Monkeys in the trees

I guess monkeys aren't really going to be chilling anywhere else but I was short of a title.

Took pop and sis to the cave temples on our two-day whistle stop tour. Apparently in the old days when the farmers didn't have to harvest their crops they spent their down time painting the insides of the cave temples.
There were a couple of gargoyles incorporated into the walls outside.

The fronts to the temples were built after the original Buddha statues and paintings were created, but still a fair few hundred years ago. Prior to that it was just the-drip line protecting the paintings inside the caves from water egress.

A tourist couple sat on a Buddha statue sometime in the seventies and the monks had to repaint him as they considered the statue desecrated. I'm not sure what happened to the tourists but they may be looking at new lives as cockroaches if Karma has her way. It's very disrespectful to have a photo taken with your back to Buddha.

Temple of the Tooth

I always find it a bit disconcerting when a place of worship is a tourist attraction, especially as Buddhists worship at all times of the day and there are always lots of people praying outside the golden tooth chamber.

I can't remember all the constituent parts but the creature above the door has the head of crocodile, nose of elephant, ear of pig, body of fish and tail of dragon; I may have made some of that up and I can't remember whose legs he's got.

The chamber containing the golden tooth of Buddha is only open at certain times and the tooth is never seen inside it's multiple caskets.

Museum Buddha.

An approximation of the traditional Kandian palace in the background was created from concrete in Independence Square (see previous post).

Don't touch me!

After we got back to Colombo my mum went into hospital (she's ok now) so I showed my sister and dad around during the day before visiting my mum in the evenings. Colombo isn't the best but we kept busy seeing a few sights, shopping and eating well.

Dad, sis & the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.



When we realised mum wouldn't be coming out of hospital until near the end of their holiday we decided to take a 2 day tour so my dad and sis could get a little culture. We visited my mum on the morning of the day we left and planned to get back the evening of the following day, so she would have a least one visit per day. When we booked the car and driver the hire firm also had a bunch of old cars that my dad predictably went nuts over.

All the drivers have an itinerary for their tours and I usually try and skip a few of the items. One thing I'd normally skip is the spice garden as it's just a bunch of plants and some usually overpriced homeopathic medicines. My dad and sister wanted to check it out so we went in; I maintained a suitably suspicious and cynical disposition. After seeing all the plants the host of the spice garden did a little talk on the various oils and medicines; his colleges provided massages and my dad and sis entered into the spirit of things. By this time I had become preoccupied avoiding being bitten by mosquitoes and steadfastly refused to let anyone get near me with any of the massage oils. I think my dad and sis found it funny but it was hot and I was in no mood for being covered in oil. After we left I regained my composure and managed to relax for the rest of the trip.

On our first night in Kandy we saw the Kandian dancers, which I'd never seen before (too touristy) and actually enjoyed. It was hard to get a photo of the dancers but at the end we all gathered round the front of the stage to watch the firewalker. We had intended to go to the temple afterwards but it was raining cats and dogs so we retired to the hotel.

The next morning was much sunnier and we had a busy day ahead of us so we headed to the temple early.

Danger! Heavy Load

On the way back to Colombo we overtook an elephant, which are actually faster than you'd imagine.
Our driver noticed us trying to photograph it out of the back window and slowed down to let it overtake. We then overtook again and slowed down to let the elephant overtake. After repeating this process a couple times the elephant's driver noticed and (sensing a potential cash payment) pulled over. The cash payment I offered equated to about a quid, which would have bought the driver and his mate lunch.
This is one load you hope the driver has securely tied down.

Weligama

About 15km east of Unawattuna is a little bay that is ideal for learning to surf. There is no reef and the very gentle gradient of the beach means the waves don't jack up too quickly. I've been wiped out a fair few times in Hikkaduwa recently so it was more relaxing to have a surf where the waves are on the smaller side.
I took a 3 wheeler with my dad on the first day and my sister came on the second day. While I surfed they walked on the beach and watched the fishermen. I didn't know how much they'ed enjoy it, but it turns out it gave them a chance to see the contrast between the tourist and local spots (something I don't really think about any more as I constantly switch between the two). I thought they might get a photo of me surfing but the waves I caught were so far out they lost sight of me apparently (or got bored of waiting for me to actually catch a wave).

On the way back the 3 wheeler driver stopped at about 4 other surf spots to let me check them out. Some of them were too reefy but I'm hoping to hit up one or two over the Sri Lankan New Year in April.

Unawattuna

View from the balcony at the guesthouse where my sister and I stayed. We had our own mini wild life park where we saw various birds, cows, dogs and most impressively, an iguana.
My mum and dad stayed at the Unawattuna Beach Resort next door, as they needed a few more creature comforts. My mum had taken a turn for the worse, (culminating in a 6 day stay in a Colombo hospital) so unfortunately she missed out during the middle part of the holiday. The three amigos serenading the guests took requests and in the absence of them knowing any gangster rap we got them to play some Johnny Cash. Mum only made it out of the room at the end of the two days and took a short walk to see what she'd been missing (Dad is either having a moment of enlightenment or is having an alien encounter judging by the direction he is looking in).

Hikkaduwa Henry

After acclimatising in Colombo, the first leg of my guided tour was takings us beachside. Having spent so many of my weekends in Hikkaduwa I wanted to show my family my preferred escape destination from the pressures of work. I upgraded the accommodation from my usual three quid a night quest house to somewhere slightly more salubrious.
It was actually pretty overcast while we were there but as always the seafood hit the spot and I managed to get a couple of surfs in. We went shopping to get my dad some new beach gear and stopped in to see Henry and his carvings. Unlike the Buddhas and elephants that are the usual subjects for the woodcarvers, Henry has developed a style that encompasses his interpretations of the traditional working people of Sri Lanka.
Between us we bought four carvings and two masks. I'd already got one carving so I now have a moody old guy, an inquisitive looking character and smaller happy dude to help me remember my time in Sri Lanka. Henry is a pretty cool guy and has managed to create a niche for himself; a lot of the people that rely on tourists for their income are really struggling.