Category: Sri Lanka

We took a tuk-tuk to Negombo. At first I was wondering why we did not just come to Negombo for all four of our remaining days. Then I walked around Negombo and was glad we were leaving tomorrow. Ezra and Viena had fun in the swimming pool. I actually received a sunburn. Precursor warning for the desert trip. Mosquitoes are bad here.

Went for a tuk-tuk drive to the post office. Found some cool shoes for Ezra. The streets were crowded with people and lots of activity. Viena and Ezra love playing in the play area of the restaurant. The only playground we have seen in all Sri Lanka.

Elephants learn to look both ways before crossing the road or train tracks at an early age – as do many Sri Lankans. The train ride yesterday from Colombo to Mount Lavinia was interestingly beautiful because the tracks are laid literally 10 meters from the breaking waves of the Indian Ocean. The ramifications of this is that you can see and fell the ocean spray from your open train window as the train travels south down the tracks. Very nice. However, also, now you have tracks and trains on prime beachfront property. Which means the prime beach front real estate is now longer “prime”. So most of the beachfront dwellings are shacks and shanties. The nicer houses and apartments are located about 100-200 meters from the tracks and deafening noise of the train. What follows? Now you have a row of poor disadvantages people living on “prime” beachfront that is visited by “rich” foreign travellers. So, as tourists, we learned quickly to “look both ways” – not for fear of an approaching train, or an approaching elephant, but for fear of the encroaching Sri Lankan male who likes to hover around and strike up meaningless conversation, or just hover. Unfortunately for us we were the only tourists besides 3 Russian guys on the beach. Normally I like a beach without the crowds of tourists, but here at Mount Lavinia beach I was hoping some other foreigners would appear to take some of the hoverers. We could not for this reason enjoy the beach. I did jump in and enjoy the waves for a bit but had to come out because of a hoverer. Oh well. We have been peacefully approached throughout Sri Lankan without any issues, but since we are now near the big city of Colombo – everything fells a little different – another level of distraction. And when your children are distracting enough, you do not need any thing else. So, we headed home, crossed the tracks, looked both ways (not for a train) and enjoyed some Viena inspired oven baked chocolate chunk cookies. Yes, we have an oven. Maybe we will cook a turkey tomorrow. Will we dare to go to the beach for sunset? A dream with Jerry showing us around Columbia and taking pictures of the Brazos River.

We are on the train from Kandy to Colombo. 1st class – no A/C. I do not even see the A/C cart. We are riding backwards and are watching the jungle scenery pass by. We have real individual seats – worth the $3 upgrade. The rocking of the train is so relaxing and has put most people to sleep – not Ezra or Viena. Yes, what a relaxing way to spend the morning. Our host Marlon, gave us a ride to the train station. Thank you. They have been the best of hosts. Now we are heading for Colombo and onto Mount Lavinia and I have not secured our place to stay. This is the first time on this trip that in the morning I do not know where we will rest our heads tonight. Now, the other, Dwana, Viena and Ezra never know where they will rest their heads. They place their trust in me to find “suitable” housing. Suitable in this case means with air conditioning. The train has stopped on the tracks for a while to let another train pass, but here in first class, we have less worries and our carts are not jammed full of people and the heat of the day has not started. Viena and Ezra are seated with Dwana writing in their own little notebooks. No breakfast yet. We hope to change trains in Colombo and arrive in Mount Lavinia before noon. I have a couple leads on places, but it looks as if we will be wandering around Mount Lavinia with all of our bags in the late morning heat. Last night I kept waking every hour to check on the time. Not ideal sleep, but here we are on the train. We had such a wonderful time in Kandy, and I will always remember Viena lost her first big upper tooth after visiting Temple of the Tooth. Maybe the tooth fairy will place her tooth right next to Buddhas.

Why not? Why not wake up again in the early morning and drive around looking for elephants? Why not? When do you even have that as an option? However, this morning we were shutout. Zero wild elephant sightings. The last two days have been so wonderful. Everything that we set out to do, we accomplished. I love that feeling. Today was our Sigiriya day. Our guide Terrence was quite confused on our methods to see Sigiriya, but they worked for us. We started walking the trail from the Pidurangala Temple near Sigiriya. The trail up Pidurangala rock was easy. Ezra walked the entire way. From the top we had 360 degree views – include the view of the masses of people ascending the stairs of Sigiriya – not us though. We picniced alone atop our castle rock castle. We could see all the way to the Big Golden Buddha in Dambulla. On the Pidurangala trail their is a huge reclining Buddha in the rock. Near the sleeping Buddha statue is a peaceful Lotus pond. Amazing. The early sun was striking the sleeping Buddha and yet Buddha continued to sleep. Only our footsteps were around and no one was following us and telling us where we could or could not step. No one was asking to see our ticket or asking us if we want a guide or if we want to buy a wooden elephant, We were able to walk free. WE were here as if we were here 1500 years ago, when man made their mark among these rocks. Of course Ezra was more interested in catching some of the frogs in the pools of water. Sleeping Buddha – Jumping Frog. Sounds like a good Chinese Movie, I can truly say the drive back to Kandy was uneventful. I am so glad we decided to do this little expedition up North. We could have easily just stayed and played in our nice guesthouse in Kandy, but that is not why we are travelling the world. Ruins and Rocks and Elephant talks – that is why we are travelling the world.

