Kandy from a baby

I've been working flat out for 4 weeks so I haven't had time to do much or update this blog. Somewhere in the middle of those 4 weeks I went on a sight seeing trip to Kandy. The elephant orphanage is on the way to Kandy, so we left Colombo early to get there in time to watch the babies being fed. After the babies are fed all the elephants go down to the river to bathe. The view from the balcony of the restaurant was pretty sweet and the sandwiches and drinks were appreciated after getting up at the crack of dawn and skipping breakfast. Tuska has a bit of a problem getting to his food as his tusks have grown so long.
The tree is full of bats, but you'll have to take my word for it.
Pretty view but no idea what the large rock in the background is called.
Now we arrive at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy. The tooth was apparently rescued from Buddha's cremated remains, although it is never seen and even the casket in which it is kept is only displayed on special occasions. Slightly strange walking around whist Buddhists are worshipping listening to a prerecorded tour on an MP3 player.
Monkeys like hanging out at temples for some reason. I can't remember if they're revered or if they just get feed and otherwise left alone.
I was not permitted to enter the temple in my shorts so a sarong had to be acquired. The crazy thing is my shorts were literally about 1 or 2 inches shorter than the sarong, so I reckon the security guards at the temple have shares in the local sarong shops.
After a day of religious culture and a slap up feed in a luxury hotel it was off to the botanical gardens for a walk to help the food go down. Not being the most horticulturally educated the most entertaining thing I found was a tree with a hole I could climb into. I couldn't find Bilbo or Frodo though.
There are more variations of palm trees than you can shake a stick at and some grow pretty tall. I'd have climbed to the top of the 40 ft ones (yeah right) but the gardens were closing so we had to scoot.

Navam Perahera

The Navam Perahera is a prestigious Buddhist cultural pageant. There were dancers, stilt walkers, dudes with whips, costumes galore and guys spinning balls of fire around their heads with their hair. I liked the devils and monkey men that were supposed to have inhabited Sri Lanka before man. Mickey Mouse?
Devil child
Dragon breath
Hempies
DJ Spinbad Morris Dancers
Dance of the sugar plum fairies
Mad bogle dancers on stilts
Wheels of Fire
Burn Babylon Burn
Dancing Peacocks
Monkey Men

The religious significance kind of went over my head but it was a real spectacle and everyone seemed to be enjoying the show; It helps to preserve traditional costume, dance and traditions. Viva la Culture

Fruit Tart

Trying to keep healthy by eating a decent amount of fruit. It's pretty cheap when you get out of the city and the road is lined with stalls selling fruit. I guess it grows there so that's why it's cheap. Once they've transported the fruit into Colombo it ends up twice the price. Small red fruit called Rambutan.

King Coconut is supposed to be the best hangover cure and really good to re-hydrate.
You can also eat the flesh that lines the inside. It doesn't taste of much but it's good for you.
The dude selling the coconuts makes me look tall and buffed. He could still swing a machete (check his right hand) so I wasn't about to mess.

Proper Tourist

Sometimes you can't help being a tourist. I was invited out to a friend's house on Saturday for a trip out of the city. It's always good to get out of the dust storm that is Colombo. Took a couple of hours to get there but transported in the relative luxury of another friend's car. Rolled up to the house to see a large elephant stood on the lawn. There are times when it would be uncool to not act like a tourist. Photo opportunity of the trip so far. She may be huge but because she moves so slowly you don't feel like you're going to get crushed.
The only bit that does move quickly is the trunk. I was given a bunch of bananas to feed her with and being the dumb westerner I am asked if I needed to peel them. The only thing you need to do is let go when she grabs the whole bunch and shovels them into her mouth.
Apparently there were 2 more elephants but they were down by the river cooling off. The 2 guys looking after the elephant come from 3 generations of elephant handlers. An elephant and handler form a bond. There was a photo in one of the Sri Lankan papers of an elephant protecting its handler. The handler had overdone it on the booze and was laying comatose on the pavement. The elephant was stood over the guy watching out for him until he came round.

Sick as a pig

Got sick. I always get sick at the most annoying times. I've been chilling over here for almost 2 months and the first time someone comes over from the UK I get sick. I went and had a meal on Wednesday at a semi swanky restaurant and had a couple of beers. More curry and eggs (do I eat anything else?) and I also found out that eggs cooked on batter are called hoppers.
Went out the following night and that totally did me in. Played pool whilst eating finger-food. Had a few more beers but it was bacteria that laid me out and not the alcohol. I wish it had been the booze, as that would have only lasted for 24 hours. Stomach cramps on Friday, but had to go to work as I had a big deadline looming. Went home for 3 hours in the middle of the day to lie down as I couldn't function and then came back to work. Same again Saturday and marginally better Sunday after eating nothing but a loaf of white bread for 24 hours. Got so bored on Sunday after watching 3 DVDs at home I went for a walk. Sri Lanka is really green and lush and is full of trees that look like they belong in middle earth with hobbits living in them. I came across a graveyard, which in England always have a quiet eerie feeling about them but this one was more like the enchanted garden.
Sri Lankans were hanging out in the shade under the trees and for lack of a decent park the local kids were playing cricket there.
Further up the road is what I'm assuming is a temple, probably Buddhist.

