Letting YouTube Store My Video

I am not suggesting you watch the following video. You most probably do not have an hour and fifteen minutes of spare time! In fact, you may not have any interest in it at all. I'm putting it here primarily as a statement of how I shall ensure future access to all of our personal vacation videos.

This one was shot when we were last in Sri Lanka. I cannot imagine printing out photos nowadays, but somehow I never saw the vast advantage of keeping our vacation videos online. YouTube allows seemingly unlimited free storage, so there is no longer a need for me to burn to DVDs. From now on, after I take return from a future trip, I'll simply upload the raw footage directly to YouTube. I can keep it private or flag it, as I've done here, as public.

The important thing is that all the video is safely stored on multiple servers that are nearly disaster proof. It'd take a just a simple, apartment fire to completely destroy my physical storage of all these memories.

A Month in Sri Lanka in 2009 - (Entire - raw footage)
In 2009 we spent a month in Sri Lanka visiting family and exploring the island further. This video starts at the Vancouver International Airport and ends when we were about to depart from CMB at the end of our time there. On the return, we stopped in Bangkok, Thailand and went overland to Siem Reap, Cambodia to see the famous Angkor Wat and area. That 12-day section can be found as another video here.

Now as I find time, I'll upload as much as possible of my past to YouTube. In most cases, I'll not edit. I could work with the online tools if I find the need to cut a clip or should I really get inspired to create a quality version with musical accompaniment, flashing transitions, and complicated titles. Just having these "moving images and sound" safely on the Internet will allow me to relax with the knowledge that they cannot easily disappear.

Slide Show of Sri Lankan Trip

These can be viewed full screen. If you're not reading at my blog
or at a place where content can be embedded, click here.
I had to rush to get these pictures online. Finally! Gasp. I wanted to be able to say the last of the lot were taken last month. Considering the date the calendar shows, I knew I had to get a move on. Here are over 370 pictures from the Sri Lankan part of our trip. We were on the island for four weeks in September and October. We travelled around a a fair amount although less than during previous trips.

I have not even begun to add the two weeks spent in Thailand and Cambodia on the way back to Vancouver. That'll have to wait. Perhaps in the new year?

A Countdown and Some Toddy

The day unwound slowly as a countdown to our departure.  Each move of the minute hand is bringing us one minute closer to our ten o’clock trip to the airport and subsequently, our 1:45 am departure on Cathay Pacific.


We got to sleep late last night as we watched some wedding video from Lal’s sister, Bobie.  Nearly five years ago to the week, when we were visiting in 2004, she got a visa for work in a hospital in Cyprus.  She met and recently married a Cypriot man.  The video was a bit boring but it did keep us up til midnight.  That really was okay as I had an extended nap yesterday afternoon due to a bout with another bottle of arrack.

We sort of packed slowly throughout the day.  We arrived with three bags and are leaving with just two.  The collapsible third is inside one of the others.  Strangely, they feel heavier as they shed their original gifts but are returning with the addition of unusual foodstuffs.

I have been to Sri Lanka at least six times but never drank any toddy.  It is the juice of tapped coconut tree flowers.  The flower is cut and the juice that runs is already mildly fermented.  Agile climbers collect the toddy which must be drunk fairly quickly or it turns to vinegar.  It’s well known here and is the basis for the further distilled spirit mentioned two paragraphs back.  Jay’s father ordered six-bottles worth which came in a large plastic jug.  My verdict is that I can say I’ve had it, but probably won’t request it again.  Its taste was interesting but not something that would become my favourite.  It might make for an entertaining party though.

Dhamika, Jay’s sister-in-law, lives in a newly built house next door with her daughters.  She had a big lunch for us all. 

Hours keep moving in a march towards 10:00 pm.  Leaving here is always harder than coming.  These past four weeks have surely seemed to pass too quickly.

Saying Bye to Virus & Island

Safe computing is easier at home.  On my last visit and last laptop I never encountered any computer viruses.  What a minute!  I never actually connected to anything on the last visit to Sri Lanka.  My old Gateway was just acting as an oversized notepad.  Even as I’m typing, I’m doing a virus re-scan.  Yesterday, my netbook starting acting a bit strange.  It took several attempts to load Windows.  There seemed to be a lot of unnecessary disc activity.  In the evening McAfee disappeared from my task bar and important executable programs were gone too.

I felt a bit sick to my stomach.  Had the virus jumped the machine human divide?  I have not encountered a virus problem since the days of my IBM XT clone.  That was twenty-five years ago.  I am more than willing to pay for a subscription to anti-virus software and I do.

