Blogs from Sri Lanka, Asia - page 120

12 July The driver to take me to Kalutara where the English competition was being held was an hour late which meant he drove like a maniac to get me there for the afternoons judging….a little scary at times, a few white knuckles could be seen! I was the only judge, let alone foreigner, and I had to judge school children of all ages on their pronunciation, clarity, presentation and choice of English prose, drama or poem. Some of the kids were very difficult to understand, most yelled into the microphone so you could not get the pronunciation or clarity anyway and some just froze and said nothing! It was all in the experience….then I was taken home by two other men who I had no idea who they were or how they were connected to ... read more

So from the hills we then returned to normality and scorching heat in the south of the country. We had a 3 hour afternoon safari, so be prepared for loads of animal photos. We were a bit shaken up by the jeep but we had a really good time. We saw over 140 elephants, deer, buffalo, croc and a great variety of birds. The next day we travelled down to Galle, just in time to go onto the old fort and see the very last wicket of the Sri Lanak v Pakistan test cricket match (SL won). We finished the tour by having a great lunch in a restaurant with a 270 degree view of Galle. We may go down and visit it again this weekend. So we have all gone our various ways, we are ... read more

We have now reached the hill town of Kandy after a few stops from Habarana. We visited the Dambulla caves which were started in 1st Century BC. Very impressive with giant Buddhas and various religious relics in them, well worth a visit. We also had lunch at a cafe that our guide called in advance otherwise they would not have opened, tourism is quiet in SL just now. Yesterday evening we went to a music and dance show with firewalkers. Again this was great fun. Life is busy on the road so when we reach the hotels it is just enough time for a shower before a meal, a couple of beers then bed. So today, Saturday, we visited the relic of the tooth, the major religious site for Sinhalese people. They are quite fanatic in ... read more

28 June Much better weather today. I went for walk to the pagoda/temple this morning and sat at watched the water blowing into the blow hole, which is where Sunset Point is as well, a very nice spot to watch the sun setting, could be very romantic if I wasn't on my own! Will have to bring Bertha, Trin and Sal up when they arrive! Met a local man along the way who listens to ABC radio and knows an incredible amount about Australia. He was naming politicians left and right, along with long past ones, like Bob Hawke, Gareth Evans. The man is a coconut farmer and his father is a teacher and they have a library, which he is very proud of. His English was great and his knowledge of Australia from politicians, to ... read more

As I sit on balcony at different times of the day there is any number of people walking past selling all sorts of things. We have the Maalu (fish) man selling his catch from the mornings run, we have the man selling Kiri which is milk and curd from his buffalo that roams in front of my home, on the weekends we have the ice cream man on his bicycle, his version of green sleeves is a pump type horn incessantly blown down the street (god knows how he keeps the ice cream frozen..), there is also the man selling lottery tickets, he has a microphone hooked up to a car battery attached to the bike and he rides along announcing what lottery is on sale today! And sometimes if you are lucky to be at ... read more