Eleven days in Sri Lanka

Our latest trip to Sri Lanka was not the easiest nor the most fun due to ill health, the nation wide town/village/city council elections and lack of news of the Japanese disasters and consequences as well as other very significant world news. The first two of these kept us quietly at home trying in vain to find out about the third from non existent radio news. 

Olu Ella Inn - a home among the rubber trees and tea bushes.

 Olu Ella Inn, our home away from home, is in a remote ish place and we could get only fm radio and limited tv that did not really cover significant world news. Of course the local body elections and commentary were of paramount importance to everyone else, so we resisted the urge to hurl the radio into the river and went for a swim there ourselves instead. At least I did, as I was not the one who was ill. [For once the need to carry medicines and first aid items was proved wise as without the three different kinds of antibiotics in my bag, my Life's Travelling Mate would have been in a great deal of trouble indeed. When we go to Sri Lanka we carry 50 - 60 kg baggage between us with about 7kg being my clothes, about the same for my LTM,  about 5kg of medicines and the rest is things needed at Olu Ella and for other people - books, toys, clothes and so on. I am constantly being told that I carry too much so it was nice to be complimented on my foresight  on this occasion!]

My bag being loaded. Our bags were the only ones he did not throw onto the belt.               Must have known I had my camera on him.

The local body elections created a lot of activity. Signs such as these were painted on rocks, roads and pasted on lamp posts and fences everywhere. the Army presence was noticeable, schools and government offices closed for three days, buses didn't run as they were said to be needed for election duties. I guess that meant that some people would not be able to get to the voting booths too. Even our quiet area had its share of processions of party official 4 wheel drive vehicles blasting along the narrow one way road and excited males zipping noisily around in tuk tuks and on motorbikes.

The need to stay in one place and to not have anything that I should/must do was actually very restful, relaxing and recreational. The weather was quite hot although there were a few sudden amazing storms in the late afternoons. I spent quite a few hours sitting down beside the river watching and listening to the water, to the small birds that zigzagged after invisible flying insects around me , to the dragonflies zipping to and fro and feeling very still and content. There is a massive boulder jutting out into the flow and this was my favourite spot. 

World's view from by riverside boulder

 Feet enjoying the clear cool water while receiving a fishy pedicure, eyes following the quick darting walk-on-water insects while the camera finger tries in vain to depress the button at the right moment, the time melted away. The babbling water was so inviting that I often slipped into it clothes and all. I found that if I stayed still, even bigger fish wanted to extend the pedicure to a manicure and more. I think that these were a kind of spotted trout and it was great to see them here again as last year someone sneaked in and fished by dynamite.

My natural, free fishy pedicure

 Once my LTM had recovered somewhat from both the bug and the trip to the "private hospital" we hired a car and went to Kandy for 24 hours on our own and to pick up some jewellery that we had ordered on our last trip.

Our driver was a local boy whom we have hired several times in the past. I believe that although he is a Sinhalese, he is married to a Tamil lady and I find that interesting because the only other such marriages I have encountered have had the couples need to leave Sri Lanka because of problems from both sets of families. 

View coming down to Yatiyantota from Olu Ella.

Kapok floating away. My LTM used to pick this to earn pocket money

 We were in no hurry to get to Kandy so we stopped several times to enjoy the views and take photos. We stopped at Thirst Aid  to have morning tea. This tea shop was one of the very few such places in existence in the 1960s and was actually the tea shop for a tea factory. Today the tea factory is in a disused state and the tea shop changed little but the tea was very refreshing and the short eats very yummy.

Colourful inflatable toys

The many different types of bananas seen at this stall attract a lot of tourist attention while those in the know do the tasting. I was interested to see the pink bananas as they are uncommon - a specialty!

I have mentioned in a previous post that the last King of Lanka who reigned from Kandy was betrayed  by one Ekneligoda. It was near here that he showed the British a way to get into Kandy, thereby making history and betraying his country. Beautiful view though!

