Drum Club

I managed to get to Hikkaduwa on a Friday night for once and got to check out the bongo drummers who play at the local outdoor nightclub. The music the DJ had been playing wasn't really my bag but the drummers were something else. Their first set was at about midnight and the 4 of them got a good groove going that got me onto the dance-floor. They only played for about 20 minutes but after another hour of music from the DJ they made a second appearance; they shifted up the tempo and it was like being back at the original Drum Club circa 1994. I couldn't believe there wasn't a backing track as the music was so spot on (standing 6 feet in front of the speaker stack may have enhanced my appreciation of the drums and bass). Although this photo is a bit messed up I don't remember the hand coming out of the drum or the purple dude on the right.

Filler not Thriller

New camera and I'm back on the road to nowhere; just follow the tracks. The waves were big in Hikkaduwa this weekend and I was relegated to surfing in the white water as the proper waves would have eaten me alive; the shape of the beach is changing and the waves break really close to the shore with a real ferocity; apparently there's another beach a bit further down the coast where it's not quite so gnarly so I may check that out in a couple of weeks.
As I walked along the beach on my own in the rain it reminded me a bit of home; in a seaside town that they forgot to close down, every day is like Sunday.

Stairway to Heaven

Adam's Peak is a site of pilgrimage in the search for spiritual enlightenment; the general idea is to see the sunrise which means setting off before 3am for a 2 and a half climb up an uncountable number of steps. The drive to the town the night before set the scene with lightening illuminating the sky and the peak engulfed in mist. I was expecting a walk up a moderate incline but what I got was a slog up a million stairs; does it count as meditating if you turn off your brain to endure the exhaustion of climbing when you should be sleeping? We arrived at the top at 5 O'clock and huddled in the cold and dark waiting for the sun to come up. As it started to get light we jockeyed for a good position to check the sunrise. As the sun edged its way up from behind the mountains the clouds turned to Turkish Delight.
Let there be light!
I didn't find enlightenment but it was definitely a Zen moment, which made all the physical exertion worthwhile.
Sunrise is a pretty magical time of the day and to witness it at a temple on the top of a mountain is a little bit special.

The shadow of Adam's Peak appears as a pyramid on the surrounding mountains.
Then there was the journey back down to contend with. As we walked down we stopped briefly to catch our breath and my legs started shaking uncontrollably; we decided it was probably best not to stop after that and just kept going. By the end we were running and jumping steps in an effort to get down as quickly as possible.
Back to Tolkien's middle earth and the shire.
All photo credits for the last 5 posts go to Eugenia from snowy Moscow (my camera was bust); thanks a million for the photos, the company and the impetous to make the trip.

Tea and Cake

I do like a nice cup of cha; and the cake was pretty special too. I bought a box of Broken Orange Pekoe (note the orange hue) from the tea factory but unfortunately forgot to get the recipe for the cake. After the tour of the tea factory and partaking in their produce we headed out into tea country to see some waterfalls. Ramboda falls are the largest falls in the area (although there were actually 2 of them) and our driver was able to show us the route to get to the base of the falls. After heavy rains the falls are even more impressive, but rainy weather isn't really conducive with sightseeing so I was quite happy with the falls just as they were.

The weather in the hill country is probably 10 degrees cooler than at sea level and is the main area for growing vegetables in Sri Lanka, as well as the site for the tea plantations.

Cave Temple

Attack of the 60 foot Buddha! Dambulla is apparently the most interesting of all the cave temples in Sri Lanka, according to the guide book. In the photo you can see the drip line carved into the rock to keep the interior of the temples dry.

All this sightseeing is tiring even for Buddha.
Almost every inch of the walls and ceilings are covered in paintings of deities, buddhas or intricate patterns.
Itchy and scratchy.

Rock Steady

Sigiriya http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya is the site of an ancient palace from 500AD. The prince Kassapa, born to non royal blood, imprisoned (and later killed) his father and seized the throne. His younger brother, the rightful heir, fled to India to plot his return. The palace was built on the top of the rock with various defences including a moat that could flood surrounding land to hinder invaders; for some reason Kassapa left his impenetrable fortress to fight has younger brother and was vanquished. There are 3 gardens leading up to the main rock including a water garden, terraced garden and a boulder garden.
Whist in Kandy we met a Scottish guy called Will who is in Sri Lanka for 3 months to teach kids English. We decided against hiring a proper guide and amused ourselves by fighting over what the exact history of Sigiriya was; we'd all read the guide book but my memory for facts and dates leaves something to be desired.
The king apparently had at least 50 concubines to tend to his every need. These ladies pictures have graced the walls of the rock for the last 1500 years.
This is the lion's entrance at the foot of the last part of the climb, so called because a lion's head was erected at the top of the rock (no longer present) with the lion's claws at the bottom either side of the steps. There was a sign asking you to take either a bag of sand or a brick to the top where they are rebuilding some of the palace walls. You can see why the rock made an ideal natural fortress (as long as you don't run out of supplies). Sigiriya is supposed to be on a par with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but as they no longer exist it's a hard one to argue. This lake, now filled by rain water, was originally filled with water pumped up from ground level. There are various pipes and valves running under the ground and a ram pump (few moving parts/noisy but simple) is believed to have been used to force the water up to the top of the rock.
Room with a view.

Escape from Colombo

Whilst in Hikkaduwa the weekend before last I met a Russian tourist who was on a two week vacation in Sri Lanka. We hung out for a day but I had to head back to Colombo for work on the Monday. In case she decided to come to Colombo I left her my contact details but warned her that the city was a bit of a shock after the peace and quiet of the beach.
I got a call on Wednesday to say my friend was passing through Colombo on her way to see some of the ancient and religious sights Sri Lanka is so famous for. As I've limited my exploration of the island to the beaches and a couple of trips to Kandy I decided it could make a nice trip and booked a few days of annual leave; luckily my friend agreed and I think we both appreciated the company.
The first night was spent in Colombo and after eating we stopped at the main temple in Colombo where the annual Pera Hera (http://moodymowlam.blogspot.com/2006/02/navam-perahera.html) starts from. The temple was filled with huge Buddhas, deities and murals depicting the life of Buddha.
The next morning we got a 6.20am train to Kandy and travelled in relative luxury by Sri Lankan standards; we got first class tickets that entitled us to guaranteed seats facing a large observation window at the rear of the train. The journey was a scenic 3 hour trip past paddy fields, jungle and then climbing through the mountains surrounding Kandy. After securing ourselves accommodation at a guest house we headed out to the Botanical gardens.
I'll keep my descriptions of Kandy brief as it was my third visit but the trip to the Temple of the Golden Tooth was more atmospheric than previous trips as we arrived at dusk when the drummers play to summon the worshipers to temple.