Sri Lanka Trip

One of the main reasons we are over here is to expose ourselves to a variety of cultures and life experiences. Our trip to Sri Lanka was unlike anything any of us had experienced before. It is similar to Mexico with its tropical beauty and staggering poverty. But the traffic is different, British Colony so they drive on the left, they have roundabouts that have no traffic lights and are essentially a free for all. As we were being driven you moved through traffic as you would walk through a crowd of people, no lanes, near misses galore but unlike Qatar the speeds are much slower. A drive of 150km took us 3 hours on a main road.

We stayed the first night in the capital city Colombo and we were struck by the number of military check stops, army is everywhere. Our hotel was right across the street from the parliment and right behind that was the main army barracks, safe to say we felt safe.
This was the view from the our hotel in Colombo
Parliament, across the street.

We had a driver take us south to Unawatuna beach at the southern most point of Sri Lanka. Our diver was a very nice man named Saman who was Sinhalese and full of facts and information. A typical 3-5 hour drive down the coast took us 8 hours.
We stopped at this hut, the local fellow was asleep on a cot next to his coconuts. These are King coconuts, the milk is apparently good for your gut, but I feel its an acquired taste.

Chewing on cinnamon inside the van!

As you dive down the coast there is evidence of tsunami destruction everywhere. There is not much money in this country and the restoration I am sure will take many more years.
This monument is a memorial to the victims of the 2006 tsunami.
Saman took the opportunity to show us a variety of shops which we appreciated. The first shop sold traditional masks and the basement had an interesting museum. We got a 20 minute guided tour ....

Our Driver had an eagle eye and spotted all sorts of cool things as we drove past...
An iguana
Workers in the rice paddies
Buffalo
We also stopped at a local mine, which was really a third world experience.

There men 8 meter s below ground digging up buckets of mud. The mud is winched up like in a well,its dumped and panned like gold
And the resulting collection of pebbles had several moonstones and one very nice blue moonstone.
We arrived at dinner time at a beautiful quaint hotel called the Nor-Lanka. The Husband and wife owners are from Norway and Sri lanka respectively.
The Nor-lanka
Helge, the Norwegian owner and his son NoahAnoma, Lenore and Breana.
Dinner on the patio

Anoma's brother Lal was our Tuktuk driver and showed us many sights in Unawatuna. Tuk tuk was a blast to cruise around in, they don't go fast but they go anywhere and they're easy to park!
He took us to a turtle hatchery where we got to handle some of the residents
To a tea plantation. I am not a big tea drinker but may be because of the setting the tea was very good! But what do I know
The tea bushes are just behind our guide. This white (Royal) tea may only be cut by virgins, really ... Actually now they must be unwed women .... with no kids ...

Lal drove Conor and I to the local surfing beach
on the way home from surfing we passed a group of stilt fishermen in a nearby bay ...

On the roads there are many many motorcycles. All adults must wear helmets, but not the children??? We never saw a kid on a motorcycle with a helmet.

Go figure !!

On the Beach and around our hotel...
There were monkeys in the trees behind the hotel
They were very entertaining first hing in the morning and in the afternoon! Lote of aerial acrobatics!
Then there was this gypsy who brought his little basket down the beach and in the basket there was a little surprise ...



The flowers in Sri Lanka are beautiful
Sri Lanka's national flower - Blue Lotus

For our last 2 days we stayed in fancy dancy hotel outside the city of Galle.

Galle reminded me of Quebec City with its fortifications and old town located inside the walls. Main difference here is that inside the walls was a catholic church, a budhist temple and a mosque. The fort was Dutch not French

Galle lighthouse at the fort
Clock tower built in 1883
Battlements
Courtyard and a well
Sri Lanka Sunset

There was a wedding ceremony at the hotel, an there were local drummers and dancers hired ...

Our last day

There are a few more pitures at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35830698@N04/sets/72157622808599299/

Anyway, time to get back to school work....