A pack of at least 10 wild elephants eating a breakfast of fresh forest trees – that’s why we woke up at 3:30AM this morning and started our drive to Polonnaruwa. The road to Polonnaruwa from Kandy cuts right through Minierya National Park where the largest gathering of Sri Lanka elephants live. My strategy of an early morning drive to see the elephants paid off BIG. We sat on the side of the road for about 20 minutes watching elephants tear down the forest. We observed that Elephants look both ways before crossing the road – look past those big flapping ears. They have a march about them where they bend at the knee to 90 degrees as they are walking – pretty cool to see. The elephants were about 20-30 feet away – too close for Dwana. I noticed that Terrence out driver was ready to punch it (the accelerator, not the elephant) if we needed a quick get-a-way. Only once did the elephants seemed disturbed and one made their distinct BBBRUUUMPPPHH sound! I think he was telling the others elephants to look out for the little baby elephant. Elephants in the wild – close up. CHECK. And that was just the beginning of our trip – of our morning. We arrived in Polonnaruwa just as the postcard salesmen arrived and just as the park opened. Terrence drove us around all the amazing archaeological sites. Ezra and Viena did OK. The only time Ezra was bummed was after an encounter with a salesman selling overpriced trinkets. Ezra said, ” I do not want to look at OLD things … I want some NEW things!” A small inconvenience for a wonderful place.

Our last walk into Kandy-town took us on the back roads from our guesthouse to the top of the ridge where we could see our destination for the day – Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha Statue -or the Big Buddha statue overlooking Kandy. I asked a number of tuk-tuk drivers if they knew the back way to the Big Buddha from our neighborhood, but they did not, and once again Google Maps was able to efficiently and successfully navigate the uncrowded roads all the way for our Pilgrimage from the Buddhist Temple near our house to Bahiravokanda. The day was hot even in the morning. We tried as best we could to stay in the shade. The Bahiravokanda cost 200 rupees to see and we were able to climb all the way to the top of the Big Buddha and see Kandy -town and the surrounding mountains – the Temple of the Tooth, the lake, and even the radio tower on the ridge our guesthouse. I am stil becoming used to seeing military police armed on the streets with automatic weaponry. The Sri Lanka civil war was not that long ago. I think Sinhalese writing was perfected while writing on an undulating train. After saying no to a number of tuk-tuk offers, we walked into Kandy-town. The streets were full of men and products – must have been delivery day, but maybe everyday is delivery day. We found a nice shop to eat where Ezra guzzled down 2 fresh bottles of chocolate milk. We also found a children’s clothing shop. Walking along the city street tires us out more than walking in the neighborhood. Too many other distraction to look out for – cars, trucks, tuk-tuks. We walked past Temple of the Tooth one final time before we caught a tuk-tuk back home. Amazing, the smiles a tuk-tuk ride brings after a long day of walking.

Played our first game of cricket with Yohan and now I can see why Sri Lankans have good fielding talent and sure hands. Usually children are playing cricket in the street or a small driveway with no room for error – or else the ball goes rolling down the hill or into the run-off drain or worse yet into the razor sharp snake infested tall grasses. I say snake infested, but I have only seen one snake in Sri Lanka. I did however chase a ball into the tall grass and heard something slither away as I reached my hand down to retrieve the cricket ball … and then I had to retrieve another ball. We have seen cricket being practiced near railroad tracks. on the side of mountains, on steep streets and driveways, in crowded neighborhood housing … we have seen cricket played everywhere except the cricket field in Kandy. I bought a $1.50 Sri Lankan Cricket ballcap for Ezra to give him some shade. We had lots of fun playing with Yohan who was immediately excited when we started playing Cricket instead of just Catch. Cricket – Sri Lankan National Sport – I think. We went on a small walk to a clothing store in the afternoon to supplement our wardrobe. I have been trying to find some <$5 clothes along the way. – the difficulty is finding a large enough size. The weather has been especially hot today. Our place has a washing machine so Dwana washed all of our clothes and then hung them out to dry. We had to remember to bring the clothes in before the afternoon rains. Viena and Ezra were so excited in the clothing store. The have not been in a real retail store in months. We were able to Skype with Mylon in the morning and wish him a Happy Birthday at his 18th Birthday Party in the evening in Alaska. That was nice. I made plans once again to visit the Rocks and the Ruins of the north. I arranged an early morning driver and an overnight stay in Polonnaruwa. We have not had an overnight driver, but having an overnight driver is a very popular way for foreigners to see Sri Lanka. Costly though. We plan to leave in a couple days when I am feeling better. My headache is finally gone. Our host families continue to improve in their hospitality with every guest house. So wonderful to be greeted with smiles and a pleasant conversation about rippening avocados and coconuts and tea.

Happy birthday Mylon. We were going to celebrate Mylon’s birthday at the ruins of Polonnaruwa, but instead we stayed right here in Kandy to celebrate Mylon turning 18 and Viena losing her 3rd tooth. Check outh er new smile. Our move this morning to different accommodations was the easiest so far – 100 steps down the road. Still not feeling very good, but good enough to walk down the street in the rain to have some KFC ice cream. In Sri Lana we have not seen very many chain store. Mostly open Markets for everything. Not too many street vendors for food. But I did pick up a 40 cent bag of tasty steamed chick peas. However, right down the street is a Food City SuperMarket and a Kentucky Fried Chicken. I will not be surprised if we are not greeted at the Jordanian Airport by Colonel Sanders. The rains have cooled the temperature down a little bit this afternoon. Ezra told me about the dog needing to go to the Veterenarian and he pronounced the word better than I could. Also Sri Lanka TV is unique in that they have a learning channel, meditation channel, and of course a 24/7 dedicated to cricket matches. Ezra has been good at exclaiming when he sees a Buddhist monk. I think I learned how to say Verterenariona when I was 22 and saw my first Buddhist monk years later. Viena lost her tooth today. Now we need to go bury her tooth at Temple of the Tooth.

