I had to repack my bag again, as I am only allowed a 10kg baggage limit on my internal flights in the Philippines and I will leave my monster backpack here at the hotel, as I come back here for one night before leaving for Nepal in 10 days’ time.  This will also be a good thing for my arm I suspect, not having to carry 22kg around and try and give it a good chance of recovering here.  Zeme was online, which was the first time in a long time, so I had a chat to him, finished re-packing and watched a movie and then the lights were out at 12.30am. Officially 19 hours after leaving Colombo this morning.  I have an 8am pickup in the morning for a ½ day city tour before they take me to the airport for my flight to Cebu.  Another big day and I just wanted to close my eyes and ………………zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

MY LAST DAY IN SRI LANKA-GOODBYE TO A GREAT TOUR AND A GREAT GROUP

WEATHER: Hot and 33C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Dinner at the Colombo Cricket Cafe

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Having to say farewell to a great group

WORD OF THE DAY:  Every meeting has a separation

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 130km

BUDDHA QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

“Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.”

It’s the last day of tour today.

It’s my last day in Sri Lanka.

What a great journey we have had.

What a great group we have had.

In the words of Indika "every meeting has a separation".  This is true and I like the saying (Buddha maybe).  We had an early start this morning, just for a change with a wake up at 5.45am, breakfast at 6.15am and at 7.30am the first of the 3 transfers to Galle Fort Railway Station departed, which was less than 10 minutes away.  We were transferred in the guest house owner’s 4WD and as we drove down the empty old city streets, we only just fit; there would be a lot of trouble as there was a deep gutter each side of the road.  The station was busy as we waited out front while Indika got our tickets and then it was a run for the train as it pulled into the station.  There were no allocated seats today, it was a first come-first served basis and we had been told to sit on the left side of the train, as today was another scenic journey hugging the coast of the country on our run into the capital.  The train wasn’t super busy but again we were doing the journey backwards again, much to Christine’s distaste as a non-backwards traveler.  It looked like a newer train, with big windows, fans and straps suspended from the roof it was going to be a comfortable ride.  This train was faster than the ‘scenic’ train we had from Kandy, so we were moving a lot faster and had to be mindful of the trees and vegetation that grows over the tracks.  Indika told us that there was a train on the tracks when the Tsunami hit Sri Lanka in 2004 and all 2000 people died when the train was struck by the water. 

The ride to Colombo, though less geographically dramatic than the journey two weeks earlier from Kandy to Bandarawela, it was glorious all the same. At certain points, we coasted so close to the ocean shoreline that it felt like we were breathlessly skimming across the water at 35 – 40 miles per hour.  We zipped past swampy marshlands and plowed rice paddies, and tired water buffalo kicking back their hooves in shallow ponds of soupy mud. Kalutara’s Gangatilaka Vihara, a massive, blinding white (and hollow) dagoba, came and went on the right side, while volleyball games on otherwise deserted beaches and intense games of cricket in shadeless playing fields flashed by as well.  I wonder why the people build their homes so close to the tracks.  They are that close you can see into their homes through open doors and windows as we passed.  Looking into their lives, their daily routines as we looked on.  There were a few vendors that walked the aisles selling bags of deviled peanuts, baskets of fried shrimp, chocolate biscuits, short eats, small bottles of water… anything they could get their hands on, and make a few rupees from.  This is how they make a living-it’s a tough life.  But despite it, fellow passengers and people as we passed by were friendly and quick to return our smiles with a welcoming look of earnest sincerity, just as others had done throughout our two weeks traveling the country.  Sri Lankans definitely make the top of the list on my blog as one of the friendliest nations in the world.  To think they only came out of a 30 year civil war 4 years ago is a testament to them and things can only get better for them as time moves on to heal wounds from this turmoil in their history. 

We arrived into Colombo at 9.50am.  The station was a hive of activity and we all got off the train with minimal fuss and out to 2 vans that were waiting for us.  We were going to see a few things around town before checking into the hotel in the early afternoon.  Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island.  Colombo is a busy and vibrant place with a mixture of modern life and colonial buildings and ruins with a population of about 752,993 in the city limits. Due to its large harbour and its strategic position along the East-West sea trade routes, Colombo was known to ancient traders 2,000 years ago. It was made the capital of the island when Sri Lanka was ceded to the British Empire in 1815, and its status as capital was retained when the nation became independent in 1948.  It is possible that the Portuguese named the city after Christopher Columbus, the Italian sailor who lived in Portugal for many years before discovering the Americas on behalf of the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragonand Isabella I of Castile. His Portuguese name is Cristóvão Colombo. Colombus set sail westward to look for India around the same time Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama set sail eastward, landing at the Port of Calicut in India on 20 May 1498. Colombus landed in the Americas six years before that on 12 October 1492 and was already a famed sailor and explorer, celebrated both in Portugal and Spain by the time Dom Lourenço de Almeida accidentally landed in the port of Galle in 1505.

Our first stop was for a picture opportunity and a toilet stop and that was at The Galle Face Hotel.  Founded in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1864, it is the oldest hotel east of Suez.  It is listed as one of the "1000 Places to See Before You Die" in the book of the same name.  In September 2012, it became the first hotel in Sri Lanka to be featured on a postage stamp, along with three other iconic buildings in Colombo.  The hotel has played host to distinguished guests including the British Royal Family and other Royal guests and celebrities.  It was a beautiful building that looked very colonial and it is located right on the seafront that had a great view of the promenade.  We then took the opportunity to walk the promenade also known as The Galle Face Green.  It is the city's largest and most elegant promenade. Lined with palm trees and adjacent to the coast, this mile-long stretch in the heart of the city is a constant beehive of activity. The green is especially busy on Fridays and Saturdays. In the evenings it plays host to families and children playing sports and flying kites, lovers embracing under umbrellas and health enthusiasts taking their evening walks. There are numerous small food stalls and a small stretch of beach. The green was recently given a makeover and since then has been even more popular with the local community.  From here we also had a great view of the two World Trade Centre towers which used to be the most recognized landmarks of the city. Before they were completed in 1997, the adjacent Bank of Ceylon tower was the tallest structure and the most prominent city landmark.  It was nice to walk along the promenade to see people busy about their day.  We stopped for a well-earned ice block before getting met by the vans half way down and continuing our tour. 