Sri Lankan drivers honk their car horns in much the same way as ants communicate with each other when passing in opposite directions. Some honk so automatically when they see another vehicle that this sign doesn't overide their habit. Thinking of them as ants was a great help in dealing with this noisy habit.

We stayed again at Nature's Walk guesthouse where we were very comfortable and well looked after. The only nuisance is the troop of monkeys that harrass everyone and are very aggressive. I went up to our room to get my camera to take a photo of a baby one that I thought was cute, only to meet this one as I came out. He lunged at me, trying to snatch my camera, so much so that I was afraid of having my arm ripped open. Fortunately the guesthouse staff were after him and chased him off. Not that easy to do though. Last time we were here some tourists were feeding them bananas so that encourages them to hang around.

When in Kandy, we often eat at the Devon Resturant. I think that this is actually the former Elephant House resturant of the 1960s - 80s and the menu is very much the same - short eats, Sri Lankan Meals, some Chinese dishes, cakes and icecreams. This chicken fried rice was served very hot, cost Rs 260 ie AUD2.60 and was a single serve. Massive meal - we couldn't finish it. But delicious - especially because it was hot. I find that Sri Lankan curries are often served quite cold which doesn't appeal that much to me.

 After a quiet time in Kandy we returned to Olu Ella, stopping along the way to do fruit and vegetable shopping. I just love the names of places in Sri Lanka. This is the main street in Kotiyakumbura. Kotiya means "tiger", kumbura is "paddyfield. I am told that there was once a terrible tiger there bothering the villagers and they chased him away from the paddyfields forever. Anyway, this is on the main road from Kandy to Colombo - just in case you come across it!

This is the Yatiyantota bus stand and one of the tuk tuk places as well. I am told that there are 500 registered tuk tuks in the small town. The drivers usually rent them from their business owners and have to pay a weekly rate. So many of them seem to just sit around with nothing to do all day and there are so many stories of the banks and money lenders taking them for unpaid loans.

Yatiyantota is always our last stop before home. Here I hop into the egg and chicken shop to stock up on those items - as well as icecream! Every time I do this, I remember the days when I lived full time in Sri Lanka and had to queue for bread, when chicken was a rarity and only for Colombo people, when the shelves in the shops were bare of any goods. We were fortunate to have a fridge which we had imported so I used to make my own ice cream using powdered milk.

At the chicken and egg shop, this Tamil lady looked so beautiful in her sari that I asked if I could take her photo. As soon as she looked at the camera she became very serious. Isn't the sari gorgeous? Seeing her with her grandchild gave me thoughts of our return home to our family.

Shopping at the markets is a lot of fun. Well, I usually don't have to buy much so I can look around and take in the unique sounds of people calling out their prices and urging shoppers to come and buy and to enjoy the many different smells of the spices, fruits and vegetables piles on the ground or low boxes and planks. This market was a Sunday market at Gonagaldeniya. Another interesting place name meaning the field of the rocks and stag.

Leafy vegetablesfor sale at Gonagaldeniya. One of the famous dishes these are used for is a 'mallung". To make this, you slice the leaves finely and lightly cook them with garlic, ginger, spices and maybe coconut. Just taste as you go and decide what else to add. Good for your digestion and some things like gotakola are good for your brain as well - especially if you have memory problems - so I am told. I do think that my memory has improved a little!

We had a couple of days for more rest - on my part - and checking on carpark building progress for my LTM - he was feeling a bit better - before packing our bags for our return trip. I spent more time down at the river and almost caught a blue kingfisher on camera, explored the rocks and boulders and sat on the balcony,knitted and did Sudoko. Wow ! I can solve the "Challenging" levels now!

Our last glimpse of Sri Lanka is Negombo below us.  As we have travel plans for the rest of 2011 that will take us to a completely different part of the world, we say Ayubowan. 

We are now heading for Kuala Lumpur, a city that grows before your eyes and is still holds enough excitement for us that we plan on returning yet again. More about that later!


Auybowan Lanka. Good Luck and Blessings All