On this day, I did not feel well at all. A slight fever headache that started in the night and continued all day. Could the headache be from all the planning, or the heat, or the brightness, or the sugary fruit drinks, or the mosquito bites. Who knows? Seems to only affect this Weems. The others are fine. After making a trip to the inner-city bus station where I determined that the route A/C buses from Kandy to Polonnaruwa do not exist. At least not from bus station near the train station. And yet you see these smaller aircon buses travelling around the city, and you would think that Kandy and Polonnaruwa would be connect, but not yet. And so therefore I cancelled our trip to the North. We were planning a 4:30AM bus to Polonnaruwa no A/C. With my head pounding I could not sign up for that. Especially since I had not paid in advance. The beauty of living without reservations. I saw many people n the back way to the bus station past the old cemetery and cricket field. The route is becoming quite natural and is bust but not congested like the other route into the city. I made arrangements with our host Gerard to stay additional nights. We actually must move in the morning to his Father-in-laws place down the street. The rains fell hard in the night. I try to venture out on the porch and take in the night time warm tropical rains pounding ferociously on the rooftops and streets. Viena and Ezra have enjoyed the extra space and have been doing artwork on the porch and playing with the neighbor boy. The Sri Lanka children are on break for another week. Dwana made a great meal of toasted garlic, tomato, spaghetti noodles.

A WALK INTO KANDY-TOWN TEMPLE OF THE TOOTH KANDY DANCING CHILDRENS LIBRARY
We hiked into Kandy-town today from the guesthouse in the suburbs. I discovered the shortcut into Kandy a few days ago and today was the day for everyone to go. The train can be heard from our porch and all throughout Kandy. We only heard the train today. Up and over the hill. We purchased 5 cent plasters for Dwana’s toe. The Sos Tomato rolled out of the mini fridge and cut Dwana’s Toe. Anything can happen. Glad to be outside and walking. Already hot at 10AM, but enough chances to find shade. Kandy is full of green trees, overhanging trees. Stopped and had some coconut juice – fresh ($1 for over a liter). A fast talking guy approached . Always must be aware and have up defenses. We found the children’s library. Interestingly enough, only children are allowed inside. I guess they make exceptions for foreigners. We stayed for about 2 hours. Quiet library. We continued our walk towards the Temple of the Tooth. I knew the Tooth would cost, so we walked up to the King’s Palace and visited a Bodhi Tree and Temple. Many Sri Lankans were visiting Temple of the Tooth. I was able to take some god photo. We walked all around the Temple of the Tooth. Lots of security, not serenity. Ezra and Viena continued to be the main attractions as we walked down these downtown streets. Not many tourists at all until you go to the Kandyian Dancing – which we did, and you see minivans drive up from all over carting around tourists. We found front row seats. Can not wait to see Ezra’s new dance moves.

A full day of elephants plants and people.

Are they bats? Are they frogs? Are they the unknown animals of Sri Lanka making those sounds at night. We have already confirmed that Kandy supports a large large bat population. We must have seen over 1000 very large very sleepy bats today in the daylight. They were all hanging high from the trees – looking like hanging fruit. And as the day turned to late-afternoon, the bats started to move a little more and make a little more noise. They would gently relocate from branch to branch. Just one of the many strange and wonderful sights we saw today in Sri Lanka. Today was a big day because we visited both the Pinnawalla Elephant Orphanage and the Perideniya Botanical Gardens. We paid the foreigner fee for both the Orphanage and the gardens plus the driver fee ($35). An expensive day, but worth it. The elephants were amazing as always to see. We were able to see them on land and the river walking free. They all looked so happy in the river. Big, Little baby momma. They would take a bath in the river and then make it to the shore on the other side and then start throwing sand on themselves again. The Perideniya botanical gardens was worth it not for the botanicalness but for the culturalness. This is the first place where we could observe Sri Lankan relaxed and enjoying themselves in what is really a city park. 50 cent admission for sri lankans. $10 each for us. Worth it.

I always like to go on a walk through the neighborhood to familiarize myself with where I am on the Earth.
Great views. A temple. A Big Buddha. and … a BAT.

Woke up in a new place, a new bed, a new sunrise. We took a morning walk up to a radio tower behind our guesthouse. Most radio-towers are usually a safe place to walk where you do not feel like you are encroaching on someone personal property – not this radio tower. Sri Lankans will build anywhere. A smiley Sri Lankan came over and greeted us and mentioned that this is his land and we were more than welcome to walk around. He is planning to build a nice hotel and his wife invited us for tea. The hotel is going to have a nice 360 degree view someday. We could see the big Buddha statue from the ridge. We tried walking to the old Cemetery but turned around. I took this same route later in the day to go buy our tickets to Colombo next week.1st class – no A/C. Saw a dead bat hanging from the power-lines. First warning sign. I found a market area and was able to take in a good sense of the people of Kandy. Many were walking the streets. Not too many street vendors selling food. People drive motorcycle and not scooters. Too hilly for bicycles. Buses – lots of buses. Lots of small markets – trading posts selling stuff but not really selling anything. Some houses and homes, the people we sitting in chairs outside on their dirt “lawn” and looked as if they were camping out – but this is their life 24/7.

