Blogs from Sri Lanka, Asia - page 112

Have arrived in Kandy and spent my first day out volunteering. Due to some interesting organization the placement situation is a little interesting but we spent the morning at a day care with 40 kids who were pretty crazy. They colored in birds that we had traced because they don't have a photo copier which makes group activities very tricky as everything must be hand made! We got some lunch (Sweet and sour chicken) and then went to a street childrens project which we were going to give up on however some kids started to arrive and then this girl who is volunteering here too. She gave us her contacts and opened up 2 new projects for us! So we'll be working with younger kids as well as some older ones. Kandy itself is very lively ... read more

On the way to the beaches of the western coast we stopped at a few temples and sacred pilgrim sites, one of them is Kirinda situated near the beach, there is a temple perched atop huge boulders, there are lots of people walking around the beach, mostly families on a pilgrimage during Vesak.Another is the ancient place called Situl Pauwa and like most of the other temples here it's perched atop huge rocks, apparently they did this so everyone can see where the temples are cause way back then there were no roads and people have to navigate through the forests, this serves like a beacon, a guide for them to follow directions. Then we stopped at this town called Kudawella where they have this blow hole among the rocky cliffs near the sea, I have ... read more

Sri Lanka is famous for it's tea and today we are off to visit the plantations in the mountains near the town of Nuwera Eliya, but before that we stopped by a place in Kandy where we can experience the ayurvedic massage, this little place that Mr. T was recommended was difficult to find, we went up and down hilly streets and asking every passers by where the hell it is, we found it and for 1 hour costs 1,500 rupees, roughly $15, I was looking forward to a good massage I have been sore from walking a lot the last couple days but all I got was a disappointment, the woman rub oil on me and just rubbed it on my muscles until it creates friction and you feel warm sensation, it was really crappy, ... read more

Another big breakfast to get us ready for the hike today, we are going to visit Sigiriya which is a massive boulder where ancient civilization built a community or some kind of temple, but modern archaeologist are not sure exactly what this structures are all about. But here's a brief explanation i gathered from the net, Sigiriya is a major archeological site in North Central Sri Lanka. At Sigiriya we find the ruins of an ancient palace complex built during the reign of King Kasyapa (477 - 495 AD). It has been ascribed by Unesco as one of the seven World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka. The most distinctive landmark within the ancient palace grounds is the amazing Sigiriya Rock, also called Lion Rock, a hardened magma plug from a long extinct and eroded volcano. We ... read more

Met Nishal at the KLCC by accident, I arrived at 8:35pm went thru customs around 9:30pm and bummed around for couple hours at the departure lounge, wasn't the only one, Filipinos, Vietnamese, attractive Thai girls and all sorts of people hanging out waiting their flight check in. We got booted out of the Air Asia terminal because they are flogging it, meaning spraying to kill roaches and sorts. I saw Nish walking towards me as I walk out towards the doors and we ended up hanging out together outside in the grassy area chilling until it's check in time. It's a bit of a circus atmosphere for awhile, we checked in and then have to wait for awhile till the immigration office opens up. We had quick breakfast at Dunkin Donuts, my sandwich was expired so ... read more