I know exactly when I got infected.  At one Internet cafe on my trip McAfee needed to download a completely new version of its SecurityCenter.  I was attached to broadband by cable but I had finished my tasks and the download was taking too long.  I simply closed the lid and put the machine into hibernation.  I worked on tasks later offline but when rebooting there was no executable McAfee file on the machine.  In Galle, I attached again and began work while completing my download.  In that interim period, I apparently caught something.

I couldn’t even rid the computer of the virus as it was smart enough to ensure my virus scan software was the first to byte the dust, so to speak.  I wondered if I could limp along by trying to reload the program from the Net.  Then, I remembered about Windows Restore Point.  The ability to ‘roll back’ the system software had helped me on occasion with faulty drivers in Vista.  I wasn’t even sure if the newer incarnations of Windows XP, like on my netbook, included that wizard.  I was pleased to see it there.  I reset my computer to a point several days ago.  It rebooted without a hitch.  Doing a restore point doesn’t affect data so none of my blog entries or photos were modified.  Phew!

Upon running a full scan I found something called, sality.  It will be fun to look up that one when I’m online.

Today, I’m trying to take in as many of the sights and sounds as possible.  Late tomorrow night we leave Sri Lanka for Bangkok.  The actual flight time is Monday morning at 12:45, I guess.  Coming here is too far for an annual trip, so I’m not exactly sure when I’ll be sitting here again looking at the coconut trees.  It’s a little exciting to think of the upcoming two weeks in Bangkok and Cambodia though. 

This will be my last uploaded entry from the island.  Surely, I can connect in hotels further along on our journey.

Still, wishing you were here!

Eating is a Verb I Know

We arranged for a three-wheel to come to take us downtown this morning.  Actually, we arranged for two.  Jay’s father and younger sister went after we did.  Jay had given money to make some new purchases.  The plastic chairs for the breezeway were getting a little ratty and the garden hose needed replacing.

I knew of the business called APICO from a long time back.  I associated the company with rubber mats and foam mattresses.  The one in Minuwangoda still sells these basics, but on this trip we also went into an APICO Supercenter.  One in Negombo had an amazing collection of household and vehicle items, and even had a food selection that competes with the local supermarket chains.  It’s not quite Walmart but it surely is a new trend in Sri Lankan retail.

Jay and I went in the other tuk-tuk.  We went first to the Internet Cafe.  We were going to have all the photos from both my xD card and younger sister’s new SD card put onto a DVD.  That way they could look at all the photos we took on our trips on the TV.  Unfortunately a few minutes after arriving, the power went out.  The whole town and area lost electricity.  Occasionally this happens for a few minutes so we waited about 15 minutes.  Still nothing.  That’s one task saved for tomorrow.  We also went to the large Co-op Supermarket to pick up some special items for the house and even a few food items to bring back to Vancouver.  The generator backup kept the coolers and cash registers humming.

We returned home before the chairs and others.

I love hanging around the kitchen here. Most of the day is spent making food and whatever’s left seems to be the time for eating it.  I could easily loose count of the time I hear the Singhalese word for eat in a day.  Portion sizes are now too large here though, not only in this house but in restaurants also.  I noticed more and more obese people here.  Sri Lankans used to be a healthy lot.

Sticking to the same topic of food, today, the oven opened for a rich fruit cake.  Jay always keeps a fruit mixture with nuts and spices in the back of the refrigerator at home.  Before coming here, he packed a huge jar full of it.  Some of this is in a great smelling cake with a golden brown top.  Of course the multitude of Sri Lankan curries I have been eating defy words.  Thankfully, I’ll have a few more weeks before I have to step on my bathroom scales but after a month I can already see the results of all of this in the mirror!

My Life and the Mango Seedling

Today, I hardly accomplished a thing in the traditional sense of the word.  Most people have come to understand that accomplishments are steps towards a grand, pre-defined goal.  Today, I had no big goal.  Living is a miracle in itself, I’d say.  I spent my day doing that.

I always get a little sad when I see it’s almost time to leave Sri Lanka.  One month hasn’t been nearly enough this time.  In 2004, we were wiser in spending two months here.  I keep wondering about the prospects of spending five or six months of every year on this island.  I think I’d feel in tune with the cosmos dividing my time between two main spots on nearly opposite sides of the earth.

I feel really fortunate to have led a rather blessed life.  I have been able to live the way I want and have had the means to do so.  I can see how people could get sidetracked by many obstacles.  I can also understand how one could get sucked into a mainstream way of living.  I’m thankful, in fact, that most people do.  The way we’ve created our economic system, it’s necessary that most people replace their car every three or four years.  On the other hand, my truck is going on fourteen.  It’s important for general society to put in eight-hour days for 48 to 50 weeks per year.  Yet, I have taught 30 weeks or fewer of half days for decades now.  Some people never leave the location they were born, yet I’ve been able to not only walk, but stay in hundreds of spots around our globe.