We have arrived in Kandy after an excellent train ride in reserved 3rd class. Would not have like the ride in the train cart behind ours. Surfers among sardines.

Leave on the 06:40 train to Kandy … and that we did. 3rd class reserved seats. Not too many people at the train station in Ella, but at some of the other stations, hundreds of people were waiting to pile into some of the unreserved 3rd class seats. They do not have assigned seats in 3rd class unreserved. We saw a couple of surfers from France board the train with their surfboards. They stood for the entire 7 hours to Kandy and looked like they were on their way to Colombo. We had our reserved seats with the window open for the 7 hours of rambling train ride through the hill country of Sri Lanka (A little mountainous than the hill-country of Texas.Very beautiful. Waterfalls, tea plantations, tea pickers, right along side the tracks. Small small villages all along the track. People living along side the railroad. A cute small little Sri Lankan Baby sat next to us and kept us entertained and his family pretty busy when he was not sleeping . Both Ezra and Viena took a nap on the train. We could tell when we were close to Kandy. More people were outside and the little villages turned into small towns. Gerard greeted us at the train station – no sign needed. Gerard spotted the two children with the tall white guy … carrying a house. Our new guest house is much larger than in Ella. We have a full kitchen , mini-fridge and microwave – which means microwave popcorn, and hopefully movie night. “I can survived on microwave popcorn” Dwana mentioned and Viena seconded. “I can survive on chocolate milk and peanut butter” Ezra piped in. I have had a good food experience in Sri Lanka. Yes, the food is spicy, but good – and big portions – especially if you rider take-away – which we do alot since Ezra is not a mild child. But do not expect cutlery. Most people eat with their hands. And do not expect a nice tupperware container for your take-away food. Last night’s food was packaged in last semesters old math homework papers.

RAVANA DWANA WATERFALL

The cook just took off for his 15 minute break. I guess Sunday is not a big day. I am here in Ella town picking up food for everyone at the guest house. The cook just created a vegetable kotthu dish that has become one of Dwana’s favorites. This morning Mr Nelson drove us in his tuk-tuk to catch the sunrise at Rawana Waterfall. Good to finally take a swim in some fresh water. And since we were early, we arrived before all the bathers. ANy fresh water source becomes a bathing area and washing clothes area for all Sri Lankans. The waterfall streams off Ella rock maybe 1000 feet above. We arrived early but not early enough to arrive before the Buddhists monks. And so if the Buddhists monks were down bathing at Ravana Waterfall who was doing the Buddhist chanting at the Buddhist Temple in Ella. That’s right – a cassette tape recording. To download – click here. Everyone, even Ezra jumped in the fresh cold water. The sun had not become to strike the place where we jumped in. We ended up climbing up a bit to reach the sun. A perfect vantage point. A soon as Mr Nelson left us to go wash his tuk-tuk, a hawker type approached us and wanted to sell us soon gems and trade for a piece of our local currency, of which I had none because I was here to swim and go back for breakfast. Which is what we did real fast. On the drive back we stopped to take pictures of monkeys on the side of the road. Viena and Ezra really love the wind rush of a tuk-tuk. They smiled all the way back to the guesthouse. In the afternoon we rested and went on a small walk to find some coconut water and ice cream. Tomorrow we leave on the 6:40 train to Kandy. Our neighbor Peter at the guest house just came from Kandy and gave us some good hints at things to do. We might walk Little Adam’s Peak one more time this evening, but we will see who has the energy. i wish I could bottle up that waterfall and splash the water over Ezra next time he becomes too hot. Waterfall in a bottle.

HALPEWATTE SRI LANKAN TEA FACTORY

Now I can say that I have toured a tea plantation factory. The hill country around Ella is full of tea leaves and today we were able to see just what they do with all the tea leaves. A four step process: Are you ready? 1) Flavor 2) Quality 3)Strength 4) Color. There you have it. Pret-Tea amazing all the work that goes into tea time. I was amazed at how big the factory was – a big 4 story warehouse with each level serving a different step in the production process. We even had a tea tasting. Very similar to wine tasting vineyards, but we did not go home with a crate of Sri Lankan Tea. These tea-guys take their tea Pret-Tea seriously. The views were fantastic – looking back over the Ella Gap we could see Ella Rock and Little Adam’s Peak. To the West was a Buddhist Temple with some monasterial monk cave dwelling meditation rooms on the side of the mountain. As you might have guess, Ezra and Viena were the only children on the 45 minute tour of the tea factory. They did tea-riffic! There were lots more touch and feel than the touch tank of the KLCC aquarium. So much tea was in the warehouse, all neatly arranged and organized. Ezra tried his best to mix some of the batches. They had bean bag chairs on the veranda overlook where Ezra, Viena, and Dwana perched and performed some artwork coloring. Viena even drew her rendition of the Ella Gap. The tuk-tuk ride was fun – they always are fun. We were swindled out of $1 by the avocado lady who let us taste one delicious avocado and then sold us 9 more not so good rubbery ones. Had dinner with MR Peter from the West Coast of Australia.

