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Published: December 28th 2014
Buddha with attending angels?
Looks very much like a church tableau, huh?I never finished my travel blog from late 2011. Sorry for the delay but better late then never!
We intended to spend 2 1/2 months in the land of Mowgli and Baloo but after 5 weeks we were ready to Quit India. Sri Lanka was an easy next destination as it's an island shaped like a droplet of milk dribbled a mere 20 miles from the tip of India’s nipple. Upon arriving our first thought was, "Oh my gawd, it's soooo clean!" However, after several weeks in India our concept of clean was likely out of whack. Spend a day in Delhi and you’ll start thinking of downtown LA as a smog-free oasis of sparkling buildings and spotless streets.
The other can’t-miss difference between Sri Lanka and India are the giant Buddha statues scattered about. While India is predominantly Hindu, this island is 80% Buddhist. A funky example is the Gangaramaya Temple in the capital city of Colombo. It doesn’t look like much from the street but take a step inside and you’ll find the most delightfully eclectic hodge-podge of antiques and religious relics. The indoor and outdoor spaces lack any coherent plan
Fantastic sculptures
I've never seen a Buddhist temple like this before with all these colorful sculptures covered in glossy paint. or flow which makes exploring it feel like a disorienting trip through a carnival fun house maze. The first room is crowded with statues, some 20 feet tall, brightly painted and lacquered to a high gloss. A very Chistianesque tableau of the Buddha surrounded by angels and devotees dominates one corner. Outside are an odd assortment of stone carvings and batches of Chinese bronzes. We turned a corner to find a young elephant being bathed by a temple worker and I wondered when the “doot doot doodle oodle” carny music was going to start up.
On one side of a plaza a gaggle of worshipers carrying incense and other religious crap walked in ceremonial circles around a large tree. Behind a museum filled with random bits and bobs (e.g. pocket watches and straight razors) are bleachers lined with dozens of seated Buddhas and bell-shaped stone stupas. In another room you’ll find Buddhas in various postures and sizes sheltered by an umbrella and framed by a pair of humongous elephant tusks. Throw in a few dozen cavorting house cats and this temple would be a Buddhist hoarder’s dream come true.
Near Colombo we caught a
train with benches lining the exterior walls. We took a seat facing inward without thinking about the inherent risk of the carriage’s configuration. As we were pulling out of a station, I felt something scratch at the back of my head then tug on my ponytail. An involuntary scream escaped my mouth before my conscious brain even registered what was happening. Someone had reached through the window and snatched the baseball cap right off of my head along with my sunglasses that were perched on top of the bill. I jumped up and looked out to see a young man striding off with my goods. He looked over his shoulder at me and I yelled, “Asshole!” Toby rushed to the doorway but the train was already rolling too fast to attempt recovery of my stuff. A man on the platform grabbed the thief by the shirt and acted like he was about to pummel him but then let him go. Pretty ballsy to attempt such a brazen theft in broad daylight. Bet he was disappointed to find he took such a risk for a cheapo pair of drugstore sunglasses instead of Dolce & Gabbanas.
After that test
of my autonomous nervous system, we took a bus to the beachside town of Unawatuna. It’s a lovely crescent beach though marred by a couple of restaurants built so close to the water that the waves slapped against their big ugly concrete foundations. The next morning the young Italian proprietor of our hotel rushed into the dining area crying, “Look!” then showed us photos of heavy machinery ripping buildings apart. We ran to the beach and saw tourists and locals alike gaping at several partially destroyed buildings. The government was tearing down any structure deemed too close to the high tide line and they were pretty exacting about where that line was drawn. One hotel room had only two walls demolished. I’m not sure what they’re going to do with half a hotel room but I’m glad we were too frugal to pay for a beachfront view. Some buildings remained relatively intact with only their verandas torn off and lying in rubble. Places further down the beach got the message and began dismantling wood and bamboo decks before the wrecking crew could reduce them to toothpicks.
