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Published: September 12th 2012
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It’s been a while again since I’ve written hasn’t it? Well, part of that is because I just spent almost a month in a country most of you might not have ever heard of, Sri Lanka. We didn’t really know much about it before going either, but that sure didn’t change how excited I was to go! I was more than ready to get back to warm weather and beaches instead of being so cold in high altitude. Every time we fly somewhere I’m so glad I’m a little monkey and I can sit on Nate or Jessie’s shoulder so I don’t have to pay for a ticket. The only bad thing is that I have to bring my own bananas and fruit because they NEVER have any monkey food on the plane. Maybe someday I’ll start an airline just for talking monkeys like me! Then again, the only other one I’ve really known was Wylie and I know he’s enjoying himself in Colombia with his family.
As soon as we got to our first stop in Sri Lanka, a city called Kandy, we knew we were in a very different country than we had visited in the past. The
women were very covered up and never showed their shoulders no matter how hot it was, and even almost all of the men were wearing pants and a t-shirt even though it was well over 90 degrees outside. I guess I shouldn’t complain after freezing my tail off in Bolivia, but there was no way I could ride on Nate. He was just way to sweaty for me! Sometimes us girls have to stick together, especially when it involves me sliding down Nate’s arm like I’m on a waterslide! Oh yeah, it was hot outside! Another thing that was really different was the food that they eat here. Let me tell you, if you don’t like rice, you probably won’t be eating much in Sri Lanka. The people eat it here for almost every meal, even with breakfast! But, it was fun trying some new foods and lots of different flavored curries. Although I have to say, some of them sure got my attention when my mouth started to feel like I just ate a chili pepper…talk about spicy!
Our first beach we went to was really nice, but partly because we were just so happy to be back
laying in the warm sun again and taking a swim in the ocean. I was a little worried to get in at first since we had seen a couple of jellyfish that washed up on shore, but the Sri Lankan heat pushed me in and I’m glad it did! Even though we had fun being on the beach and eating ice creams to stay cool, I think the most fun I had was one night when Jessie and Nate were doing some light writing with a special setting on Jessie’s camera. I tried to do my name, but I’m just way too little for that! That’s ok though, I know you guys are going to love the pictures they took. They’re really cool! I think I’m going to have to have them do it again one night when we have nothing to do but mess around and have fun.
Since things were a little more expensive in Sri Lanka compared to other Asian countries, we didn’t do a lot of cultural things here, but we DID go to some really neat cave temples build in the rocks in a town called Dumbulla. It was a pretty tough hike up,
but I made it up first since I’m so fast! “Come on slow pokes!” The different kinds of Buddhas were really cool to see, especially inside of caves. Sometimes I’m just amazed at the things people could make years and years ago. I mean, of course I could make those things if I wanted to, too…yeah right! Can you imagine how long it would take me with my little hands and mini chisels? I think I would have to recruit some of you to help me or it would take me forever! We actually got to see some frogs on giant lily pads and even some macaques while we were there. It’s always nice to see other monkeys for me!
I really enjoyed my time at the cave temples, but my favorite thing we did was in a really small town called Habarana. We got a tip from another backpacker that because it was the dry season in most of Sri Lanka, that the elephants were making trips every day to a small lake just outside of this little town. Now you KNOW we just HAD to see that! How could we not? I was more excited than the
day before Christmas when we were on our way to the park to see them. It was the 3 of us and 2 other couples in a big 4x4 jeep that had an open top so you could stand up and see the animals easier. As soon as we got to the lake, my jaw dropped when I saw how many elephants were at the water drinking and playing in the mud. There were so many babies there! We even saw one that was only about 3 weeks old walking with its mom. We got even luckier than most people because we got to see the leader of the herd, a big male that they call “the tusker” because his tusks are so big. I tell you what, I wouldn’t want to mess with that big guy if I was an elephant. Just one trumpet sound and all you would see is my little brown tail flying up a tree faster than you can blink your eyes! It was so amazing to be that close to them! We felt so lucky to have found out about this little spot and that we just happened to be there at the right
time of year. I LOVE to see elephants! I wonder if anyone of them ever name their kids Dumbo like in the Disney movie.
We had such a great time seeing the elephants, but soon we were off to a town called Ella, known for its tea plantations in the mountains. Instead of taking a local bus, which is always so packed with people you literally can’t even move, we decided to do something different and take the train down since we had heard the ride was so beautiful. Boy, they were right! You all know how much the 3 of us love the beach, but the mountains are definitely growing on us every time we see them. We would end up going for a little hike down the railroad tracks one day and renting a motorbike to go cruising to the tea plantations another day. I’m sure many of you have heard of Lipton tea before. Well, we actually got to see where they get their tea from! Jessie was probably the most excited since she loves tea the most, and she got some really cool pictures of the tea pickers. That sure looks like a tough job!
The rest of our time was spent laying in the sun and working on our tans. The only bad part about Sri Lanka was not having power for a few hours during the day and having a hard time finding wifi that worked. Almost every day we were there, we lost power for at least 3 hours in the afternoon. When we were in Aragum Bay we even lost power AND water for 2 whole days! Do you think you would be OK if you had to turn off all of your power every day for a few hours or would it be hard? In Sri Lanka, it’s just everyday life for most people. Isn’t it interesting how different countries can be from one another? I can’t wait to see more places! But, first we’ll be stopping in Thailand for a few weeks to get everything ready for India. That’s our next stop and we can’t wait! See ya there!
Always thinking of you guys…
Your friend,
Amelia
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