HIKE UP ELLA ROCK ELLA TOWN

Only one adventure today – to the top of Dwana Rock or Ravana Rock or Ella Rock – the rock where all the guesthouses of Ella (and there are many and many more coming) want their windows and verandas facing. I climbed Ella Rock earlier in the week, but not with Ezra, Viena or Dwana. Climbing with Ezra and Viena requires a little more logistics to decrease to suffering of everyone. Sometimes, a small logistical effort on the front end of an adventure to jump start everything makes all the difference in the day. The first part of a hike with the children is usually to most grueling regardless of the terrain, so I try as much as possible to make the 1st part easy. So we took a tuk-tuk with MR Nelson the 1km up to the train station and bought 4 tickets (40 cents) for Kithalella on the 6:40 train. The train saved us another 2 km of walking down the train track to the trail-head. That is an easy 3km we di not walk. A huge head-start. I had already re-conned the trail, but we missed the turn for fear of picking up an unwanted guide up the mountain. The left turn is about 500 meters past the Kithalella train depot. We crossed the bridge and headed immediately uphill on the steep trail to the left right after the bridge. After the initial short steep part, the trail gently slopes through some high grasses. The village is on the right. We rested at a point on the ridge where we could see where we slept out on Little Adam’s Peak.That was an amazing night. Ezra was definitely the slowest, but we were making good time. The second part of the trail is pretty steep, but Ezra and Viena led most of the way up. We were up at the tip of Ella Rock in less than 2 hours from the bridge. We had a chocolate peanut butter jelly picnic at the top. A nice shady place. The trail is half in shade and half out of shade. We saw about 10 other hikers on the trail. Half of those hikers had guides with them. The descent was slow going. Viena slipped once and Ezra was at Dwana’s side for most of the walk down. We arrived at the bridge where the local children were being bathed by their mom. Ezra and Viena immediately joined them. We had heard about a Cobra but we did not see any snakes. The most difficult part of the whole hike was walking the 2km back on the railroad tracks in the heat of the day. The coolest part of the hike was hearing from a local family to move off the tracks because the train was coming … and the train did come … toot! toot!

BARBIES AND BUDDHAS ELLA TOWN SRI LANKA

Ella is building guesthouses like crazy. We took an early morning walk to the Buddhist Temple to see what all the chanting was about. Turns out, there were three monks out front and the chanting from coming from a recording blaring over the loudspeakers – a cassette tape recording. Not so cool, but we did see another black dog and white dog again acting as greeters for the Temple. We ate a breakfast of bread, jelly and tea – one less meal I have to worry about. Fresh pineapples and papayas too. Yum. We walked around the neighborhood through all the under construction guesthouses – just waiting for the tourist way to arrive and I am sure the wave will come. We are loving our guesthouse. Mr. Nelson guided us on a walk this afternoon to see the nine-arches railway bridge. Quite a site and such a short distance from our guesthouse. However, both Ezra and Viena were walking like they were 2-years-old. Mr Nelson was so patience with the pace that they dictated. A normal 45 minute walk took almost 2 hours.I had my foot looked at by a health professional for the boogie board wound that is not healing.$5 for the visit plus oral antibiotics. I am packing for tomorrows adventure up Ella Rock. I am not really feeling great with my foot and really all my left leg feeling all sorts of pain. Hopefully, a hike up Ella Rock is just what I need.

SUNRISE FROM ADAMS PEAK (LITTLE) 9 ARCHES BRIDGE

So little space to write about the last 24 hours. At midnight the winds continued to blow our tent that was perched on the ridge near the summit of Little Adam’s Peak in Ella Sri Lanka. The full moon light shining bright. We were all huddled inside one of our tents. Ezra was sleeping great – first to go to sleep. Viena stayed awake a while longer after she performed some laughter therapy to the delight of the many Buddhist Monks in the valley below. I can just hear their conversations. “Do you hear the laughter on the ridge?” “That is just the wind.” “No, listen. Child laughter from the mountain tops.” “Must be mountains laughing at the full moon to come down and play.” I was thinking we would have heard more Buddhist chanting through the night since the full moon was here, but all we heard were the crickets, the blowing grasses, the leaves in the trees dancing with the wind and the flapping of the flags on the summit of Little Adams Peak. I tried to think of all the things a Buddhist Monk might try to think about and meditate on if they were placed on this ridge, but all I could think about was the wind and how I needed just a little thicker sleeping bag. I was the wind block for the others in a thin grey sleeping bag liner – an even though the temperature was above 60F, I could not make myself comfortable. The night was fabulous. Ella Rock could be seen watching over us. The wind eventually disappeared and my dreams appeared. The sunrise was magnificent and we did not need to wake up early and hike an hour to be here. We just woke up and watched the sunrise. We ate a little breakfast and then heading down the mountain. We walked down with our load alot lighter. I tried to take lots of pictures, but there were pictures I did not take: The frog lizard jumping tarantula creature being blown out of the tree and onto Dwana. The flying rotti over the side of the mountain. And my favorite non-picture – Viena Laughing hysterically in the tent on the ridge of Little Adam’s Peak with the full moon blaring down. This whole adventure was Viena’s idea, so the little Buddha inside her was incredibly happy that she was able to be here now.