We rented a motorbike and spent a day sightseeing inside the
ancient fort at Galle (pronounced like the Roman “Gaul”.) The Portuguese initially constructed this over 400 years ago on a promontory jutting out into the Indian Ocean. Eventually the Dutch blew the Portuguese to smithereenies and fortified the earthen walls with enormous stone ones supported by angular buttresses. For hundreds of years these walls have protected inhabitants from everything from old world cannon balls to the tidal waves that laid waste to the rest of the city in the 2004 tsunami. There are crystalline views of the ocean from atop the ramparts and it’s also a great spot for people watching. Kids dive off tall rock formations into the sea below while others play cricket on grass fields overlooking colonial villas and churches.
Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, was a vibrant trading center for Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch, English and Southeast Asians. A minority of Christians and Muslims still remain and their ancient places of worship have a quirky Sri Lankan style. Before entering a Christian church you’re expected to remove your shoes. Mosques could be mistaken for churches as they’re missing the usual sky piercing minarets. Buddhist temples have a few Hindu statues sprinkled about for
some extra good joojoo.
The national dish is “rice and curry.” “Rice” comes before “curry” because it’s considered the most important part of the meal. The schools here must gloss over the relatively poor nutritional value of rice. The delicious curry side dishes often include meat, pumpkin, green beans, lentils, potato, green leafy veggies, okra, and eggplant. However, a meal like this will set you back $7-9 which was rather a shock compared to India where we paid half that price.
After several leisurely days exploring the beaches along the southern coast we considered going on a safari in Yala National Park which offers a better than average chance of seeing Sri Lankan leopards. You know you’ve traveled a lot when you take a pass on such an exciting excursion because you’ve already seen a leopard kill a gazelle in Tanzania and you’re not willing to pay over $100/night for a second viewing. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
Instead we caught a bus to Ella, a small town in the highlands with cool, misty weather perfect for growing Ceylon tea. The only seats
remaining were at the back of the bus where a local told us to sit on the left to get a nifty view of a waterfall. Excellent! But the bus zoomed by too quickly to get more than a teasing glimpse. After hiking around the tea plantations, we ambled 6 kilometers down the steep and winding asphalt road to get a better look at the multi-tiered waterfall. I don’t think many tourists happen along here as the people toiling in hillside fields grinned and waved at us like we were an unexpected novelty. We waved back while enjoying the magnificent views. A river running along the base of the gorge is surrounded by tropical forest including skinny betel nut palms and candle nut trees bursting with bright red-orange flowers. We spent some time rock hopping around the waterfall and then a clairvoyant bus driver sensing that we wanted a ride slowed to a roll. Toby took a running jump onto the front steps while I leapt onto the back and after what felt like only a 5 minute ride (compared with a 45 minute walk) we were back in Ella.
We took a train from Ella to
Medeival tombstone
Note Toby's bare feet. Kandy (pronounced just like the tooth-rotting Halloween treats.) The train skirts mountainsides with precarious drop offs overlooking valleys bottomed with brilliant green rice fields. Near a high pass, a large waterfall gushes down a cataract on the left. We zigzagged around and between conical hills, their curves enhanced by the repetitive horizontal lines of tea plants. Here and there are untouched areas growing thick and jungly giving one a glimpse of how densely forested the place would have been before man set foot here. Arab traders called this island Serendib. After discovering so many delightful landscapes, I can see why Serendib was transformed into the whimsical English word “serendipity.”
At several stops along the line, vendors boarded bearing baskets of snacks. Toby bought a paper cone of red skinned peanuts perfectly salted and roasted with crispy green curry leaves. Yum! After we finished the peanuts Toby unfolded the cone and discovered a kid’s homework scrawled on lined notebook paper. People in developing nations are the best at following the motto “renew, reuse, recycle.” Frugal necessity is the mother of green living.
A policeman hopped on and the vendors hid their baskets behind their backs.
The cops must get a chuckle if they ever ride this train in plain clothes. At another station a man with a long, skinny drum took a seat next to Toby. He closed his eyes and sang while rhythmically patting the top of the drum. After playing a couple of songs, he collected change in his hat before hopping off to do it all over again in the opposite direction.