Today, I just existed and spent a great deal of time thinking about how I’ll spend my remaining years.  This is not something that can be understood by someone in their 20’s or 30’s.  With age really can come wisdom, not for all of course!  I am smart enough to realize that, God willing, I only have another 25 years for an active lifestyle and for all the choices those years could offer.  How do I want us to spend our precious remaining time?  This big question is much more important than most I have on a normal afternoon of teaching at BCIT.

Today was filled with the ordinary things of life as well as some things which are rarer.  For example, we planted a mango seedling in the back yard today.  The newspaper said the auspicious time was at 11:40 am while facing north.  What will fate hold for that tree?  Will it wither or prosper?  For what other creatures will it offer shelter or food?  Will it remain alive at the end of my own days?

Home, Again.

Our trip south only lasted four days, a mere taste of our usually longer backpacking adventures in Sri Lanka.  I do have to admit, it seems very nice typing this from a chair in the breezeway in front of Jay’s house now.


We passed through the largest metropolitan region of the country to get here today.  By the time we had finished our continental breakfast at a bakery along the Galle Road, travelled through Petta, and walked up the Kopiwatte Road to the driveway, the journey clocked in at around two hours.  Travel here can seem like a lot of work though.  Buses complete with each other and all means of conveyance for limited road space.  It can be hot, dirty, and crowded.  As soon as I reach a destination, all I want is a a shower and a drink, and not necessary in that order!

It seemed like such an oasis getting back to this little patch of green space where the house sits.  There seem to be many more houses in this area with each visit.  The town of Minuwangoda seems to have grown each time we come.  I hope the new bus stand being built will allow for an interesting municipal space in the center of the city.  It’d be great if it ended up as a civic park but, unfortunately, that just won’t happen.

I will never, ever again complain of local taxes in Canada.  For the relatively small investment as a percentage of income, we get safe sidewalks, manicured city landscaping, and well-lit streets.  First, as I’ve mentioned before, in North American we all claim to have ultimate freedoms.  Yet in reality, we’ve bi-lawed, regulated, codified, and zoned ourselves some nice places to live.  Structure and order take precedence over freedoms.  Here it’s the wild west in terms of regulations.  Perhaps more importantly for this country, when there is insufficient cash, adequate infrastructure simply cannot be created and maintained.

This said, it is certainly Sri Lanka’s turn now.  With the three-decades of war over, it’s time for this country to begin catching up with its many Asian neighbours who are no longer classed as developing.  Sri Lanka should be poised for better days.  It still has an excellent national education system, a long history with the English Language, a key geographic location, and abundant human and natural resources.  It needs to find better leadership, a unified spirit of internal and external cooperation, and a way to ensure all benefit from an improving economy.

Still Seaside

We did come up from Galle today.  We awoke early but did not rush at all.  Jay had found the train schedule at the station yesterday and knew there would be a nine o’clock local.

It was marked as a slow train and certainly lived up to that reputation.  I find some of the train system absolutely amazing not for any hint of luxury nor speed but for the sheer tenacity of the equipment, structures, and staff.  Stations are a prime example of what can happen in a government organization: it continues, just.  Take away incentive and there’s little to no innovation.  So much of the network still seems to still be run on original equipment.  Stations built in the 1960’s haven’t been updated in the slightest, and here I’m talking about the paint and signs.  Some far older structures hang in there with original steel weathered to point of near collapse.  If it works, there’s no pressing need to change anything.  This seems to have been the mantra for decades and decades.

It sounds like I’m suggesting one not travel by train here.  I feel quite the opposite, really.  It took us four and a half hours to travel 117 kilometers to Mt. Lavinia.  As I admitted, we were on a train that stopped at most every station.  Also, we had to wait a half hour when changing trains at one point, as the one we were on turned into an express that would’ve skipped our destination.  These hours were interesting and relaxing though.  One can really get a glimpse of life when the train barely tops 45 mph.  So many house and back yards are right outside the train’s windows.  I enjoy being a casual voyeur.  People-watching aboard is fun too.  For example, I’ll never know if that young girl gave that persistent young chap her real mobile telephone number.

We got out at Dehiwala and had a 3-wheel take us to the ‘restaurant part’ of Mt. Lavinia Beach.  We walked down the beach with our backpacks in search of lunch as it was already 2:00 pm.  We saw an older hotel called the Ocean View TourInn behind the rail tracks.  We ordered lunch and checked out the rooms.  We decided to stay tonight just to be able to see what activities take place here.  During the day it seemed a little slow.  I can’t see why tourist spend so much time and energy getting to southern beaches.  The sand and sea look great here and the tall buildings of the city of Colombo are in the distance.