SLEEPING ATOP ADAMS PEAK (LITTLE)

Today I saw a small dog with antlers, a monkey in a tree, and a mongoose. Nice to be able to see creatures in the wild on small little walks in the neighborhood. Sri Lanka – where neighborhoods are still wild. We woke up before 5AM this morning to walk up little Adams Peak to catch the sunrise. I thought the early start would be difficult for Ezra and Viena but they did great climbing all the steps. They pretended they were freezing at the top. This morning’s walk up has been the first time since Maui that they have had a sense of cold – minus my attempt of Kinabalu. An early morning cool walk to a great sunrise with views of Ella Rock or Dwana Rock Ravana Rock. I stared over one too many times at Ella Rock – “Foley, come climb me!”And so after our morning picnic we walked down and I immediately headed up to climb Ella Rock. I was trying my best not to become lost, but eventually, I did get lost … so a helpful guide took me to the junction of the main trail, which was steep all the way to the summit. A nice view from the top, but the coolness of the morning had long worn off and now the noon-time sun was heating up the day. I met a couple of American Brothers from Texas on the descent and we chatted all the way down. Good to talk with Amercan travellers. We are not alone. Now we prepare to camp atop Little Adams Peak.

BYE BYE ARUGAM BAY HELLO ELLA
We are on our way to the highlands of Ella. We could have jammed into one of the many Sri Lankan for the 5-hour journey, but instead we opted to pay $80 for an A/C van ride. Worth it so far, but there is nothing lie riding a public bus transport to acquire a felling about the people. Of course, all of the people travelling on the bus have zero luggage and not many children and the probably know exactly where they are going. Both Viena and Ezra are asleep which they probably would not be asleep on the bus, or if they were asleep, they would be asleep on us . And someone sleeping on you in this hot climate is not very comfortable. The scenery is pleasant. Blue skies, white clouds against greens trees. Grey big rock mountains. So many colors here in Sri Lanka. Monkey trees. Lots of activity near the towns. Bikes, walkers, umbrellas, tuk-tuks, babies being carried, buses, delivery trucks, cats, dogs, goats, cows, big trucks. We had a little trouble finding our guesthouse, mainly because there are signs for so many guesthouse. We finally found Freedom Guest House – Our home for the next seven days. Once we were settled in , I gathered everyone to hike up nearby Little Adam’s Peak. The trail is so close by. Our place, the Freedom Guesthouse, is clean and cool enough with no A/C here in Ella. 3000 feet of elevation. The hike went past a village and tea plantation. Soon we encounter some people selling items, but not too bad. We are becoming used to saying “No and “no thank you”. The walk is mostly in the shade with the beautiful scenic Ella Rock in the distance.I can see why many flock here to spend time in this beauty. the prices are not too bad I was able to by dinner for all of us for < $10. Vegetable Kotthu, vegetable noodles and spring rolls with some rice. The bed are extra big here – 7 foot long. Usually half my leg hangs off the edge or drills into the foot frame – not on this bed. Ella has been a good choice. The family here has been very welcoming and hospitable. Lot of guesthouses here and more being built, so hospitality and reviews will probably separate the good from the bad. This one is definitely a Good find. I sat on the porch and stared out at the starry sky. A good way to end the day of travel.

A belated birthday present of a spa-like treatment for my face in Pottivil.

The mischievous monkey on the road and the girl-watching game were two funny parts of our day. Another early morning – We were jumping the locked gate of our guesthouse before 6AM. Only the wild dogs of Arugam bBay were waiting for us. Today, we were making a sunrise pilgrimage to the Buddhist Temple along the beach. We have been told that everyday buses arrive from Colombo carrying pilgrims – an 8 hour journey – just to see this Temple. An 8 hour bus ride cost about $3. Believe it or not. We have been told that 20 years ago, maybe as recent as 10 years ago a loaf of bread cost 4 cents. Now bread has risen (do not say a word), bread has risen to 60 cents a loaf. I want to take back what I had said earlier about Sri Lankan Sunrises not being spectacular, because this morning’s sunrise was spectacular. Soft light. Big su. Nice water. Great Temperature. We walked along the beach North. Nice to be able to walk and not be bothered by beeping (that’s beeping not bleeping) tuk-tuk drivers or others asking if you want a ride or where are you going. One guy did approach us in the middle of the beach of nowhere and two other young boys at the Temple were trying to be friendly enough. My cautiousness is not able to completely tell is the friendly is genuine. I wish I had just one Sri Lankan friend I could trust and they would interpret for me what these encounters are all about. The Temple was interesting with one set of old ruins with 3 people carved out of stone. Nothing really special, but the statues looked pretty old. After the Temple, we took the back way into the city of Pottivil. While walking the back streets of Pootivil we were watched on every corner. I do not think many foreigners have attempted this route, at least not with two too cute light children. People, mostly children, would pop their heads out of their gates to catch a look at the foreigners with the baby foreigners walking through their dirt street neighborhood. We saw a number of all-in-black-Muslim women, which we have really not seen except in the airports. As we neared town, Dwana pointed out a Man-Spa (Barber Shop), so seeing how I had not shaved in over a week, Viena and Dwana convinced me to have a shave – a real shave – with real sharp real razor blades. I even paid extra for a scalp shake – brain vibration – not sure how to describe the experience. The barber had a bumper sticker of Psalm 91:10. Look it up. I survived, and now I have the closest shave I have ever had – just ask Viena or Dwana. We caught a tuk-tuk back to Arugam Bay. Viena loves riding in the Tuk-tuks. The heat of the day was upon us so we rested in A/C and prepared for our elephant tuk-tuk ride that I was talked into by our tuk-tuk driver ($10). On our evening tuk-tuk ride we were able to spot 4 elephants which is exactly the same number of girls that Dwana and I spotted on the streets of Pottivil as we played our new game – “spot a girl”. We must have seen 400 men and just 4 women. Any questions?

