Blogs from Yala NP, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Asia - page 2

At sharp 7am on the 7th day of the week and the 7th day of the month of May 2011 I crossed a river to the Kabilitha Devale. Whether by coincidence—I am not sure! But sounds uncanny! I only realised it later in the day when I had a quiet moment to contemplate on the distressing journey of the last two days. We were to embark on this trip on the 30th and despite all my efforts to make it happen on that day, disappointment awaited us when I was informed that the water levels of the various places we had to cross was over six feet. There was no way that our Jeeps would take that level of water and current without getting washed down that river. Manju called and asked me to cancel the ... read more

We travelled along a river bank all the way up to Kabilitha and it took us two days. There was a track made through the dense forest by previous pilgrimages. There is a myth that Kabilitha was first recognised by the Vaddhas. They are the aborigines of Sri Lanka and long before any foreigners visited this country it was the Vaddhas that inhabited this land. The Vaddhas just as the aborigines of Australia, although primitive to our way of life are first consciousness beings. They are able to communicate, know and be on a level that is incomprehensible to most of us. This I am sure is because they are connected to the cosmic laws and nature. It appears that the Vaddhas during ancient times treated Kabilitha as a spiritual courthouse to settle their differences. It ... read more

South Coast - Yala and Tangalle We reluctantly left the relaxing and self-indulgent Norwood bungalow at eleven for the drive to the south coast and Yala National Park. With a few brief stops in Nuwara Eliya, Ella and other villages, it would take us eight hours to complete the 230km trip. At first our route took us through rolling tea country, the steep-sloped plantations perched often precariously above the Nanu Oya river far below, but on the higher slopes around 2,000m, terraced vegetable gardens predominated, punctuated by farmers' cottages. As we began to descend towards the plains, deep and heavily-wooded valleys plunged away at the edges of the narrow pot-holed road until eventually we hit flat land again for the first time in six days, and were able to occasionally reach 70kph. At dusk we turned ... read more

We got sick. We got sick from eating chicken liver pate on the first night Andy arrived in one of the nicest restaurants in Colombo. We didn’t spend much time in places that don’t begin with a U and end in an A and the time we did spend in places that don’t begin with a U and end in an A was pretty much reduced to studying toilet bowls and floor tiles. There were some exceptional toilet bowls and floor tiles. The ones at Kandalama, the most renowned of Geoffrey Bawa’s hotels and the place I had been looking forward to visiting since before my trip really stood out a treat. He has an eye for bathroom chic like no other. It is the most amazing place to be sick. It is set into a ... read more

To cut a long and political story short, we have moved. Somehow finding a ‘bling bling’ 4 bedroom house, with lots of comfortable furniture, actual wardrobes, and a huge garden, complete with lovely neighbours . . . all for cheaper than our place in the fort. Don’t get us wrong, it is also full of cockroaches, mosquito lava in the fountain, massive spiders, a leaky roof, mean tuk tuk drivers, the mosque which reminds us to pray 5 times a day with a loud speaker that may as well be in our living room, starting at 5am!!! For our new contact details ask our parents, maybe just give them a few weeks while we figure it out :) We shifted in about the same time Murray’s parents arrived from NZ for a 2 week tour of ... read more