We stopped on one of the main streets of the city and walked 400m of this very very busy area.  There were tuk tuks, taxi’s, trucks, bikes, people, touts, you name it there it was there on the street.  So dodging all that we turned into a side street and walked through a market area but to me it looked like it was more wholesale rather than local stalls as such.  There were men carrying large sacks on their shoulders, bags of onions shed fronts with bags of dried chilies and dried prawns and trucks all parked either picking up or dropping off produce.  The trucks are a sight just on their own all painted in different colours with pictures on them, they are pieces of moving art unto themselves.  The vans were waiting for us down the road and then we were on a drive by city tour taking in the Lotus shaped Theatre, the Convention Centre, a photo stop at one of the colonial buildings that looked like the White House (but I can’t remember what it was called) and a stop at Independence Memorial Hall which is a national monument in Sri Lanka built for commemoration of the independence of Sri Lanka from the British rule with the establishment of Dominion of Ceylon on February 4, 1948. It is located at the Independence Square (formally Torrington Square) in the Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo. It also houses the Independence Memorial Museum.  The monument was built at the location where the formal ceremony marking the start of self-rule, with the opening of the first parliament by the HRH Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester occurred at a special podium February 4, 1948.  Located at the head of the monument is the statue of the first prime minister of the country Rt. Hon. Don Stephen Senanayake "The Father of the Nation". Most of the annual National Independence Day celebrations have been held here. Apart from a monument it served as the ceremonial assembly hall for the Senate of Ceylon and the House of Representatives of Ceylon until the parliament was moved to the new parliament complex. Currently it is the venue for religious events and annual national day celebrations.

Colombo has wildly varying architecture that span centuries and depict many styles. Colonial buildings influenced by the Portuguese, Dutch and British exist alongside structures built in Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Indian and Contemporary architectural styles. No other place is this more evident in the Fort area. Here one may find new towering skyscrapers as well as historic buildings dating far back as the 1700s.  The era of colonialism ended peacefully in 1948 when Ceylon gained independence from Britain. Due to the tremendous impact this caused on the city's inhabitants and on the country as a whole, the changes that resulted at the end of the colonial period were drastic. An entire new culture took root. Changes in laws and customs, clothing styles, religions and proper names were a significant result of the colonial era. These cultural changes were followed by the strengthening of the island's economy. Even today, the influence of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British is clearly visible in Colombo's architecture, names, clothing, food, language and attitudes. Buildings from all three eras stand in their glory as reminders of the turbulent past of Colombo. The city and its people show an interesting mix of European clothing and lifestyles together with local customs. 

The last stop before lunch was at the Government Centre which sold souvenirs.  I was interested in getting some wooden masks at the end of the tour, but now that the day had arrived I really didn’t have any space to be able to carry them and had to make an executive decision not to buy them.  I was happy with my silver bangle but I also need to look long term with my move to Ethiopia, I have no idea on the size of where I will live, getting the tings from Australia and all the other complications that come with an international move.  So I walked out empty handed and besides the masks and a few wood carvings of the fisherman who sit on the stick to fish, I didn’t see anything that was ‘Sri Lankan’ as such.  I have found on my travels things that I have either bought or seen in one country I have seen again in another country.  It takes something unique now for me to buy something and I try and buy one good piece rather than all the small knick knacks that I used to buy 10 years ago.  What will I do with all them in my move?  I will have a massive job when I go home that is for sure.  I have had plenty of offers for the 60 bottles of vodka I have in storage though…. Funny that!

We stopped at a large shopping center, The Majestic for lunch that had an eatery.  So plenty of options and I am happy to say I didn’t have rice and curry, or curry and rice but KFC.  Yes I had Kentucky Fried Chicken.  It wasn’t as good as home, but it was nice for a change.  We didn’t have a lot of time here, so as soon as Christine and I had finished lunch there was a quick trip to the supermarket where I bought some provisions for breakfast in the morning and a stop at the ATM to be able to pay for my bag transfer from Negombo and my transfer to the airport in the morning.  I had to work out the finances and see how much rupee I would have left as I think it is a currency that can’t be exchanged easily once you leave, if at all, so if I had any remaining I would include that in Indika’s tip which I will give him tonight at dinner.  The difficult thing was knowing how much the cost of dinner would be so I ended up just giving all USD to Indika and just took a chance that I would use most of what I had tonight. 

We checked into the hotel and then were going to meet again at 5pm for a gem stone talk before heading to dinner.  I was using this time to repack my bags when Indika came to the room to tell us the talk had been cancelled due to the shop moving so we were now going to meet at 6.30pm instead.  I was fine with this as it gave me some extra time for baggage and to also start banging out another blog while I had the time.  The trio (and me) had happy hour at 5.30pm for the hour before dinner where I was bestowed with Christine’s gin, which apparently she doesn’t share with just anybody!  I am going to miss my new travel buddies.  We had had great laughs, great talking and just made great company for a great trip.   