The hilltop city of Kandy has a pleasant walking path circling a man-made lake. The path runs past the Temple of the Tooth, a jumble of geometric structures scrambling up a small rise. Its multiple roof lines are attractive to the eye with one roof covered in gold and the eaves of others decorated with elaborate filigree. The temple’s name derives from its most famous resident - a tooth from the Lord Buddha himself. The story of how the tooth made it here is rather unbelievable. Christian missionaries supposedly scattered the Buddha’s cremated remains into the ocean off the coast of India yet followers managed to retain this one tooth that’s now ensconced in a golden coffin. It’s placed on display only once a year but rumor
has it that the tooth is more than 2 inches long and not likely from the Buddha unless he was part tiger. The temple entrance fee is $30 per person and from what I’ve read on the internet, there’s not much to see inside. We got a gratis gander of the exterior by peering between the bars of a wrought iron fence next to the lake. Sometimes it’s easy to pinch a penny.
It had been weeks since we enjoyed a bite of gooey, cheesy goodness so we ordered a pie at Pizza Hut. The wait staff wore Santa hats, green and red decorations hung everywhere, and a talented woman in a sari was playing Christmas tunes on an upright piano. No beer on tap but they do serve bottles of both ginger beer and ginger ale. I don’t know that there’s a difference between the two but such a drink is common in Sri Lanka. It packs a much bigger punch of tangy ginger flavor and less sugar than the American version. Quite crisp and refreshing.
We spent an entire day strolling about the bucolic botanical gardens near Kandy. This place is a
balm to the soul of the traveling gardener - expansive green lawns, long palm-lined walking paths, thick stands of giant bamboo and black bamboo, enormous fichus trees, and an orchid house containing deeply veined specimens in shades of burgundy, purple, white, delicate China blue, lavender, pink, dark blood red, and chocolate. For more than a hundred years horticulturalists here have been collecting unique specimens. A colossal tree with a pinkish-tan truck at least 10’ in diameter grows stick straight, as far up as the eye can see. Standing next to it you feel like a microscopic bug, your existence here on planet Earth a wee nanosecond in the annals of time. A cluster of palms are famous for bearing the world’s largest seed – giant coconuts big enough to flatten you like Wile E. Coyote beneath a falling boulder. Another group of palms topped with leaves large enough to sail a boat tower more than 10 stories above us miniscule mortals.
Unlike India where displays of affection are considered akin to a public showing of Debbie Does Dallas, many local couples walk hand-in-hand and occasionally smooch in a leafy corner. A light breeze rustling through the trees
and numerous romantic strolling trails likely inspire such a relaxed vibe. The only problem with the gardens is that there’s a serious shortage of benches where you can rest and enjoy the scenery. Bring a newspaper or towel with you if you ever find yourself in this luscious nook of the world. If you’re a local the entrance fee is only about 20 cents while it’s a pocket punching $20 for foreigners. So much for pinching pennies. But if I was a local I’d come here every day.
We took yet another pleasant train ride from Kandy to Colombo with vistas of valleys, hillside rainforests, sleepy villages, and verdant rice fields. The air grew hot and sticky again as we neared the coast. On the connecting train from Colombo to Negombo we stood in the center of the train car and gave suspicious looking young men the stink eye. And to be extra careful, Toby stashed his hat in his backpack as we made our way through the crowded station.
Despite the fact that my person was robbed, a first (and hopefully last) for us, we would definitely come back to Sri Lanka someday.
There are brightly colored cave temples up north to hike about and it would be easy-peasy to spend a blissful week hanging out at Mirissa and the other southern beaches. Unfortunately, we found out the hard way that the Indonesian embassy in Colombo doesn’t issue the extendable 60-day visas we require so I don’t know when we’ll ever get a chance to return.
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Kurt
non-member comment
Nice pics
Good to hear from you and Toby. Still living the life... We're all still doing well, happy, healthy. Kolby is currently passing up Christine in height. He'll pass me up too eventually. Teaching is good and Kolby is doing awesome in school. No complaints. For our trip last year we did a month in Australia. Kolby is scuba cert'd now (got cert'd previous year in Kona) and we did a live aboard on the barrier reef. Excellent trip. Have fun and stay healthy.