Tomorrow it’s Minuwangoda or bust.  Home is not far really.  We can take a bus to Colombo and a direct bus from there.

The Spice (Trade) of Life

We keep bumping into the Sri Lankan president, although not literally mind you.  We left Unawatuna Beach after breakfast to come to Galle.  This is Jayantha’s birthplace although he hardly spent any time here at all.


We are staying right in the Fort area.  If you search for the name of this town, you might be able to see aerial photography of the immense Dutch fortification.  Of course that was done four centuries back.  I like Sri Lanka for all the impacts of historical and sea trade whether from the recent influence of Europe or ties to the the ancient world.  We might visit 2000 year old ruins in the morning.  Then, for lunch, we could order lamprais a culinary left over from the Dutch.  At the same time, a baiela Sri Lankan song could be on the radio with melody and rhythms derived from the Portuguese.  We might be beside the train track, a vestige of the British era.  Sailors catching the trade winds, Moslems traders, or colonial powers have all left their mark.  An occasional glimpse of someone with green eyes will hint to even human genes as a part of the living history.

As I suggested in the first paragraph, the Sri Lankan President is in town.  It is election time in the southern provinces.  With a visit comes the security forces and disruption to normal life.  Part of the Fort area is closed off at the present time.  Perhaps later in the afternoon things return to usual.  We’ll probably just hang here for one night.  Rather than venturing south, we just may hop on a north-bound train tomorrow morning. 

Real travellers don’t need an itinerary.

Life’s a Beach (and a Mountain)

I love this bay.  Unawatuna is still undeveloped enough to feel as though one has personally ‘discovered’ it.  The bay is a perfect size.  The most striking attribute is the mountains at each corner.  Most of the southern beaches are relatively flat.   There are no large hotels yet, and part of the road is still unpaved.  Yet, there are at least eight other beach access restaurants within a half kilometer from this hotel.  The big tourist season in the south is November, December, and January.  I’m sure it’s more crowed with European visitors at that time as now we’ve only seen, perhaps, a dozen.

The name of one mountain we hiked down today Rumassla.  If I can get the story straight, according to Indian mythology, the out of the place hunk of mountain should be in far-way, northern India.  Hanuma, the monkey god, was on an errand to bring a medicinal herb only found in the Himalayas.  By the time he’d flown there, he forgotten the exact name of the plant.  So, to save time he picked up a whole chunk of the mountain sure that it would contain the needed medicine.  On the return route he dropped five pieces of it in five different places along the way.  He must have been quite the god, as the existing mountain here is several kilometers wide.  Strangely, it does support types of plants found in no other places in Sri Lanka.

We took a tuk tuk to “Jungle Beach” and then walked back from that side of the mountain, first visiting, the Japanese friendship dagaba and then the Sri Vewakarana Temple.  A very nice monk showed us around.  We came back down the hill following an unmarked trail and passing through a rice paddy as well as the back yards of a few houses.

We lunched at Coral Light restaurant and napped.  I finally went swimming this afternoon.  Now as light is beginning to fade, all of the day visitors have gone.  Perhaps pizza and beer, later?

Set Compass to ‘South’

Today, we came to Unawatuna (una WAT ton ah).  It was Full Moon Poya so nobody had to work but it fell on a Saturday this month anyways.  The road to Galle is fairly good.  A great deal of it hugs the coast enough so that one gets a hint of the beaches and tourist towns.  We weren’t quite sure if there would be less or more traffic because of the holiday.

The driver and van were the ones which we usually use.  The driver is safe and dependable.  He started in Minuwangoda picking up Jay’s father, younger sister, and auntie.  Also, one of the main reasons for the trip was to bring Jay’s sister-in-law and two nieces for an outing.  The girls have grown so much over these past three years!  They, then, came to pick us up in Nugegoda.  Lal didn’t come on this trip.

We didn’t intend to set any speed records getting here.  We left and stopped to have breakfast along the way.  Another big stop occurred at a large temple along the way.   We didn’t even try a Kalutara but went further to Kandera Viraha.  When we were there in the past the huge Buddha in a sitting position wasn’t completed.  Now it is.  Jay’s dad had brought along a collection of fruit, which needed to be cut, for an offering.  There were lots of people there.

By the time we got here in Unawatana it was about 2:00 pm.  We drove in on the public access road right to the end.  The area was mobbed.  Hundreds and hundreds of local folks were taking a swim.  There were hardly enough places for all the cars, van, and busses that brought them.