The Colombo Crickets Café was only a 10 minute walk from the hotel.  The Cricket Club Cafe is a unique themed restaurant & bar was established in 1996 by James & Gabrielle Whight, both from Melbourne Australia.  This cafe, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka is popular amongst both local and expatriate population. It is filled with cricket memorabilia including bats, balls, hats, gloves and shoes used by famous cricketing personalities dating as far back as the 1940's which include personal items used by Sir Don Bradman, Ray Lindwall, Shane Warne, Arjuna Ranatunga, Sunil Gavaskar, Joel Garner to name a few. The walls of the cafe are covered with framed original newspapers from the 1930's, plus photos, posters and pages detailing cricketing mile-stones throughout the ages. In addition the cafe also screens non-stop cricket classics and current sports activity via satellite for patrons.  It was a WOW moment when we walked in to see all the memorabilia and it must have cost a small fortune for the all the pieces they had.  After looking around the amazing sports items they had we were seated for our final meal.  The menu options were named after famous cricketers and I ordered the Sir Hadley surf and turf and a few beers over dinner as chatted like old friends.  BK even took that so far as to help himself to my beer unknowingly and then we shared another bottle after that to even the score.  Undoubtedly the most popular sport in Sri Lanka is cricket. The country emerged as champions of the 1996 Cricket World Cup and became runners up in 2007 and 2011. In the ICC World Twenty 20 2009 they became runners up again. The sport is played in parks, playgrounds, beaches and even in the streets. Colombo is the home for two of the country's most popular international cricket stadiums, Sinhalese Sports Club's cricket stadium and R. Premadasa Stadium (named after late president Premadasa).  Colombo has the distinction of being the only city in the world to have four cricket test venues in the past: Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Cricket Club Ground and Ranasinghe Premadasa Stadium.

It was a great place to have our final meal and when we had all finished and paid the bill, Indika wanted to take us outside for his final talk and story.  That is one thing I really enjoyed were his stories that he told us over the last 2 weeks.  Some people have a knack, like being able to tell a joke, and I was captivated each time he told a story.  I really don’t think I have ever met a tour leader so attentive to everyone’s needs and enthusiasm and personality just clicked with everyone.  So as with all talks there was a story, a thanks and quite un-expectantly he had a gift for all of us in a brown paper bag and a personal thanks you to each and every one of us as we received our gift.  BK thanked Indika on our behalf for a wonderful tour and then everyone else used the opportunity to say their own thanks and his tips were handed over at this pint as well.  We had decided to individually tip, which I am fine with as I always add a personal note of thanks with my tipping anyway. 

And that people is the end of my time in this magnificent country of Sri Lanka.  We walked back to the hotel as a group and this is where I said my good-bye to everyone out the front of the hotel.  I am a hugger, so with hugs all round (some awkward and some not) I said my final goodbye.  My transfer was coming for me at 4am, so I definitely would not be seeing anyone at that time unless my Irish friends were getting home at that time, which could be likely this was the last time I would see them all.  Well for this trip anyway.  I made some great friends and know that I will definitely see some of them again in my travels.  There were a few people going to kick on in the nightclub attached to the hotel, but I had a few big days coming up and it made no sense to go and drink when I had to be up in 5.5 hours’ time.  Christine said she would get up in the morning to wave me off, which was sweet and as I turned the light out in our room, Lenore also said that she will also get up.  Now that is showing your friendship and if it had of been them leaving at 4am in the morning I would have done the same thing. 

So a personal thanks to my fabulous group for the last 15 days.  We saw ancient ruins, we climbed mountains, rode bikes (some-one fell off), walked over 20km in tea plantations, rode public busses and trains and sucked cocktails by the beach and saw a working, living UNESCO city.  Thank-you and in no particular order:

Indika-Sri Lanka

Christine-Australia

Lenore-Australia

Pops aka Les-Australia

Gary aka Cuzy Bro-New Zealand

Suzy Q-New Zealand 

Melissa and Serena-Ireland

Jenny and Kev aka BK (Big Kev)-Australia

Garry and Janice- UK

So for all of us other adventures in far-off destinations beckons, that is the beauty of travel but this trip and this country will long live in my memories and friends made long in my heart.  I also got a glimpse into a religion I knew nothing about prior to this trip-Buddhism.  I found this religion quite fascinating and something that I will be reading up on when I get a chance in the future. 

  

THE UNESCO TOWN OF GALLE

WEATHER: Hot Hot Hot 31C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Not leaving till 11.30am

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Can’t think of a single thing….

WORD OF THE DAY:  Sunset

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 45km

BUDDHA QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. 

We didn’t have far to travel today to the city of Galle, so Indika let us have some extra time in Mirissa/Paradise this morning and we didn’t have to leave the resort till 11.30am. So we were able to have a lazy breakfast and we were joined by a small guest that the girls had seen yesterday morning, in the form of a cute and cheeky little squirrel.  He had no shame what so ever and he would come right up on the table and he would sniff everything on our finished plates lying around down Lenore’s end of the table.  He took some bread, he nibbled on a rambutan nut, some mango and then he wanted the good stuff of some sweet rolls that Lenore was saving for later.  He literally would go right up to the plate and try his luck, so we had to wrap it in a serviette and when she put it into her bag squirrel headed straight for the bag hanging off the chair.  He was a cheeky thing, but pretty cute and we knew we shouldn’t have been entertaining him the way we did, but he was just so cute!!  I tasted dragon fruit and a rambutan for the first time, at Christine’s suggestion, and they were both quite delicious.  The best thing about the breakfasts here is the cold passionfruit juice they have had each morning!  I LOVE passionfruit juice……  After breakfast I finished loading the last of my photos so at least they were up to date and my blog is still only a week behind which I am ok with at this stage.  

