Blogs from North Central Province, Sri Lanka, Asia - page 9

Sri Lankaaaaaa! Sri Lanka started off very well! We got upgraded to business class on the the flight down! We stayed in a hotel in central Colombo for the first two nights. Sri Lankan cuisine is similar to Indian, but the give a lot more food, about 5 separate dishes to eat in the main course! The Sri Lankan people are very friendly, always wanted to say hello. But they don't seem to understand what emigration is. When we said that we were from England, they kept on saying that you look Indian though! There is a heavy militray presence in Sri Lanka, quite unsettling at first as there are a lot of road blockades, but they are friendly enough. Colombo's nightlife is very odd - all the bars around town are brothels.....! So we ended ... read more

After 2 days of intensive giving/donating/offering, today we could afford to wake up a bit later and have a relaxed breakfast. Since we spent most of the past 2 days doing charity work and didn't manage to have much sightseeing, today our Bhante decided to bring us around Anuradhapura and Mihintale for some cultural sightseeing. We first went to the Sri Maha Bodhi (Sacred Bodhi Tree) temple, in the middle of the Anuradhapura's ancient site. The sacred tree was grown from a cutting taken from the original bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, India, where Buddha attained enlightenment. The cutting was brought to Sri Lanka by Princess Sangamitta (sister of Prince Mahinda, who introduced Buddhism to Sri Lanka) in 3rd century BC. Not long after, the original bodhi tree in India was destroyed, but the "descendant" in Sri ... read more

Sorry for the delay in my blogs, its now 3rd January 2009 and still blogging about Sri Lanka in December 2008. This is the last chapter from Sri Lanka before I arrived in Thailand. Mihintale The morning sun was in full swing and as l started to climb the first set of steps my T-Shirt being to show the signs of the heat and became wet. Once at the top you come across a statue of King Devanampiya and just behind him was a giant rock with steps craved into them, so l started to climb them, and climb until l reached the huge white Buddha. The view from here over the grounds on Mihintale was amazing. Once back down again there was the central Dagoba that was the first one built here. Next to the ... read more

I have returned to Sri Lanka, having visited as a tourist , a few years ago. Something drew me back to this beautiful island and I'm sure it was the people. I am living in Polonnaruwa with a host family who are adorable, friendly, so accommodating and nothing is too much trouble for them. Work wise I am working in a girls orphanage. They are aged between eight and nineteen and we are with them to teach them English, help them clean, play and generally spending time with them which is an absolute pleasure. The orphanage is set on the edge of a reservoir and they have a vegetable garden and go to school everyday. Their enthusiasm for learning is a joy and their laughter and sense of fun infectious and also humbling. I have ... read more

Having left India and now in Sri Lanka I just wanted to pause for thought before I tell you about this next leg of the journey. Every now and again on my journey I'll be walking along and I'll forget where I am until I see something that reminds me of which place I'm in. In India this has happened a few times, until I look up and see a cow in the middle of the road or walking along the beach! At first these things are a novelty or, like the poverty, a bit of a shock and then after a while you start to ignore or get used to these images. However I never want to feel comfortable or use to the sight of a child being fed off of the road from ... read more