We’d not had lunch, so that was a priority.  Jay and I took a walk down the beach.  Jay’s dad can’t manage on the sand, so we started down the road we’d come in on.  The first place we came to was the Sea View Restaurant.  We ate here.  The grounds were nice and they had a hotel part too.  We decided right then we’d stay here for a few nights.  All the others were to head back after lunch.  The nieces did get a good swim after eating but in retrospect, they would’ve had more time in the water if they had swum as soon as we put in our order.    Our meal was good but it took a while in arriving as everybody ordered something different and another large group preceded us in ordering.

We waved everybody off at about 4:00 pm and I finally felt as if another part of the vacation dawned!  I love a little beach time.  I’d be bored just spending a vacation at one, but ah this is the life!  We ate dinner within two meters of surf.

Not Quite to the Fort

Jay and I headed towards downtown Colombo today.  We hit two big shopping plazas: Majestic City and Liberty Plaza.  The only thing purchased though was a DVD of a award winning Sinhala film and a map  of Colombo.

Shopping is never big on our agenda.  Generally, we try to get to a Laksala, the government handicraft an souvenir reseller, but haven’t yet.  How many tiny elephants can one give away?  I was half thinking about buying an authentic ruby ear stud as precious jewels are a big export commodity here.  On all the past visits, I was never interested in the slightest.  Now that I have a $9 gold-coloured ear stud in my left ear, I figured I may as well upgrade.  Rubies are my birthstone. We’ll see if I get a chance before we leave the island.  That unfortunate occurrence will happen soon enough!

One other interesting thing we did today was lunch.  Jayantha got his first real job at a hotel not far from here in 1979.  He was a room steward and barman.  We went back to Hotel Janaki and it seemed to be doing well.  We had a great Sri Lankan lunch in their air conditioned restaurant.  I know that Jay enjoyed seeing the differences, like a new swimming pool area.  Of course the whole neighbourhood area had changed a lot in thirty years too.  For example on the bus we passed a great many new multiple storey apartment building towers between the Galle Road and the High Levels Highway.

Following a New Tradition

Exercising a schedule similar to the past several trips to Sri Lanka, the first full day in Nugegoda was shopping day for the sisters, Jay, and me.

We hit the House of Fashion, No Limit, Fashion Bug.  This trip didn’t produce as much booty as in past years.  I bought some underwear as the real designer labels sell for prices of ordinary Wal-mart clothing at home.  Unfortunately, I always forget that the sizes are not designed for the North American market.  Therefore, if I want M, I need to select XL.  I forgot that.

We ate lunch, continuing with these new traditions, at Devon Restaurant and Bakery.  Before heading home we did find something larger to buy.  We got an good quality, Indian-brand food processor for the house in Minuwangoda.  It has all sorts of stainless steel attachments.

I’m typing this while looking out into the little driveway / garden this evening.  Bird watching is as fun here as out in the jungles near Jay’s house.  It seems that most households produce waste food but none of it goes to waste as the birds and animals are fed.  There are several feeding platforms in the yard and a little tub of tiny seeds for smaller visitors.  Last night we even cut up some browning bananas for cute little fruit bats.  A mongoose stopped by for a short visit but was a pretty shy fellow.

Now in Nugegoda

Part of every trip here means staying for a while at Jay’s elder sister and husband’s place.  We came here today by taking an a/c bus from Minuwangoda at about 9:20 am.  We were comfortably here after one transfer and tuk-tuk ride by 11:30 am.

The Colombo / Airport Road is now in a state of permanent rush-hour.  There’s a new expressway being built but private vehicles of all sorts will probably continue to increase at a faster pace than the pavement.  Interestingly in the 1980’s, when I first visited, one could take much of the trip we did yesterday in about 45 minutes.  Now, it can take three hours if trying it in peak hours.  People want to get their own transportation for convenience sake, right?

To prepare for lunch, Lal and I completed a bottle of coconut arrak.  It’s hard liquor but different in that its effects are subtle.  Well, that is until one has a pressing need to find a bed.  After lunch, which the non-drinkers had to eat first as we took a lot of time, I did have a two hour nap.  Upon waking up, I didn’t have a headache.  Other than being a little dehydrated, I was okay.  Drinking this stuff is quite a bit different from whiskey.

We managed one walk to the close roundabout to find an Internet place and will probably re-visit it tomorrow.  It was a slow relaxing evening.

Living Space

We sort of rushed back yesterday for two reasons.  First, there wasn’t much to see in Kalpitiya and also Jay needed to squeeze in a day to see his mother’s sister and that branch of the family.  I stayed at home.  I’m depressed that we are now into our third week here.  We’re only going to be here for twenty-eight days.  I hate thought that half our time here has already finished.