We had 2 minivans again for the drive today and as luck would have it being the shortest drive we had the best vehicles by far today.  That would be right.  In saying that the seats we comfy and it was air-conditioned but I do prefer open windows and having the wind ruffle my hair when we have travel days.  We followed the coastal road which was very scenic seeing the local boats on the beach, hundreds of fish drying on banana leaf tables, fisherman sitting on sticks ‘chairs’ just out from the breaking waves getting their catch for the day and the fresh fish getting bought up to the road side to sell for the day.  We stopped at one of the road side ‘fish markets’ to have a look at the produce.  There were prawn, eels, parrot fish and a whole bunch of other smelly stuff that certainly all looked fresh.  I don’t know why they ask tourists if we want to buy something when they can clearly see we are in vans on a tour.  The girls past some guys selling fresh seafood on the beach the other night and you can bring it back to the hotel and then they will cook it up for you which is pretty cool.  Needless to say no-one bought anything and then we were back in the vans for the last 20 minutes in Galle.   

  

Galle (pronounced gawl in English) is a living time capsule. It has a vibrant commercial district that’s also shambolic and often charmless, but pass through one of the Fort gates and you are transported back to the Dutch colonial era.  Galle provides an outstanding example of an urban ensemble which illustrates the interaction of European architecture and South Asian traditions from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The most salient feature is the use of European models adapted by local manpower to the geological, climatic, historical, and cultural conditions of Sri Lanka. In the structure of the ramparts, coral is frequently used along with granite. In the ground layout all the measures of length, width and height conform with the regional metrology. The wide streets, planted with grass and shaded by suriyas, are lined with houses, each with its own garden and an open veranda supported by columns, another sign of the acculturation of an architecture which is European only in its basic design.  The bay of Galle lies off the south-west coast of Sri Lanka, sheltered by a rocky peninsula. Mentioned as early as 545 in the cosmography of Cosmas Indicopleustes, it is one of the most ancient 'ports of call of the Levant'. When Ibn Batuta landed there in 1344, it was the principal port of Ceylon. Portuguese navigators settled there in 1505, two years before settling in Colombo. It seems that they preferred Colombo at first. In 1588, they decided to withdraw to Galle and they hastily constructed a rampart and three bastions to defend the peninsula on the northern landside. The seaward side was considered invulnerable and was not fortified.

When the fortified town fell into the hands of the Dutch in 1640, they decided to replace the precarious Portuguese defenses constituted partially of palisades and earth banks. They encircled the whole of the peninsula with a bastioned stone wall so as to render it impregnable against the English, French, Danish, Spanish and Portuguese fleets vying with Holland for the supremacy of the sea.  This fortified city, built by the Dutch, exists still, but with few changes. It has an area of 52 ha inside the walls defended by 14 bastions. The majority of the curtain walls were built in 1663. The northern fortified gate, protected by a drawbridge and a ditch, bears the date 1669. Much of the city, laid out on a regular grid pattern adapted to the configuration of the terrain (north-south peripheral streets are parallel to the ramparts and not to the central traffic axes), dates from this period.  During the 18th century, protected by a sea wall finished in 1729, the city reached full development. It housed 500 families, and a large number of public administrations, trade establishments and warehouses were located there. A Protestant, Baroque-style church, the oldest in Sri Lanka, was constructed in 1775 for the European colonists and a few Christian converts from plans drawn up by Abraham Anthonisz. However, Galle remained essentially a stronghold. In the layout of the city the Commandant's residence, the arsenal and the powder house were prominent features. The forge, carpentry and rope-making workshops, the naval guardhouse, and barracks rounded out a system that closely linked prosperous trade to military security.

We arrived to our guest house at 12.30pm.  After checking we had free time till 4pm when we were to meet as a group again for a walk around the city with Indika with the final stop to watch the sunset from the fort.  So the ‘trio’ plus me met at 1pm with no main plan, we were just going to wander around, have lunch somewhere and just see where the afternoon took us.  The first thing I noticed walking around the cute single lane roads was the shops.  There were lots of gem shops, antique shops and local art shops.  It had a great vibe to the place and we started by enter one of the many churches that have been left on the city.  It was so hot walking around, if you don’t like the heat, then I think you would really struggle in Sri Lanka.  We stopped in a souvenir shop, a couple of local art shops and then we did enter one jewelry shop that sold what looked like the old fashioned stuff, it wasn’t a conventional jewelry shop.  Well I found this beautiful silver (I hope) bangle and it looks ancient.  I tried it on and it fit perfectly so I didn’t need to think twice and I bought it.  They even took 40AUD off the price, so I probably could have bargained a little more, but I like it, I like the price and I am now wearing it.  It really is beautiful and a lovely reminder now of my trip to this beautiful country. 

We lunched at one of the top hotels of the city.  The Galle Fort Hotel and it reminded me of the colonial times with large wooden louvered doors, large overhead fans, dark wood walls and the staff in safari looking outfits.  It was a beautiful lunch and a nice way to get out of the sun for an hour or so. 