I cannot believe I am in Sri Lanka.
So far today we have eaten lots of bread and bread products. I stopped the bread truck that moves down the road like an ice cream truck (music and all). I had Viena’s clothes on a hanger, but I ran down to the main road waving my hand like a kid in the summer who hears the ice cream truck. The stopped for the American bread eater in Sri Lanka. Dwana and I are dreaming of ways we can start our Sri Lankan Guacamole Factory. We took a walk to the lagoon area across the street. Of course, tuk-tuk after tuk-tuk followed us. One warned us of crocodiles which scared Viena , the other tuk-tuk mentioned that there were no crocodiles here, but that he would graciously take us to see crocodiles. This made Viena excited. Go figure. I do not mind telling these guys NO all the time. The drivers are friendly enough. The people are friendly enough. We walked along the “crocodile infested” lagoon and up and around some fishing shacks. The wind was picking up. We had a great view of the bay and the point. We crossed the bridge and took shade near the Stupa before catching a tuk-tuk into Pottivil. We took the scenic way past the Buddhist Temple. Maybe tomorrow we will check out the Temple. Pottivil is a crazy mad house of a street compared to Arugam Bay. Buses. Tuk-Tuks. Food Markets. Rotti. Men, Men, and More Men walking the streets, standing on the sides of the street, gathered near the tree on the street. What will this street look like in 20 years? This evening we went on search of Elephants and Crocodile. Dwana spotted the first Elephant far off in a field – outlined just for her against the green trees. Big. Big Creature.

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A nice sunrise spent on Big Point, Arugam Bay.
My birthday present – air conditioning. We moved locations – still in Arugam Bay, but farther away from all the center noise. I cannot imagine how this place will be in 20 years, I only know that change will come. I guess I will have to return to find out. Everyone is tired out from the back to back sunrise excursions. Viena’s last comment before going to bed was, “Daddy, what are we going to do in the morning?” This morning we were out the door before 6AM for my birthday sunrise walk to BIG POINT. We arrived just in time for the sunrise. The sunrises are not so spectacular here. The sun rises and the day heats up. We watched the surfers surf the big waves og BIG POINT. Looked fun, but not for me today. We did end up catching a few waves at Baby Point where all the beginners learn to surf. I asked a girl with a rental board if we could use her board for a few waves – another birthday present. Viena and Ezra both loved playing on the surfboard in the water and I was able to catch a few Baby waves – nothing like the boogie boarding waves I caught earlier in the week at Naundry Point. As we were walking home, the fishermen were coming back with their boats. They had about 10 small fish each. A fisherman gave Ezra a tiny marlin fish. We moved to another guesthouse. An interesting bathroom experience this morning. I thought I was back in college living with roommates. Dwana and I were trying to use the bathroom of another cabana because our bathroom was being repaired, but the other cabana unbeknownst to us was occupied. The motorbike ride to fetch chocolate cake and ice cream. A celebration of flies. A bright moon and clear starry skies. And the wind. Do not forget the welcoming wind.

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A beautiful sunrise around 6:00AM. The surf was epic. Epic meaning I was in the water enjoying the surf. Any day I can do this is a good day. My first wave was the best. A huge HUGE roller that I caught and looked over at my camera person who was just smiling camera at their side. Dwana was able to take some other good shots. Both lenses now are not able to auto focus, so taking photos is a little more challenging. The day is going to be a hot one.

My last day of 44. I look out here sitting on the sands of Arugam Bay and what do I see. A few surfers surfing the late afternoon waves of Naundry Point, A wild dog here and there, Baby point and Big Point seen in the far distance, couples in and out of the water, boats launching from the shore, surfers seen afar at Big Point, sand dunes in the North, an unceasing swell, a pocketed cloudy sky – high carpeted clouds that let just enough blue sky in. The morning boogie board photo shoot worked out well. The waves showed up all the way from Antarctica with a tropical tan. Yes, I could stay here for a while. The flies are bad here, but not as bad as Borneo. Rare to see a mosquito. The culture of Sri Lanka, even though we are technically still in a Muslim community is more pleasantly presented with more colors and more smiles. Smile and all Sri Lanka smiles with you – frown and Sri Lanka still smiles. We ate a $3 breakfast. Rotti with cheese and egg. Hard boiled eggs layered in melted cheese. The heat of the day controls the mood. When the mid-day is hot, everyone is on edge. The evening relaxes everyone. Only the guesthouse owners know the day of the week. The growing half moon has been spotted, but is hiding now.