We’ve still got many places to go and things to see.  Tomorrow we’ll head to Jay’s elder sister and husband’s place in Nugegoda for a few nights.  Staying with them puts us much closer to Colombo things.  Directly from there we’ll be heading down with a van and driver to the southern beaches for a day with Jay’s sister-in-law and nieces.  Then after that, beginning from there, just he and I will do a week of our traditional, ‘hit the road’ type of travelling.  This is when set our sights on a fairly close destination, go there by bus, pick a hotel, and travel around the sites in that area for a few days.  I’m hoping Unawatuna will feature in that segment of our trip.

Today has been quite rainy.  We knew that this time of year brings the monsoon to the south west to of the island.  We sort of like it.  A day can be bright and sunny one minute and quite literally turn into a warm torrential downpour seconds later.  A vast amount of rain can fall in a short time and within minutes it’s over.  The earth and vegetation suck up the water and in a scant bit of time it can be hard to tell there had ever been any rain!  This scenario played through several times today.  It has been a hard day to dry clothes on the line.

I caught up on last Sunday’s English newspapers.  News still comes on broadsheet here with a multitude of sections catering to all sorts of interests.  I got stuck in the display-classifieds real estate section.  I know it’s not logical to hunt for an apartment on this trip.  If retirement comes when I’m 55 that will be 2014.  We don’t really need to hold any local property until then.  It’s hard to say where the market will go.  Economic growth for Sri Lanka is forecast at eight percent in the coming years.  To me, real estate already seems excessive but the world slowdown didn’t kill the market here.  Maybe if I wait another three or four years, the market will out-price what I’d like to spend on a winter getaway.  Canada has lots of half year snowbirds.  Spending each November through April on this island would be nice.  I absolutely love it here in the jungle and Jay holds the deed for this cute little place, but I think spending $80,000 on a small apartment near the Mt. Lavinia tourist beaches would be more in keeping with our lifestyle.

My last comments about real estate are these: Sri Lankans have seemed to go bonkers over multi-storey dwellings.  Jay’s brother built on adjoining land here.  Although the place isn’t truly completed, it was started four years ago and is occupied.  We laughed at the monster-sized design.  Climbing stairs seems silly with the sufficient land here.  If you must maximize floor space on a tiny lot, sure, go up.  The house fits into this new fad of two and even three-storey houses.  Jay blames imported Indian soap operas for creating the desire for such over-sized dwellings. 

To me, even traditional Sri Lankan home design is silly.  In a climate where one can practically live outside year round, little is done in the way of imaginative use of outside space.  A single floor U-shaped building around a massive atrium would be the way to go.  Most of life could take place in the inner garden.  There’d be little space lost to hallways.  Doors for many rooms such as the bedrooms could open directly to that area, somewhat like a motel.  I can spend hours thinking of how I’d put a house together but in the end, if I ever own here, it will most probably be several rooms on the fourth to tenth floor of an apartment building.  Hey. that sounds strangely like a description of the place we already own in Canada.  Well, maybe here the view would be of the ocean rather than the Fraser River.

Winning the ‘Battle of the Bus’

Last night I could hear some people from the rest-house’s bar / TV room.  It seemed to close at about 11:00 am and it didn’t take long for staff to ‘clean up’.  We were in bed for quite a few hours but by morning I hadn’t slept too soundly.  The water was different than what we’re used to.  It was a little bit salty tasting and after a shower, I really didn’t feel clean.  I do think I had a little fever that broke last night.  My throat is not nearly as sore as yesterday. I often sneeze and have a little cough but this is nothing much.

We finally got up and packed about 6:30 am.  The rest-house was nearly in the center of town, although that isn’t saying much as that was a small place.  We walked into a Muslim shop for quick eats and tea for breakfast.  Then, we had to wait about 45 minutes for the bus to deliver people to the port and pick us up on the way back to Negombo.  The bus was a little bigger than those we took yesterday.  The seats were a little more comfortable.  The trip back was quicker as it was uninterrupted.  It still took four hours though.  We got on the bus for Minuwangoda directly but it took at least 15 minutes before it was full and actually on its way.

The last bit had me crushed between the window, Jay, and the dozens of people standing in the aisle.  My backpack was on my lap.  I was hot, thirsty, and still coughing a little.  The 40 minute ride seemed more like 40 hours.  We’d come down a quarter of the coastline for about $1.50 but there are times when one gets what one pays for.  I would’ve forked out ten times more for a trip which wasn’t so tiring.