We started our walk at 4pm with Indika.  He left it as late as he could due to the heat of the day and even at 4pm it was still sticky.  Some of the sights we had a look at included the oldest lighthouse in Sri Lanka built in 1938, Galle Harbour where there were local families swimming, Court Square where all the Lawyer offices and the courts of the city are located, the Dutch Warehouse which is the oldest building in Galle, an old Dutch reformed church and then the walk to Moon Fort.  Built by the Dutch beginning in 1663, the 36-hectare Fort occupies most of the promontory that forms the older part of Galle the Fort is an amazing collection of structures and culture dating back through the centuries.   A key part of the Fort’s allure, however, is that it isn’t just a pretty place. Rather, it remains a working community: there are administrative offices, courts, export companies and lots of regular folks populating the streets.  The fort of Galle was handed over to the English only on 23 February 1796, one week after the surrender of Colombo. As a British protectorate, Galle remained the administrative center of the south of Ceylon.  The Galle fort is a world heritage site and the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers.  On 26 December 2004 the city was devastated by the massive Boxing Day Tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that occurred a thousand miles away, off the coast of Indonesia. Thousands were killed in the city alone. From the Fort we had an amazing view of the cricket ground, the Galle International Stadium, rebuilt after the tsunami. Test matches resumed there on December 18, 2007 fringed on two sides by the Indian Ocean, it is considered to be one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world.  It is After the reopening of the stadium, the first Test match was held between Sri Lanka and England on the same day, which resulted in a draw. The Galle stadium is also noted for the fact that in 2010 it was the stadium that hosted the last match of arguably one of the best cricketer produced by Sri Lanka, Muttiah Muralitharan. Murali needed 8 wickets to reach the 800 mark and took his first casualty of the match and 793rd casualty overall was Sachin Tendulkar. He then took 5 wickets in the first innings of that Test match. Then in the second innings, he got 2 wickets quite easily, but then had to bowl a long spell to get his 800th wicket that was of Pragyan Ojha which was caught by Mahela Jayawardene in the first slip.

We walked a section of the Fort walls and then found a position to sit and then watch the beautiful sunset of Galle.  I have seen a lot of sunsets in my time, and there are not many places where you can see the sun set over an ocean, but here was one of them and it was just beautiful.  Right at the very end as the sun hit the water it colours gave off what looked like rays through the clouds and I have never see that before.  It was gorgeous.  It is hard to believe that this was the second last day of tour.  Where has these 2 weeks gone?  It is the sign of a good tour if the time just gets away from you and it will be sad to say farewell to people tomorrow.  It is also hard to comprehend that I have been away from home again for 2 months, 8 weeks, 56 days.  That too also feels like it has gone so quickly and hard to believe I will be home again in 5 weeks. 

It was time to head back to the hotel and the included dinner tonight.  No surprise it was rice and curry..or curry and rice.. either way I think it will be a little while before I have that for dinner again.  In saying that I will have to get used to eating the same thing each day.  In Ethiopia they have a staple food that is served with every meal called injera, which I will also learn how to make, as only woman make it (I wonder if you can buy it from somewhere) and it is like a fluffy pancake that is used to pick up their food and eat.  This meal wasn’t spicy, so 3 people were happy with that and 9 people a little disappointed but we have certainly had more spicy meals than non-spicy so it was our turn again to be able to enjoy a meal without burning the insides of our mouths and setting our tongues on fire.  We went for a walk around the streets after dinner in search of somewhere to have a drink but everyone pretty much packs it in for the night here, at least in this part of the city.  Everything was closed nothing was opened but it was nice to take in the tranquility of it at night without the touts and other tourists.  It was STILL quite hot and sticky at 9pm at night and I hadn’t seen any mozzies which was nice and I was back to the comfort of our hotel room just after 9.30pm.  There’s a definite energy in the air but I think as tourism increases to this country it may not be the case for long. Some excellent boutique hotels have opened and locals are busily selling their often amazing unrestored vintage buildings to foreigners and speculators. The Fort is definitely one of those places that in a few years will have people saying: ‘Oh you should have seen it before.  I truly believe that and I am glad I came before people realize what a gem of a place this country in. 

So tomorrow is our last day.  We catch the train to Colombo in the morning; sightsee around there early afternoon, dinner and then my transfer to the airport the following morning is at 4am.  It is going to be a few busy days ahead, huh what am I saying it has been a busy last few days, I’m going to need a holiday from my holiday, but I have enjoyed every last minute.  Indika has also arranged my bag that I left in Negombo to be delivered tomorrow (cost me 30AUD) but totally worth it to not have carried that around for the last 2 weeks and then I will need to repack it all in for airline travel once again.  

POOL, SUN, COCKTAILS AND A BEACH

WEATHER: HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT 34C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Having air-conditioning

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Possibly staying out in the sun too long

WORD OF THE DAY:  Happy Birthday BG

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: Walk of the beach and back and to my room and back-maybe 2km

BUDDHA QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

"If you light a lamp for someone else it will also brighten your path."

Ahhhhhhhhh-feeling a little bit crusty after the beers I had last night and I only had 2.5 bottles and a cocktail.  Goodness I must be getting old if that is all it takes these days to give me a headache, and I never get them.  I could not imagine waking up in one of those small bungalows this morning with the sun beating down heating it up, if the truth be known I got so cold last night that I got up and put on my tracky pants and my jumper and I would have put socks on if I could have found them in the dark at 3am in the morning.  I also ended up turning off the air for a while and then I switched it back on twice!  Wait till I tell the guys that when I see them at breakfast.  It was nice to not have to rush off and be somewhere.  Lenore headed to breakfast at 7.30am and I wasn’t far behind after a shower and I took my laptop with me as I had promised to set the trio up on Facebook when I got some decent internet.  The connection wasn’t that great yesterday but it seems to be quite fast today.  So I had to actually give Pops an email address and then I created a Facebook account for the 3 of them.  Welcome to the 21^st century people.  It was then that I found out it was Christine’s birthday today.  She had kept it all hush hush for certain reasons, but once the girls came back from town we were going to have lunch down on the beach and a cocktail to celebrate.  What an amazing place to celebrate a birthday!  Breakfast was a buffet and even though it ran from 7-10am we all seemed to rock up at the same time at around 8am.  After speaking to a few of them it was hot in the bungalows and they didn’t really have a very comfortable sleep.  I was more than happy to tell them about how cold it was last night and rugging up in extra clothes…..  Gee I am a bitch sometimes. 

So Pops and I stayed behind as Lenore and Christine caught a tuk tuk into town in search of some lace, which is known in this area.  I was going to get some sun today.  No blogging (well this morning anyway) but the ocean looked a little rough for my liking, so I decided to stick with the pool and my book.  Pops choose to body surf some waves and spend some time down on the beach.  By the time the girls got back I had been floating around in the pool for 2 hours and I didn’t have any cream on, which is not unusual but I had a few comments from passing group members that I was starting to sizzle.  Lenore and Christine wanted to have a swim before we went for lunch and when they came back in their cozies they decided to swim in the ocean rather than the pool.  Christine asked if I wanted to come and I said no thanks it looks too rough for me, and she said come on it’s the Indian Ocean after all and it’s my birthday, so I caved and went for a dip in the sea and even though you had to keep your wits about you I actually enjoyed the swim.  The only thing when I got out, there was sand everywhere and it is the sticky stuff which I am sure will require a good scrub to get off in the shower this afternoon.  As we started our walk down the beach I could literally see my skin start to turn a bright shade of red and I knew that I was going to be looking a little ‘lobby’ (lobster) later this afternoon.  Pops had already started to call me RED, but he couldn’t talk as he had also got some colour and we were looking like 2 peas in a pod.  Lunch was at a café that literally was on the beach.  We would have been 3m from the water and at one point a wave came right up to the table and nearly wet Lenore’s feet.  If you looked up the beach all you could see was beautiful sandy beach with tall palm trees and if you looked down the beach you saw exactly the same thing.  This truly is a piece of heaven on earth.

Sri Lanka has been known by many names over the centuries. During the years under the British occupation is was known as Ceylon and many years before that it was called Serendib, a word now used to describe utter tranquility and relaxation.  It is said that Marco Polo visited this tear shaped Island in the 14th century and described it as “undoubtedly the finest island in the world ".  Mirissa and its breathtaking sandy beach pretty much transforms your dreams and visions of a tropical paradise into an everyday reality.  Located close to the Southern tip of the Island of Sri Lanka and only about 200 km from the Equator, this secluded crescent shaped beach is the perfect place to sit back, relax and forget about all the hussle and bustle of your other life that’s a million miles away.  This small sandy tropical beach boasts some of Sri Lanka’s best and most stunning sunsets and sunrises.

After lunch we decided to take a stroll to the point where there was a small island only 15m from the mainland.  It looked like you would get some great photos from up there looking back where we had just walked.  So we got to the point and we actually had to wade hip deep through a small sand bar to get to the other side.  So with our bags raised above our heads to keep our camera and purses dry the four of us waded across navigating some breaking waves and rocks on the bottom of the sea.  Once we were across, we had to climb a few rocky stairs with no railing and then there were better conditioned stairs to get us the rest of the way to the top of the peninsular island thing.  And what a view it was.  It was stunning as we got a look back to where we had come from and then we saw the other side of the point that didn’t have a beach but plenty of palm trees and blue water.  I think this is what you call paradise and I am wondering how this can be topped.  I know I am going to Boracay next week and it is rated one of the ten best beaches in the world, but Mirissa Beach ain’t doing too bad for itself that is for sure.  So after a few snaps including some self takes of the quad (trio sounds better-but I am a new addition) we carefully went back down the steps, back across the sand bar, back to the beach and then it was time for this black duck to get out of the sun and for me to know that myself, then you know, that I know, I have been out in it for too long.  They guys stopped along the way to check out some drink prices and menus for their happy hour this afternoon, but I was now on a mission and kept walking back to the resort to wait for them in the shade.  It was now 3pm and I had been in the sun since 10.30am this morning.

The plan was to reconvene at 5.30pm for happy hour before dinner tonight at 7pm.  Lenore hit the beach, Christine had a small nap and Pops was around.  I had to get out of the sun, so I was more than happy to go back to our AIR-CONDITIONED room and spend a few hours blogging, watching a movie and having a shower.  I had a massive headache and it probably had something to do with dehydration, the sun, a few beers last night and not drinking enough water today.  So I skipped happy hour (just when I was IN now) and rested till 7pm and dinner.  There were a few sunburned looking people at the table tonight and I think the sun had zapped a lot of our energy today.  I had to keep reminding people I was BROWN and not red…. Please……come on…….  Indika is all over peoples birthdays with BK having his on the first night of the tour and after Lenore spoke to Indika about having a low key thing they decided a cake would still be a nice surprise so Christine didn’t quite get away with everyone finding out, but thank goodness it wasn’t from me.  I had to nickname her BG (birthday girl) so people didn’t know what we were talking about.  After everyone had left for bed I hung around for one drink and then I was also following the crowds to bed, but to our AIR-CONDITIONED room of course. WOO HOO.  Every time I open room 402 and that cool air hits your sweaty skin I don’t think anything beats that first initial feeling on a hot day/ night.  Hope the others sleep well tonight – SUCKERS!!!!!

THE ELEPHANT TRANSIT HOME AKA ORPHANAGE

WEATHER: Welcome back to the heat 34C  

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Seeing the baby elephants play together

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Having to upgrade our accommodation-Princesses

WORD OF THE DAY:  Tuskless

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 170km

BUDDHA QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

"What you are is what you have been.
What you'll be is what you do now."

