No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem...

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I've been dragging with this blog because I didn't want to start it by telling everyone that I got so sick I thought I'd need an IV to rehydrate myself. But, there, that's out of the way and I never had to go to the hospital...

If I were to get married tomorrow, my honeymoon would be in Sri Lanka. For the first time since I've been traveling, I really wanted to be with a significant other instead of Royal. Royal's a great traveling companion, but some of the beaches and sunset settings lend themselves more towards a romantic atmosphere than to two dudes traveling the world.

I feel as if I'm cheating again because I'm feeling some serious "blog-lag." I'm writing this blog from Vietnam which means that I've been through three countries in the past two weeks and it seems that if I don't write a blog about a given country/event within a week, all creativity is lost. Another crime is that I didn't take too many pictures while in Sri Lanka because it was time for some serious unwinding after India.

After making my way through sickness and the Central Highlands via public transportation (some sick kid threw up on my leg in the middle of a six hour ride on a school bus), I spent five days without wearing shoes of any kind. If I wasn't reading on the beach or futzing about town, I was writing blogs about my India experience which made me truly realize the double edged sword concerning these blogs. There are some times that tey take so long to write that you are definately giving up on possible opportunities elsewhere.

I realize that my blogs about India were rather negative and have made a conscious effort to be more positive and upbeat when it comes to my future blogs, but despite the fact that I am having the time of my life, literally, the strange and weird things that happen are just more interesting to write about. I doubt very much that those of you reading want to hear me say again and again that I sat on the beach for a week and did little but read and write, but that's what Sri Lanka was all about for me.

The local people were extremely nice and the food was nothing that'll make the cover of Gourmet magazine, but I don't suppose anyone goes to Sri Lanka for the cuisine. I stayed at a Beach inhabited by surfers that spend weeks and months at a time surfing dueing swells and rebuilding the town when there are no waves.

Most importantly, I got to ride an elephant. It was slow, smelly, hairy and named Somalia and it was everything I'd been dreaming about. I highly suggest that everyone ride a trunker through the Jungles of Sri Lanka at some point in their life. You won't regret it.

Coming up...a trip to Bangkok, Angkor Wat and Saigon...

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Photos

Trunker model
These guys all knew how to pose for a picture

Out Hut
Cost $1.25 per person per night

The Hillton
One of the coolest places to hang out at in Aragum Bay

The Beach
Aragum Bay's fishing season was over so there were hundreds of boats on the beach

Guerilla Photography
From a moving car

Riding Trunkers
Its really not that exciting but I'd been talking about this for four months now...

Tsunami Proof
Anything that survived the Tsunami and still works wore one of these stickers...

Trunker model
These guys all knew how to pose for a picture

Elephant Dance
This one was swaying back and forth continuously for over half an hour and we're told that meant that he wanted to be washed...

Aragum Bay Hut
After walking around for a few days without wearing my flops, I forgot to put them on when I got on the bus. My rainbows are gone but they will not be forgotten...