After six glasses of liquids, a great lunch, a shower, the seeming struggle was forgotten.  A few minutes sitting on the kitchen steps watching the birds and squirrels under the canopy of coconut and teak trees erased all the frustration. 

I’m happy to spend this evening at home.

As Far As We Could Spit

If you look at a map of Sri Lanka, about half way up on the western coast you’ll notice a peninsular of land near the city of Putalam.  We are at the very end of the spit of land in a town called Kalpitiya.  We came here primarily just to say we did.   There are only several towns in this country more westerly than we are tonight.

I wouldn’t have expected it to take us quite as long to get here as it did.  We first paid for a 3-wheel to downtown Minuwangoda bus stand from the house.  We could’waited for a Negombo bus to pass by the Kopiwatte Junction, but it’s often better to go the mile downtown as it’s possible to get a better seat before the bus leaves.  There are no limits on the number of passengers that a bus, especially a private one, will take aboard.  Of course, the owner is in it for the money, so they’ll pack people closer than sardines in a can. It also took much longer to get to Negombo than it should have.  This is because another bus zoomed past us, so the driver deliberately crawled along at a snail’s pace to give time for other folks to get to the bus stops along the route.  There was even a police checkpoint near the airport where everybody but the elderly and infirm had to disembark, go through a cursory bag check and get back on the bus.  Needless to say, this procedure took a bit of time too.  We got to the Negombo bus stop in around an hour.

We asked about any direct routes to Puttulam but found there weren’t any running.  We would have to break our trip into two sections by going into Chilaw first.  We did.  We had a cool drink there as existing in this climate can make one frequently thirsty.  I also bought some Strepsils at a pharmacy as I had had a sore throat since morning.  I first thought, I had slept with my mouth open and the ceiling fan had dried me out.  This seemed to be something more.

By the time we got into Puttulam it was a bit after noon.  We ate lunch near the bus station trying to decide what to do.  I imagined guest hotels and room dotting the spit of land some perhaps facing the lagoon and Puttulam while others might be on the ocean side.  We decided it was too early to find a hotel in Puttulam and that we may as well head towards Kalpitiya.  The trip ended up being about 50 km but about two hours.  Like lots of roads not part of the main national network, it was rough, bumpy, and required speeds of less than 30 kph in places.

We sat in the rear of the bus near some Moslem boys heading back to their towns.  One in particular had taken English classes and was anxious to make use of his studies.  His two friends were shyer.  We had a very nice chat and Kiyas had a Olympus camera to show me pictures of his family and friends.  He got off about half way along this section of our trip.  We saw lots of sea salt being dried in big ponds.  We saw coconut plantations.  A lot of the land was also dry.  This is one of the driest places on the island generally receiving rain only in October.

At last, at about 3:15 we arrived at the end of the road.  Kalpitiya is not a tourist destination at all.  It is known for dry fish though.  In fact the bus back we’ll catch tomorrow brings fishermen from Negombo directly to this place.  They take a boat to an island to prepare and dry fish in the sun.  There’s Dutch fort here.  Unfortunately, it’s still an operating military unit for Sri Lanka.  This means it really wasn’t possible to go inside or to take many pictures in the surrounding area.

We found a government Rest House still operating, just barely, in Kalpitiya.  The $7 for the double room was even of questionable value for the condition of the room.  Ma`ny folks might think it less than worthy for a convicted prisoner.  Still, there was plenty of water for a shower and clean sheets.

We just ate Kottu Roti for dinner.  I’m not sure what you’d turn up on an Internet search for that term, but it’s a South Indian mixture of cooked bread, spices, in our case chicken that is mixed and cooked on a grill.  The tell tale sign that it’s being made is the sound of the rapid and mixing of ingredients with the knives on the cooking surface.

We just watched a bit of the final of Little Star, a Sri Lankan singing contest for kids.  It’s only 8:30 but it’s hot here and I have no energy to do anything but go to bed.

For the Sake of Motion

Tomorrow, we plan on going to Puttalam just so we can travel up the west side of the Puttalam Lagoon to a place named Kalpitiya.  It’s been a long while since we’ve slept at a beach.  Somewhere deep inside Jay’s brain there’s a list of places.  Tomorrow we get the opportunity to cross off another from the list.

Today, we also wanted to get out of the house.  Lounging around is too easy and enjoyable.  If we don’t make a conscience effort to experience the variety of things Sri Lanka has to offer, our month of vacation time here can slip by.

We took a short, day trip to Polgahawila, a town in which Jay spent part of his childhood.  His father used to commute 2-hours into Colombo for work each morning and return in the evening.  The city was quiet today but was probably more of a sleepy village back in the late 1960’s / early 1970’s.  It is an important junction for the train and that’s how we went there today.