Today was our longest day on the road.  Even though it was only 170km, the roads are windy and it just takes time to navigate them properly, especially as we drop from the pleasant climate of 1400m above sea level to literally sea level this afternoon.  The drive was broken up with a few stops with our final destination Mirissa for 2 glorious nights beside the beach. 

A little bit of a lie in this morning till 6.15am, breakfast at 7am (that had been pre-ordered the night before) and then a departure time of 7.45am.  I had packed everything last night so I was ready early and decided to hit the restaurant early and finish my tuk tuk accident day.  It’s nice that everyone keeps checking the progress of where I am in my blog; it helps me to keep on top of it all.  When I told the guys I had just written up about the accident I read them the exert of the fall, from my point of view of course, and I think they all seemed genuinely impressed.  I was picked up on one small detail when Gary said he took hold of my shoulder and not my handle bars to which everyone concurred, so I was going to change it in the blog and then forgot, so I am putting that down to creative license, just because I can.  The days are slipping by and I am currently holding at a week behind, but this is ‘just’ ok.  After being 24 days behind in August anything less than that is a walk in the park, but that literally took me 11 days of solid work to catch up again.  I still shudder when I think about that. 

After 20 minutes we pulled over to the side of the road where there was a small statue of Buddha and a small offering was made for our safe travel of passage today.  It doesn’t take long, the backup driver jumps off and is back within 2 minutes.  I like it.  We had a view stop at 9am at a place called Ella.  We stopped at a 5 star hotel for the use of their bathrooms and to get some photos of Ella’s Gap.  It was stunning from here and we also managed to finally get a group shot with us all in and it looks amazing. Ella is a place blessed with some of the most beautiful and breathtaking views, you could find in Sri Lanka. Located 230km from Sri Lanka’s Capital City Colombo, this small town is used as a base for plenty of trekking expeditions to the surrounding countryside.  So not my cup of tea to stay for any long duration but certainly worth the stop for the pictures.

Back on the road again and we did another roadside temple blessing.  One is good; two makes me wonder just how busy/dangerous the roads are today that we are travelling on.  They are certainly windy and as they drive on the left, we are on the edge of the mountain that drops into a valley, but it doesn’t look any more dangerous than what we have previously driven on.  Well I will take the blessings as they come, everything helps and I am certainly not one to judge.  We had one more morning stop not far from Ella and it was at the Rawana Ella Falls.  Located are about 5km away on the road south through Ella Gap. They're quite spectacular. There were a few touts selling tourist junk but if don’t make eye contact with the product or the seller they will generally leave you alone and try their luck on some-one else.  The falls run over a massive rock face and Indika was saying that people try and climb the rocks (when intoxicated) and 32 people have lost their lives here.  Seems like a pretty high number…..  It was busy here with other tourists and was the last point of a ‘view’ as we were nearly back down to sea level, you could just feel it in the temperature.  It was going to be a hot one today. 

We had one more stop before the Elephant Transit Home and that was a roadside stop along the Udawalawe National Park.  We followed the electrified fence of the national park for a while before seeing some elephants by the fence hoping to be fed by people.  The national park was created to provide a sanctuary for wild animals displaced by the construction of the Udawalawe reservoir on the Walawe River, as well as to protect the catchment of the reservoir. The reserve covers 30,821 hectares (119.00 sq mi) of land area and was established on 30 June 1972. Before the designation of the national park, the area was used forshifting cultivation (chena farming). The farmers were gradually removed once the national park was declared.  Udawalawe is an important habitat for water birds and the Sri Lankan Elephants. It is a popular tourist destination and the third most visited park in the country.  The elephants were massive and it was a little nerve wracking that all that separated these magnificent animals from us was a 4m high electric fence.  I wonder how many volts are coursing through the fence, obviously enough as the elephants were keeping at least a 1/2m distance from the wire.  I am sure if they really wanted to they could charge the fence, we were seriously standing within 3m of these mighty beasts.  They really were massive, but I haven’t been this close to an elephant standing on the ground looking up at one since my visit to Zimbabwe over 13 years ago and we did an animal safari on one.  There were 5 elephants here, a mother, 2 babies (still big as) and 2 others who we were not sure of their sex.  One looked like he had a constant smile on his face, one was showing us his trunk skills and they even let out a few trumpets which was pretty cool to hear.  They are free roaming in the park, so that is nice to know, the fence is there to protect them from wondering into villages and wandering on the road but it is a little sad they know to come to the fence to get food and as we drove off one of the stall owners were throwing a bunch of banana’s over the fence.  I guess if tourists stop he gets business and he is looking out for his welfare and the animals gain? Or not?  It is a vicious circle of life that is for sure.   

At 11.45 we made it to the Elephant Transit Centre and good timing it was as the babies were to be fed at 12 noon.  Perfect!  When we stepped off the bus we could see a small owl perched above in the tree.  It was so cute and I was able to get some photos of what is normally a nocturnal animal. The Udawalawe Elephant Transfer Home is a facility within Udawalawe National Park in Sri Lanka that was established in 1995 by the Sri Lanka Department of Wildlife Conservation. Its primary objective is to rehabilitate orphaned elephant calves for ultimate release back into the wild.  Sri Lankan Elephants are an endangered species and their survival in their natural habitats is threatened due to human activities. Elephants in the wild are constantly being killed, and many elephant calves become orphaned. In order to support these orphaned elephants, the Department of Wildlife Conservation set up the Elephant Transit Home with help from the Born Free Foundation.  There are currently 32 orphaned elephant calves being looked after. The elephant calves are released to the jungle after they become strong enough to survive in their natural habitats. As of 2008, sixty-five elephants had been released to the jungle.