A great day full of surf and sun and sand on the East Coast of Sri Lanka – arugam Bay
They never tell you this in the guide books about Arugam Bay – mostly Muslim. Not a problem for us. I was just prepared to not hear the 5 times a day Muslim Prayer from the loud-speakers. But I guess this that is another one of the cool things about A-Bay – besides the cool name A-Bay. A-Bay: an Islamic surf point in the Indian Ocean where girls run around in bikinis less than 100 meters from the Mosque. Mostly young European tourists here. Most people guess that I am from France. Maybe the shaved head. Foley in French mean CRAZY – I think. I will find out. They other thing that they do not tell you in the guide books is that there is a perfectly good surf-point right in front of our place – another right handed break off of the rock. I have been boogie boarding the point – let’s call it Naundry Point, which means THANK YOU in Tamil. Most of the people are Tamil here in Arugam Bay. The Tamils have the best surf point in all of Sri Lanka. Baby cries and beach breaks can be heard from our guesthouse. What a great location. Sam’s Hut. I have been boogie boarding ths point for the last two days. Naundry Point. We went on a walk early to escape the heat. The heat being at 8:00AM and does not let up abate until the afternoon clouds roll in. Just us and the wild dogs on the beach this morning.

We are enjoying the beach, the people, and the cheap food of Arugam Bay. Nice Breakfast 600 rupiah = 5 bucks to feed 4.
Tuesday has arrived so quickly. Yes, the sun is rising to begin another day. But today for the first time, we are experiencing a Indian Ocean Sunrise. Just saying the words makes this travel romantic feeling like I am some where new rush through my soul. Have I been here before? I am looking. 44. Arugam Bay. Sri Lanka. A beautiful beach with extremely powerful surf and clear water – the color that you want your water to be. Island water color. Not Borneo Brown. Our place is only 50 meters from the beach. The waves can be heard crashing through the night. A small village is here with the local people running guesthouses, restaurants, small markets, surfboard rentals, and of course transportation with tuk-tuk drivers with the classic “beep” sound that I have heard all too many times now. BEEP – meaning, “Hello foreigner, I am driving close to you if you if you want to move out of the way or if you want a ride.” A nice small quaint village. Families still living in close quarters with the used to be family housing that has been turned into guesthouses by the business minded ones. This is how all the small, fishing turned surfing villages started. And growth, big growth will eventually come to this beautiful place. The sun is out, but not hot yet – 8:05 AM. Ezra and Viena woke up on Malaysian time, but not too early. Now, as I write, Ezra and Viena are coloring themselves dark with the sand on the beach. The waves just keep pouring in. This is not a kid friendly surf, but then again, we are all not kids – just kids at heart. I am going to try and rent a boogie board and fins later to test out the waves. Oh yeah! the waves are more than ride-able. Check.

Travel through the night to reach Arugam BAy. Was it worth it? You bet cha!

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At the stroke of midnight, the Sri Lankan Immigration officer stamped my passport. 12 AUG 2013. We have officially entered and started our adventure on the island of many names – the island of much change. First, I needed to find an ATM which is conveniently (NOT) located right in front of people sitting in rows of chairs waiting to check in for the flight (or waiting for something else) who have nothing better to do than watch all the foreigners entering in their PIN codes and withdrawing large sums of travel money and stuffing the money into their pockets, purse, or passport bag. And watching this is probably more entertaining than a Bollywood movie (actually the Bollywood movies are quite good, I love the dance scenes that they throw into the middle of their movies, and the … OK). Every time I fly into a new place, I try to use the ATM as opposed to a currencu changer because I think the ATM gives the best exchange rate (maybe, maybe not). But this has been my strategy and the strategy of other travellers. But you never know if the ATM is going to work. In Bali at the airport, the ATM did not work. Thankfully we found one that did or our around the world trip might have ended sooner than we planned. So, when the ATM does work and spits out $500 of the local currency (65,000 Sri Lankan Rupiah), I usually do a little jig in front of the ATM camera. And I have noticed other travellers doing the ATM money dance as well … almost like the dance you see in Vegas when someone wins at the slot machines. Feel free to jump up and dance right now.Next was the phone. For 1000 Rupiah ($8) I was able to receive 2 GB of data and a phone to make calls. Next step. And remember, this is all being done at 1AM in the morning (3:30AM Malaysian time). Next step – find our taxi driver holding the sign saying FOLEY. I have already perused past the 50 or so taxi drivers holding signs of other people, but I did not see the famous FOLEY sign I wanted to see. A slight worry, but Rana our driver shower up moments later. I had told him that usually we are the last through immigration, but this time, I brought my A-game. I pre-filled out the Sri Lanka entry passes on the plane, and had already registered for our Sri Lankan Visas online a week ago. So, we were quick out of the gate. Out the door and into our non-A/C van to drive through the night. Rana drove through the night. First observation was neon lit colorful spirals lighting up Buddha statues in a case on various corners through out the city. I tried to stay awake. I thought I did a great job. I know how difficult driving through the night can be. The drive took about 10 hours in all for about 300 kilometers. That can give you a hint about the conditions of the roads. We stopped a few times for food and toilet breaks. Most of the journey had people living on both sides of the road. Rana informed me that people prefer living roadside so they can put open their market right on the road and easily sell their products to people passing by. They also to do need to walk far to hail a bus. We arrived in Arugam Bay around 10AM. Worth it. Definitely worth every hour of the drive. Nice waves. Nice sand. Nice color of water. People playing on the beach. Beach attire. Sri Lankans – mostly men and boys enjoying the water. We walked to the big surf point at sunset. The second break is interestingly perpendicular to the sandy shoreline. So, while you are sitting on the beach looking out, instead of the surfer moving across the wave, the surfer moves down the beach in front of you. We all have FAT LIPS and FAT tongues from the unknown. Maybe the salt of the Indian Ocean, maybe the spice of Sri Lankan Food, Maybe the heat. No A/C in the room, but too tired to matter.