train that goes to this route, and the trains that come down from the more northern region were booked solid. Plus we're trying to do this in a more comfortable manner given Richard's back injury. So we hired a car and driver, who is 
a friend of our friendly security guard at our hotel in Colombo.And I'm not sure if he's Hindu or Buddhist, since he had both a dashboard statue of Ganesh, the
elephant-headed god, and a small Buddha. Plus the red flowers and an emblem of I think a young Buddha, but I'm not positive. Made for an 
interesting view out of the windshield. And as we drove past the big Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Colombo, he did the hands together prayer 
style with a quick bow, as we've seen drivers do in Thailand. With the majority of the population being either Buddhist or
Hindu, I'm wondering if maybe both religions have aspects or inclusions of the other, similar to what we saw in Bali. The Buddha, whose 
name was Siddhartha Gautama, was originally Hindu and lived in India. When he achieved enlightenment, he was given the title The Buddha, 
and he began travelling, coming first to Sri Lanka. So that's why I think perhaps the two religions here include elements of the other. Not sure, but the 
dashboard Ganesh and Buddha sat side by side, and kept us safe on our crazy 185 km (110 or so mile) trip.
This was not a 
two hour trip on a
national multi-lane highway. No, this was a four hour trip on a winding
rural road through small towns and villages, and the occasional 
bustling
city.
two hour trip on a
national multi-lane highway. No, this was a four hour trip on a winding
rural road through small towns and villages, and the occasional 
bustling
city.
Much of Sri Lanka is rural, and farm
land, especially in the coastal plains region.
Rice paddies, fields of eddo or taro (edible tubers), fruit 
trees, and I’m
not sure what else. As we drove more
into the interior, we began to see hills and then mountains in the
distance. Not pointed or snow-capped
mountains, but huge rounded peaks looming a faded blue-purple in the
background.
trees, and I’m
not sure what else. As we drove more
into the interior, we began to see hills and then mountains in the
distance. Not pointed or snow-capped
mountains, but huge rounded peaks looming a faded blue-purple in the
background.
And temples! Buddhist temples often are announced by the
multi-colored striped flags here, and I caught a lucky shot through the
entrance gates as we drove by. Tamil
temples rose suddenly in the middle of towns, with their chaotic hierarchy of
figures. I don’t use the word chaotic in
a pejorative sense – I enjoy and appreciate the seemingly random levels of
figures that make up these Hindu temples.
There may be some order in the hierarchy, but I don’t recognize who the
figures are (other than Ganesh, who is easily recognizable). So to my uninitiated eye, the manifestations
of the gods and goddesses and perhaps historic figures seems very busy and
fluid and active, but without any discernable sequence or order. Thus my use of the word “chaotic.” And I rather enjoy the chaos I attribute to
these structures.
Back to our travels – the drive
itself was the usual dodge-‘em drive.
This is why we didn’t want to rent a car and drive ourselves – we don’t
know the route, we can’t read two out of the three lines of print on the signs,
we don’t know where we’re going, and most importantly, neither of us were
prepared to drive around tuktuks, trucks, buses, cars, tractors, and the
various people who run across the road at random intervals. With a few cows and water buffalo walking along
or relaxing by the side of the road. Yes,
I enjoy chaos, but not when it risks my life or someone else’s.
So our driver, Suranga, wove his way
through this insanity, taking us through road construction, city markets, and
rice paddies, up into the foothills.
This is tea country, full of fields of tea plants low to the ground, and
large canopied trees providing shade for the delicate tea leaves for which Sri
Lanka (or Ceylon) is so famous.
I think my favorite vehicles were
the bread tuktuks. I saw a green
croissant tuktuk when we stopped for a cold drink – green with croissants printed
on the outside, and shelves of croissants on the inside. We passed a red bread tuktuk on the road,
complete with shelves full of wrapped loaves, and playing music like an ice
cream truck! We can only imagine that
these trucks drive along and pull over whenever some signals to them that they
want to buy the croissants or bread.
Maybe in towns, maybe the people at stands selling fruits and vegs. Maybe hungry drivers beep their horns and
signal to pull over and sell them some croissants. We don’t know. It was just one of those interesting and
different things we enjoy seeing.
Other than the domesticated cows and
water buffalo, we only saw birds – tons of white cattle egrets, those beautiful
elegant birds who seem to only eat excreted seeds from cattle dung. Such a juxtaposition to their elegance and
beauty!
Suranga had typed our hotel address
into his cell phone, and the GPS guided him up the long steep winding hill to
the “resort.” This isn’t a resort in the
usual sense – although it’s a large and 
sprawling complex, there are only
twelve or fifteen guest rooms. There’s
also a pool, a restaurant with a very diverse menu, and the 
reception / concierge
desk is able to arrange for safaris to the nearby national park. (But that’s for tomorrow.)
Our hotel seems to be the only
structure on this hill. The front
entrance is majestic, and the drive continues through rice paddies on both
sides. I asked, and the rice is grown by
people who live nearby, and just need the level ground for 
the paddies. Plus it is rather picturesque for us
tourists, the rice paddies full of statuesque herons and egrets.
the paddies. Plus it is rather picturesque for us
tourists, the rice paddies full of statuesque herons and egrets.