Well, actually first, we went into town here in a three-wheel because Jay’s dad wanted to pick up all the weekend newspapers. We sort of let him hitch along for the ride.  At the main Minuwangoda bus station we waited for a bus to Veyangoda.  So far that means we paid 80 Rupees to get into town and Rs 23 each for the 14 kilometer bus trip.  Then, we bought tickets on the express train for around Rs 35.  So with the return fares, because we stayed right on the returning airport bus at the junction, we each spent about $1.50 on transportation.

We walked from the Polgahawila station to the neighbourhood where Jay’s family used to live.  We also walked out to the school complex where he went from Grades 6 to 10.  I could see he was curious to see how things had changed.  After all, that was nearly 40 years ago!  There were more houses and roads, he said.

We stopped at a bakery for a light meal in Veyangoda on the way back. We went at 9:00 am and got back at 3:10 pm.    We must’ve gone only around 100 km in total.  I was ready for a shower though.  I usually take at least two cooling showers a day here.

Let Me Be Misunderstood

The more I write the less able I am to express what it’s like being in Sri Lanka this month.  I am not sure why being able to do so seems so important to me.  It’s sort of like my blog in general, I suppose.  I honestly think my experiences are more profound than those of many others; and that they deserve to be shared.  To be honest, though my eJournal and images ends up being ‘external memory’ where I can go back to recall the name of something or the date of a specific event.  Even with all this said, I still wish I could share exactly what it’s like to be here now.  This might even be of interest to me on a rainy winter day in Vancouver.

Yet, life is all a matter of perspective.  When I mention a simple word, such as dog, you most probably recall a specific one that you owned either now or in the past.  If you never owned a canine, then you will undoubtedly picture something a little more generic.  How can the world agree on anything if we cannot even come to an understanding on the precise meaning of the word, dog?  Which reminds me about something I’ve always been intrigued by: When a a St. Bernard meets a poodle do they really think of each other as the same species?

If a simple word can have so many meanings, then what about a concept such as a perfect day.  Furthermore, how can I explain to you what it is like visiting Jay’s family?  How can I possibly, let you know what it’s like to experience things of which you have no firsthand knowledge?  What about the weather, geography, the taste and variety of the food, or the multitude of physical and emotional differences.  How can I share a culture you’ve not known?  I haven’t a clue how to express daily frustrations and pleasures.  I finally ‘get’ the idea of the saying a picture is worth a thousand words.  Underlying any image, there are far too many details which cannot be examined nor shared.  You will see one thing and I another.  I fear that even words, most certainly these, fail the same test as well.

So, I shall just stay trite and nearly mute on this day of rest between travels around this amazing country. Having a nice time; wish you were here!

A Hindu Temple and Hot Springs

I thought I’d be bothered by going from an air conditioned room to the outside weather.  It was not a problem at all.  Perhaps, if I lived here, I would install a/c in just the bedroom.  It’d provide a place to store papers where they wouldn’t age so quickly too.  We had tea delivered to the room at 6:30 am and were all loaded in the van by 6:45 am.

We first went in search of breakfast but drove through the 15th century Portuguese fort and up the hill to the Thirrukoneswaram Hindu Koval first.  Jay and I had been in Tricomalee during the temporary peace agreement five years ago.  At the time, we also made it to Jaffna, Batticaloa, and Aragam Bay that year.  This time it was nice to bring along Jay’s sisters and Auntie.  There’s a commanding view of the harbour from the hill as well as some impressive cliffs dropping many feet to the ocean.

Just as last time, we also visited Kanniyai Hot Springs.  This time it was much more crowed after having been off limits because of the war in the last few years.  We saw many Sri Lanka Moslems out on our trips as it’s now after the Ramadhan Eid and they have school break this week.  We’ve not looked at the video yet; I hope it came out well.

After that we started to head back to Minuwangoda.  In the past few years, I’d have a hard time counting the number of times I’d been through Habarana Junction.  It seems like a lot of trips take us through that intersection of several important roads.  The last thirty kilometers from Trinco to the junction are being upgraded.  It will probably take years before the whole road is completed but the sooner the better.  A strong connection to wealthy parts of the island are absolutely necessary for normalization.  At the moment the massive deployment of government troops have kept things safe and secure.  We did had to pull over at a checkpoint today.  After we returned home, on the news, we learned that three Tamil ladies had been caught wearing suicide bombs at a checkpoint in a completely different part of the country.  I hope things hold steady and that everybody gets to the task of rebuilding a country which lost more than a quarter of a century of development due to the pervious conflict!

It was so nice pulling into the quiet flora covered driveway of Jay’s home.  We did so at 4:30 pm.