In Independence Square is a monument, which is a symbol of Sri Lanka's struggle for independence. It's built from reinforced concrete in the style of a medieval Kandyan audience hall.
This is the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, D.S. Senanyake who won the first election after the English gave them back their Independence in 1947.

After my stroll I went home and ate more white bread. Monday heralded the return of my appetite and a return to health, thank Buddha.

You better get this Party started

I made it back to Hikkaduwa 2 weeks after my aborted trip on Christmas day. I'm getting better at dealing with the amount of people that approach me and have pretty much perfected the talk to the hand technique. When approached by anyone you don't want to talk to, hold up the palm of your hand as if to push them away and look in the other direction. Also don't break your stride and it works virtually every time. I left Colombo at 4pm in the sunshine and by the time I was an hour out of the city the sky had turned black, it was bucketing down and the sound of thunder was getting louder. I was beginning to wonder if I'd made the wrong decision. The lights and fans on the train started flickering as I neared my destination and the train eventually ground to a halt 3 miles from Hikkaduwa. With the light outside quickly disappearing and the train in darkness due to a power cut, I grabbed my gear and walked towards the road. Sitting in a shack like cafe by the side of the road, I watched the rain whilst eating cup cakes and drinking a coke. The 2 lads who ran the shack tempted me with an egg fried on top of pancake batter, which you roll into a wrap and eat seasoned with pepper. I wasn't going to walk any further in the rain, so the lads contacted their mate with a tuk to drive me into town. 300 rupees later and a few unorthodox driving maneuvers to avoid other vehicles with no lights, I arrived in Hikkaduwa. The hotel was a bit expensive at 12 pounds a night but I didn't care, as I was just glad to have somewhere to sleep. I grabbed a beer and ordered some vegetable chop suey. The chop suey somehow came with seafood and when I explained I was vegetarian they apologised and said they wouldn't charge me for the seafood. I've picked meat out of my food before so I got on with eating and spat out anything chewy. After that I headed out to see if I could find the location of Mambo, as that's where the skate ramp was located. It was too late to skate but I had nothing else to do. By a happy coincidence Mambo had a party on. Their spelling isn't all that but they know how to throw a party. I think just about every party loving European in Hikkaduwa and all the local surfers where in attendance. I got chatting to the locals and started to feel a lot more relaxed. A couple more beers later I'm even more relaxed and the pumping drum based house music is reminding me of nights out in London in the early nineties, although wearing shorts on the beach in January is a nice twist. I took a photo as I stumbled off along the beach back to my hotel. The blue light is the video screen playing surf movies and the music had slowed to a more jiggy flavour by then. Sand crabs scuttled across the sand in front of me as I walked and lightening flashed miles away on the horizon. I was feeling more relaxed than at any point since I left the UK. Back on the road a cow wanders past the Farm House Restaurant that obviously doesn't consider it that sacred as they have beef on the menu.
Back at Mambo the next day I skated the ramp with a little local kid who brushed the sand off the surface while I supped a sprite and waited for the ramp to finish drying out.
After about an hours skate I chatted to some of the locals from the night before and asked how much it would cost to replace some of the knackered pieces of plywood.
They gave me some toasted sandwich to eat as we chatted and I watched the surfers ride directly in front of Mambo. The break is the smallest one, which is supposed to be ideal for learning, but it still scares me as I'm such a poor swimmer. Whether I surf or not I'll head back in a few weeks as they have a party every Saturday and they've got the only skate ramp in the country.

New Years Day

Went for a stroll to find something to eat, as there's nothing in the house. Random photo of Buddhist Temple on my street. Traditional New Year breakfast curry. I'm trying to boost my weight but every meal is like a sauna. I reckon I'd implode if it wasn't for doughnuts and pastry products. The bakers is all good but they still trick me. Cheese pasty (curried), vegetable bun (curried), egg roll (curried). I even went to Pizza Hut to try and bulk up on some bland stodge and the Veggie Pizza had chilies all over it and was almost to hot to handle. Luckily I'm kind of used to it, but I don't know if my digestive system will ever completely get the hang of it. I'll be lucky to have any taste buds left by the end of 2006, as I'll have burnt them into extinction.
Went to Mount Lavinia beach in the evening to have some food by the beach. Potato wedges and pasta without spice for a change. Wedges were all good but the pasta could have been better. It was pretty over cast but the lower temperature was appreciated.
Sunset through the palms for the closer.