Blogs from Sri Lanka, Asia - page 111

Hello again! I cannot believe it is the start of my last week! Since i last wrote lots there's been lots of adventure and relaxation which has been a perfect combination. Pool side adventures last wednesday were interesting as there seemed to be nearly no other guests at the hotel we visited (and if they were there they were certainly not swimming). teh pool attendent was very attentive as were many of the other workers so we had a small audience which was interesting. later that night the other girls from teh centre came around to our flat and we got takeaway - we all tried wattu which is pancake type things chopped up with massive knives with lots of veggies and other such things (i had an egg one). it was very dense and rich ... read more

another type of conflict more prescient than the lion-tiger conflict...is the human-elephant conflict. and I don't mean ganesh. i've never been this close to real, live wildlife conflict. a most grateful guest, i visited the field station of the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society outside of Wasgamuwa Park for several days (and by outside, I mean like an hour from a proper little village. middle of nowhere basically.). http://slwcs.org/visitus.html recuperating from my nasty buddha-belly-bug, i only got to help out (or rather, tag-a-long) a tad, but I learned a whole lot. arrival to the field station: night, after a very, very bumpy ride. makes it more authentic. the next morning, rose at 6 to a rising sun, to a landscape which immediately set off my internal gramophone on Circle of Life. ...as I sat pondering... read more

Another week has gone by and there are just two weeks left! only 6 more days working at the centre which seems crazy. Last week passed extremely quickly and on Friday afternoon we (me, kerrianne, and sophie) left the centre a little early and caught the train to Colombo. On the train tehre was a group of people from the UN and they sang for the 2 1/2 hour journey which was quite an interesting experience. we also got a sweet cup of tea which was a lovely treat. Upon arrival we barginned for a tuktuk to take us to Sophie's friends house. A rather interesting experience b/c as we soon found out hte drivers are prone to saying they know where they're going but actually don't! Kerri and I found a hotel in teh guidebook ... read more

...then, there's dessert. then, there's british dessert. then, there's more dessert. then, there's breakfast, which, is basically the same as lunch and dinner, but without dessert. unless, hordes of fresh fruit count. :) and sweet yoghurt. oh, and as always, tea. so hear ye hear ye veggies and vegans. come one come all. . . . . *note: I have only gotten 'sick' once this entire trip, and it was my first meal in a fancy white people's resort (don't ask. planning mishap. the resort. not the poisoning.). anyways, turns out something subterranean in my sub-Mediterranean. *note on local dessert: Wattalappan when in rome... one must try the local dessert, right? and by try, I mean try at each and every dinner. and sometimes lunch. now....considering I'm not an eggy, mushy type of person, I was ... read more

...and I ain't referring to some devout mediation regiment i've taken up here in the land of Buddha's footprint, Buddha's tooth and who knows what other bodily claims this island likes to make. ...and I ain't talking about dharma, his brother karma or his other brother karma. i'm talking 5 extra pounds in 5 short days. i'm talking . . . vegetarian paradise. and s-p-i-c-y!...a thousand andales andales from little Mr Gonzalez dancing in my eyelids... the colors. the peppers. the names. the peppers. the dishes to pass. the peppers. the very british desserts (one digestible aspect of colonialism, the brits have made the dessert table unavoidable) the peppers. even simple english results in waiters assuring me, yes madame no meat no fish yes madame i'm not a freak here. at least not culinarily speaking. and ... read more