A Little Bit of Everything

Today was an extraordinary day.  It began with a bird walk  

and ended with an incredible buffet by the lake
with dream lanterns.  I was so excited to discover two baby birds
in a nest just waiting for their Mom to bring them
breakfast.


Later in the morning we traveled on to visit a lovely village school.
In Sri Lanka children learn three languages: Senegalese,
Tamil and English.  The children performed in all three
languages.  They also had created leis for each of us from the

local flowers and peovided a typical snack cooked in leaves..  The were absolutely so cute and full of promise.

Following this special look into the lives of the of Sri Lanka people we traveled back in time to see how it was in the 5th Century. By the way Sri Lanka means Resplendent Island and this name change from Ceylon was the first Constitutional Amendment.  We visited the World Heritage Sigiriya which was a bastion and place of King Kasyapa during the 5th Century.  It is impressive as the complex includes geometrically
laid water gardens, complex brick formations and ancient rock art.  It is an amazing testimony of what can be accomplished without modern technology

 This is Sigiriya and Cobra Cave.

It was a long and wonderful day and at the end the welcome to the hotel reminded you of the culture as well as the nature that makes up this Island Paradise.

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The Cultural Triangle

The area near Anuradhapura and where we will travel tomorrow is considered the Cultural Triangle. That being said it is really so much more.  There is a plethora of  animals and beautiful flowers everywhere.  In the morning we had the opportunity to kayak on an ancient tank.  For the naked eye it looks like a lake but it is where in the past the kings were clever enough to build man made dams that could be used to store water.

And on land we saw monitor lizards
and so many monkeys.










Leaving the nature behind we began our tour of the many holy spots as this is where Buddhism came to Sri Lanka.  My favorite
was when we arrived at the stupa and a village was presenting
cloth for the monks to make their robes
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And just so you have an idea of the usuall Temple appearance here is an example of what they look like.  From this picture you can see the typical bell shape and also notice the
granite columns since in ancient times these structures were covered
with a wooden roof.

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SRI LANKA IS A COUNTRY OF CONTRASTS

Today we left Colombo and flew to the East.  The Monsoon season is approaching the West coast and we have been entertained with huge displays of heat lightening in the evening. These have been amazing.  The monsoon starts in the west travels north around the country until it is in the east.  As we flew to Trincomalee we flew over the many rice fields waiting for the monsoon to start to grow the crop that is a staple of every meal in this country.

Trincomalee has one of the deepest harbors in Asia and it is a stunning location on the Indian Ocean.  




The major site is Fort Fredrick which was built in 1624 from the debris of an ancient Hindu Temple.  




Today a colorful Hindu Temple is thriving on the location. 

We were fortunate enough to see a lovely family bring an offering. Then we
watched the"cracking a coconut' in order to pardon their sins.








We also saw them make an offering to pray for more
children.  You will see below both the husband and wife
praying after the offering has been hung.  The picture to the
right gives you a great idea about the colorful offerings of fruit
and the coconuts used in the "breaking ceremony".
Oil is also plays an important part in temple
ceremonies as lanterns are lighted to shine in the night.  This are is home to the beautiful spotted dear so I would like to leave you with one picture of the cute animals.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF COLOMBO

Colombo is not a beautiful city even though the Indian Ocean's blue water surrounds it and there are lakes and canals throughout.  30 year of civil unrest have taken their toll.  There are buildings which are partially destroyed and boarded up.  But then you see many beautiful new structures. The building of these new buildings is helping the economy. For example the new Parliament is set on a gorgeous lake and looks like it could actually be in Japan and not Sri Lanka.

The signs that Buddhism plays a major role in the country is confirmed by amazing golden statues that decorate many city blocks.  Other large religious statutes can also be found.












Although unemployment is high at 30% people seem happy and there is a prosperous open air market where families come daily to secure provisions from the colorful vegetables and spices.

It is great to experience the variation of pasta and
snacks waiting to be fried.  They are as vibrant as all
of Sri Lanka.  Bright colors are the things you see in the
market and they are brought to life in the textiles
and other crafts that we have only had a sneak peak
of so far.  I do love the food here as it features
my favorite things--chilies of every type and color.

Another unexpected pop of color is found in the facade of the mosque.  Here an amazing red and white building surprises you as you look down a lively street which has a Sunday market.

A First Look at Colombo

What a warm welcome on arrival!  Flowers and an orchid Lei. Today as we ventured out to get a first look at the city the theme of flowers continued.

 And these examples are only a sampling of what is visible around every corner.

Unfortunately not everything is beautiful in Colombo as there are reminders of the civil strife that rocked this country for so many years.  Where at one time there were beautiful colonial buildings everywhere now many of these are only ruins of their former selves.  Also, there are high fences which were built to protect the government buildings from the human bombs.

From everywhere you see the
water as Colombo was located to
have a safe harbor which it does.
The sea and sand look inviting
in this busy commercial city by
the sea.

This picture shows the change that is coming as the old is now often being replaced by the new and modern or at the very least they coexist together!  The sign in the forefront is the original grocery and provision store that has branches in all parts of the country.  And you can see the KFC sign in the background...
It seems there is no part of the world that is immune to the fast food phenomenon.

Just so that there is no question about what part of the world I am travelling the Tuc-Tucs shown here should make it clear.  They are always colorful and celebrate the feelings of their drivers!  See the saying on these vehicles.  They are favored in order to weave in and out of traffic easily.  They are quite a sight when there are many of these colorful vehicles careening down the street! 

Sri Lanka

The First Day of a Magical Trip

When my children were small we had the most amazing Nanny.  She came from Sri Lanka and told stories of it's beauty, fascinating culture, yummy food and facinating people.  Her stories and her food that she shared with us made me think Sri Lanka was a magical place.  At the time there was unrest and so I thought I would never have the opportunity to experience the diversity of this country.  A couple of months the opportunity to visit Sri Lanka came my way and I have been excited to think about it ever sense.  Today the dream begins to come true.  It will be a long flight but I know worth it! Follow along and discover the magic as I do!

The Last Days

It is always sad when a wonderful trip comes to an end.  This is the last day in Ireland as tomorrow we board a flight back home.  If it has to be the last day let it be in the lap of luxury.  We are staying at the K Club and it is as though we were actually part of the aristocracy.  The property is a great mansion with the most beautiful grounds.  The weather has held so everything is bathed in sunshine along the banks of the Liffey River. 

Not only can you stay here and feel royal but you can participate in the royal pastimes.  Kildare County where we are is the home of the Irish stud so, of course, we wanted to go trekking.  Fly Fishing seemed just right and it was a great time.  It is hard to learn how to cast but once mastered it is a thing of beauty.  Unfortunately we didn't seem to fool any fish except, of course, the big one that got away.

 

On a funny note and to point out some of the unusual customs of this wonderful country we learned that new drivers had to be branded somewhat like the Scarlett letter.  Here are two cars we saw parked next to each other at the K Club.

There is the Learner's Permit and the Novice Driver!