The main objective of this facility is rehabilitation of orphaned baby elephants to ultimately release them back into their natural habitat. Up to three elephants per week are killed in Sri Lanka due to conflicts with humans, often leaving behind orphan calves. The elephants are kept at part of the Udawalawa National Park to maintain familiarity with their habitat, but have access to both food and medical care.  All care at the facility is by trained staff, and efforts are made to minimize contact between elephants and humans to keep the elephants from becoming acclimated to humans. Although visitors can watch the elephants being fed, they are not allowed to touch or otherwise interact with them.  While at the center, contact with humans is deliberately minimized so that the elephants will not acclimate to humans. Elephant calves are looked after until they are 5 years, when they are released to the wild. The elephants are fitted with radio collars to help wildlife officials monitor their movements, behavior and progress. To erase any residual human smell and help insure their acceptance among their wild cousins, the elephants are given a bath in diluted elephant dung before being release.  We had time to have a quick look at a small museum that was on site and it was quite interesting to read facts and figures on these giant mammals. 

The Sri Lankan elephant is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, and native to Sri Lanka. Since 1986, Elephas maximus has been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years. The Sri Lankan elephant population is now largely restricted to a few National Parks and Nature Reserves.  In general, Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and have the highest body point on the head. The tip of their trunk has one finger-like process. Their back is convex or level. Females are usually smaller than males, and have short or no tusks.  Sri Lankan elephants are the largest subspecies reaching a shoulder height of between 2 and 3.5 m, weigh between 2,000 and 5,500 kg, and have 19 pairs of ribs. Their skin color is darker than of indicus and of sumatranus with larger and more distinct patches of depigmentation on ears, face, trunk and belly.  Only 7% of males bear tusks.  Elephants are classified as megaherbivores and consume up to 150 kg of plant matter per day. As generalists they feed on a wide variety of food plants.  Between 1999 to the end of 2006 every year nearly 100 wild elephants were killed. Elephants are killed to protect crops and houses. Other threats are poaching, deforestation, drought and starvation. During drought seasons many elephants damage agricultural land for food. Nearly 80 elephants were killed in north western Sri Lanka, 50 in south and east, and another 30 in other parts of the country, totaling 160 elephant deaths in 2006 alone.  Appalling. 

It was time now to head to the yard where we were to see the babies come out for one of their 8 feeds they get each day.  Only 3 feeds are open for the public.  For some reason I had a pre-conceived idea that we would be right up at the fence and the babies would come over to say hi and that we would get to touch them.  I guess that was a pipe dream and makes no sense as they are trying to minimize contact with humans so that they can release them back with the less amount of fuss.  And there I am thinking about myself.  So we were on a verandah running parallel to the feeding trough and as we waited there was one little guy that was limping and was on his own.  He came in for a feed and the careers use a funnel and a long tube that the babies then open their mouths and pour a certain amount of powdered milk into the funnel.  I was wondering if this was the only elephant we got to see when in the distance you could see a herd of babies of all sizes coming in a single file through a gate at the back of the yard.  Some were holding the one in front’s tails, some were running in and others were just taking their time.  Only 3-4 elephants could be fed at one time, some pushed, so tried to come back for seconds and others played while they waited!  It was pretty cool to see and within 15 minutes all 32 babies had been fed and were walked again out of the yard and into the park to wander around again till the next feed.  I can see why our little injured friend was on the other side of the fence, he was so much smaller than the others and we later found out his leg had been caught in a trap and had to be amputated and he will be one of the very few that will not be released back to the wild as he will just not survive.  But WOW, that is how you feed 32 babies in 15 minutes.  They are all bought home at 6pm, accounted for and put to bed for the night and they are all individually named. 

We had lunch at a small café across from the Transit Home that we had bought with us the previous day and then we were back on the road again for our final destination of Mirissa and some beach and relax time.  We arrived into Mirissa at 3pm and from first impression we were going to be in a magic place.  The resort was directly next to the ocean and the sea breeze was so refreshing.  We were shown to our little bungalow rooms that were walking distance from the main resort passing the swimming pool to the right and a marvelous stretch of beach to the left that had deck chairs and shade of small coconut trees.  It was a magic spot.  Our bungalows were obviously the first accommodations at the resort and they were a little ‘rustic’.  Now rustic I can handle, I have seen my share of run down accommodation and this wasn’t that bad but a little strange as you had to pass through the shower, open a door to get to the toilet tucked away in the corner of the bungalow!  But for me the killer was no air-conditioning.  Again this is not normally a concur if there is a fan and windows, but these windows didn’t have fly screen on them, so with beasties at night I posed the question to Lenore if she wanted to upgrade to an air-conditioned room.  She was all for it and I said I think it will be around 50AUD a night, but I’ll go and check.  So Indika and I went to the office and were told that it was 44AUD per night, that was only 22 bucks each and I said I will take it, but it had to be a twin.  Well that was a small issue and was told it is a king bed and a rollaway for the twin configuration and did I want to check it out.  So they showed me the room and it was a lot newer and had the magic air-con.  I was in, even if it meant me sleeping on the rollaway, that didn’t worry me in the least.  It was a done deal.  So I reported back to Lenore and we had our bags moved to the new room.  It was stifling hot and I could not imagine not have air-con.  Cal me a Princess, but I don’t care.  Let’s see how the others all sleep tonight!!

The accommodation came with breakfast and dinner included so we met up again at 7pm for dinner.  After a cocktail and a few cold beers I was happy to stay on with the gals for a few drinks after everyone said their goodnights around 9pm.  We all sat on the beach and we chatted and sang till it was well past my bed time at midnight and I left the other 3 on the beach to finish what alcohol they had obtained before the bar had shut hours ago. 

This really is a piece of heaven on earth and I am looking at spending the day here tomorrow.