When we arrived, the ballroom was
absolutely jumping with a wedding reception.
This seems to be big business around here, with another wedding
scheduled for tomorrow and a third on the day after. The woman at reception took me to peek in,
and the room was packed with women in 
gorgeous red and/or gold saris and
evening gowns, men in silk shirts and slacks or dark suits. It was beautiful, and looked as if everyone
was 
having a fabulous time. (Who doesn’t
love a happy wedding party?)
By 4:30 or 5 PM, the guests were all
gone and the place was quiet. Birds came
back to 
their favorite trees, and began to chirp. The sun began to head toward the horizon, and
we could feel the peace of this very relaxing, somewhat isolated hotel. I saw a fairly big bright 
blue bird, and have no idea what it is, but I'll try to find out. It might be an Indian roller, although it looked like a solid blue and the roller has a darker blue horizontal stripe on the wings. Some bright green parrots, a small bulbul with the distinctive punk rocker hair and a red tush (internet research says this is the red-vented bulbul). Plus bright yellow orioles, with a black head and wings. And we've been told that the peacocks come by in the early morning, or late afternoon. I'll try to find one and hope it's willing to pose for me!
their favorite trees, and began to chirp. The sun began to head toward the horizon, and
we could feel the peace of this very relaxing, somewhat isolated hotel. I saw a fairly big bright 
blue bird, and have no idea what it is, but I'll try to find out. It might be an Indian roller, although it looked like a solid blue and the roller has a darker blue horizontal stripe on the wings. Some bright green parrots, a small bulbul with the distinctive punk rocker hair and a red tush (internet research says this is the red-vented bulbul). Plus bright yellow orioles, with a black head and wings. And we've been told that the peacocks come by in the early morning, or late afternoon. I'll try to find one and hope it's willing to pose for me!
We got a call from the kitchen, and
a young man came over with menus. It
turns out that we are the ONLY guests here for the first day (yesterday – more guests
are coming today). We had the entire
resort to ourselves! And their practice
is to ask guests at about 6 PM what they would like for dinner. That way the kitchen can prepare the food,
and it is ready when the guests come to the restaurant an hour or so later.
Richard was happy to find pork and
beef on the menu. I was thrilled to
order the Sri Lankan chicken curry. This
turned out to be a surprise dinner.
First, the waiter came out with a platter of rice. I mean, a PLATTER. Enough rice for two to four people, or two to
four meals. Four meals for me, two for a
young athlete. Maybe one meal for The
Rock. Seriously, probably a good four to
six CUPS of rice!
Then a tray of bowls – a bowl of
chicken curry (not a yellow curry, more of a thin tomato and onion sauce
redolent with spices, similar to a chicken masala recipe that I make). A bowl of yellow dhal. A bowl of brinjal moju, the curried eggplant
I love. A bowl of curried green
beans. A bowl of curried radish. A bowl of onion sambal – sambal being a cross
between a condiment and a salad, it seems, to add to one’s curry and give it
another dimension of taste and texture.
Oh, and a bowl of pappadam chips – I think pappadam are made of a bean
flour, well seasoned, and shaped into thin rounds and baked or cooked on a flat
griddle. These were cut into triangles,
like tortilla chips, and then cooked.
I told the waiters this was too much
food, and they should join me and eat this!
Really, it was a feast for two or more people. Though they assured me Sri Lankans would eat
the entire meal. I’m not convinced
especially considering how tiny and slim most of the women are here. The men aren’t large either. But this was a whole lot of food, way more
than I could eat. So, I concentrated on
my favorites (dhal, brinjal moju, and the chicken), and tasted the rest. And I should have had my camera with me, to
take a photo, it was that impressive!
But the camera had to charge up after our long drive.
I wanted to mention that it’s much
easier for me to be adventurous with eating when foods are vegetarian. My hesitation with new foods tends to be a
fear of encountering some gross and disgusting animal part – I hate liver, I
don’t want to see an eyeball or a paw in my food, and I truly am repulsed by
the thought of eating any organs or insects.
Just, yuck! But with a vegetarian
cuisine, my only concerns are no mango or any of the evil one’s cousins. The rest I’m happy to try. And if I don’t like it, I just don’t eat all
of it.
But activity and adventures
await. I’ve booked two safari trips for
tomorrow, one early morning and one late afternoon, to see the animals of the
nearby national park. We have a third
day here, and some ideas of things to do.
But I don’t want to say too much, because I try to enjoy the here and
now. Part of the Zen of travelling, I
guess.
Last note: so that people can understand the density of population of Sri Lanka, the cities are like cities everywhere, teeming with people. But this map really illustrates how crowded the countries of SE Asia are. I mean, over HALF the world's population is crammed into the nations in this one little circle. I find that mind-boggling. And then to realize that there are national parks with elephants and leopards and monkeys within this tiny island nation, that's just as incredible and amazing!
More adventures tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment