Victoria Golf and Country Resort and Kandy

Our train ride to Kandy was nice - we rode in the first class observation saloon. It was a bit bumpy ... more than usual which makes me think it's because it's the last car on the train. We got into Kandy in the early evening, had some trouble finding a place for to leave our bags while we went to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. We wanted to leave it at a hotel thinking it would be safer, but we ended up leaving it with the bag drop at the front of the temple. That posed no issues so away we went!

Having visited twice before, I wasn't particularly motivated to come again. However, coming to see evening Puja definitely had a different feel. We were also lucky that it was a Poya day the next day so the moon was pretty much full which made the setting even more spectacular. On this particular night, there was a group of mostly elderly men and women who looked like they were from Thailand or Japan. Amazing to think that people travel just to come see the Temple (or make it the highlight of their journey).

After Puja I tried to call for a meter cab but with no luck. We eventually settled with taking a tuk tuk ... all the way to Victoria Golf and Country Resort. It was a LONG and DARK ride in that tuk tuk ... and the driver had no idea where he was going. For quite some time it just seemed like we were going nowhere! In the end we got there safely, but weren't exactly greeted warmly by the staff. I guess they had expected us earlier, but the didn't indicate that we needed to be there by a certain time for dinner. When we checked in, they initially told us dinner was over. Fortunately, the Chef agreed to cook some dinner for us. It's so Sri Lankan to not follow up on things and just kinda wait and let things be. A tip for their customer service would be to call the guest (you did take my number for a reason, no?) you are expecting if they haven't turned up by an expected time. I would have come earlier had I known!

Victoria Reservoir that borders one side of the course.

Anyhow, early the next morning we had a tee time booked for 6:30am. We were told to meet our caddies and ball boy at 6:15am. Again in true Sri Lankan fashion, they were late (the caddie master forgot we had a tee time, geez!) so didn't tee off until about 7am.

Putting while our two caddies look on. 

Yup. We each had a caddie and then shared a ball boy. Pretty amazing. Actually, it's required by the course. Having a caddie remind me of the things to focus on for each shot really helped. Maybe it's because it is warm here, but I didn't try to muscle the ball as I would usually back home and as a result, got my shots a lot straighter than I usually would. Despite the help from the caddies and ball boy, we were slow ... about 4 people played through us. We finished our round in about 4 hours and they say that average people play an hour faster. It's a pretty blistering pace! After that we had brunch then a nice dip in their infinity pool before just relaxing for the rest of the day.

The next day we headed back down to Kandy so we could catch our train at 3pm. I originally had some pretty ambitious plans to go see either the botanical gardens or the tea museum, but ended up a bit tight on time. We ended up wandering a bit through town and finding a nice place to sit (and so that Chad could do some work). We went to check out the Mlsena tea store and sat down for a nice cup of iced tea there away from the hustle and bustle of Kandy. After that we decided to settle at White House Restaurant where they conveniently had free Wi-Fi. We had to leave for a little while as they had to close for noon prayers (as they are Islamic) so we tried to find another place to hang out. We tried to find a place listed in the Lonely Planet, but it was no where to be found. We turned and started to head back to a place we had passed by. On the way, we were "befriended" by a local who in the beginning, seemed great to talk to. But, things got a little suspicious. I posted about this experience in a few places to warn others so I will copy and paste it here:

" A man on the street struck up a conversation and then suggested we go to have tea at a local tea shop. We were heading to the same shop anyhow so we went with it. We had a few short eats and some tea while he explained how his family owned a plantation and offered to ship 5kg of tea to my boyfriend as he has connections for shipping (he's a Port Master?) He stated shipping would only cost 220 LKR (or something really low). He talked about his family, how his daughter is married to a foreigner overseas, and how his son was about to go abroad to work in a hotel. To try and prove he was credible he showed us his son's visa. He also said if we were staying in Kandy longer he'd invite us to his house for lunch. He consistently returned to the point that shipping the tea to us would be no big deal and would always mention the cost.

Slowly things started to not add up. He was motioning the 5kg box of tea with his hand and the size he motioned was too small. Initially it sounded like he was going to ship for free then he straight up asked for the 220 rupees as we wrapped up with tea time. We declined saying we were uncomfortable with giving the money upfront, but happy to provide it once we received the tea. In our minds, we were thinking "220 LKR for a 5kg box? Too good to be true." I started to get the feeling this guy was a scam as when the bill came, he made no motion to pay or split the bill.

I have a sneaking suspicion this man does it regularly ... "befriending" travellers and seemingly appear generous and helpful with all his information, and then end up getting his tea and short eats paid for with a extra few hundred rupees. Chances are most travellers would be happy to pay someone so "friendly". His tone changed pretty quickly though when we backtracked on the tea and said we didn't feel comfortable giving him the money for shipping. I know it's not a lot, but it's the principle of the matter. Tea time quickly ended after that and he left just as quickly.

Anyhow, if you come across a man like this, it's your choice what you do. If you do/did give him money and you do end up with a 5kg box of tea back home, please let us know here that this man is not a scammer."

I got a few messages back from the forums I posted in confirming that this scheme is known to happen. I even got a message saying that the parents of someone living here who met this man, or someone selling a similar story, were still waiting for their tea! So people, beware!

Kandy does not have a nice reputation in my books anymore. After that incident we had the pleasure of dealing with a very persistent tout for a guesthouse. As Chad was taking photos around the lake, he repeatedly asked "Guesthouse? Guesthouse? I know one. Cheap." etc, etc. Anyhow, after many attempts at asking him to leave, telling him we didn't need a place, and having him talk to my hand, I said "GO AWAY". He then had the nerve to scold me about how rude it was of me to ask him to go away! We bickered a bit as I wasted my breath trying to reason with him that what he was doing warranted that reaction from me and explained it's people like him that give this country a bad reputation. Eventually we just had to walk away and ignore him even though I was fuming! Anyways, Kandy is now one of my least favourite places because of people like the ones I just mentioned. Such a shame.

So after all that, we were finally on our way back to Colombo where we had less than 12 hours before were to go on our way to the airport to catch our flight to ..... THE MALDIVES!

BTW, sorry for the long delay in between posts! Since getting back I've pretty busy and also trying to get Christmas all figured out. I've also resurrected my Twitter - you can see my latest Tweets on the right hand side of this page. Please follow if you have an account and I will do the same! 

Nuwara Eliya and Horton's Plains/World's End

Nuwara Eliya was a long, bumpy, windy, and squishy 5 hour bus ride from the junction by Tissamaharama. We made the mistake of sitting at the back of the bus (they were the only two seats together that were still available). With about an hour left in our ride we finally got seats near the front which was SO MUCH BETTER! I would recommend to anyone to sit separately near the front of the bus than to sit together at the back of the bus if you had to make the choice! Regardless, the seats anywhere on a bus is made for tiny skinny Sri Lankans. Chad definitely did not fit in these seats (and those who know him also know he is not that big).

Morning view from King Fern Bungalow

We arrived at the Nuwara Eliya bus station and was promptly greeted by Wasantha, the manager of the King Fern Bungalow (not to be confused with King Fern Cottage, owned by his brother Nishantha). Up one of the hills we went to the guesthouse perched high on one of the surrounding hills with a gorgeous view of town centre. We checked into our room on the second floor which had a beautiful view off the balcony. We were eager to explore the town so Wasantha quickly drew up a little map that showed us the path to walk down to town (about 7 minutes) and we were on our way! We passed by a few kids playing cricket, saw the Cargills Food City that still had all their old colonial signage, had some short eats at a local vegetarian restaurant (best vada ever!), walked through the public golf course, and enjoyed the cool weather that was so familiar to us. The air was cool and crisp and a bit damp. Loved it! We had another amazing Sri Lankan meal, this time, prepared by Wasantha's wife, Chithra, and her helpers.

Dawn with Adam's Peak in the background.

The next morning we shared a van with three others to Horton's Plains for a 10km, relatively flat hike with some pretty uneven and muddy terrain though. We departed just before 5:30am with breakfasts packed for us and reached the park at about 7:30am after another very slow and bumpy ride. Along the way we spotted the silhouette of Adam's Peak along the road as the day broke.



We got out of the van to pay our entrance fees (again, expats with a residence visa have a much cheaper rate at 60 LKR compared to the 2500 LKR for foreigners) and was hit with cold! It was foggy and damp with temps probably hovering around 10 degrees. Not that cold, but certainly a big difference from the 30+ we were in down in Yala. We quickly hopped back into the van and drove to the parking lot which was our starting point.

World's End

It wasn't long until we were pretty warm while moving along the trail and the sun was breaking through the fog. It was a leisurely walk as we occasionally stopped at the informational signs to read about the flora and fauna of the plains. Within 45 minutes we had reached Mini World's End which was beautiful. After a brief stop and a few clicks of the camera we continued to what we really came for, World's End. That was probably roughly another 30 mins on so we were there by 9:15am. It was perfect timing as we took our time snapping shots and taking in the view. We sat down for breakfast as we watched the clouds and mist roll in over the view at around 10:00am. So peaceful.

The hike back to the car seemed much longer. On the way back was the beautiful Baker's Falls. We also stopped on the plains by the river to have a snack ... I didn't want to leave! I would have loved to set up a tent there and just stay there for awhile. It reminded me of home with "real" grass (i.e. grass like home and not Sri Lankan grass) with pine trees and rhododendrons all over along with the fresh air and clear visibility. Would love to go back one day and just spend the day in the park.



We got dropped off in town on the way back so we could have lunch then head down to the Mackwoods Labookellie Tea Factory.  The tour was lacklustre. When we first arrived we were told it would only be 5 minutes until the next tour. Then it was 15 minutes. Then 40 minutes later after being rather exasperated, we finally got a tour of the tea factory. The tour guide herself was real nice, but the cashier behind the counter of the tea room was rather cranky and had  a poor attitude tossing boxes of tea that customers were purchasing nonchalantly and pretty much throwing change back at them.

Anyhow, after that we headed back to our guesthouse where we had our 2nd lovely meal with Wasantha and Chithra along with our fellow adventurers.

Tea plantations near King Fern Bungalow. 

The next morning we woke and got ready for a stroll through some tea plantations Wasantha would take us on. What an amazing walk. Sunny morning, greenery all around, and Wasantha guiding us while answering all our questions about tea. He also found a tea picker who was nice enough to let us take photos with her and pick some tea. She was young and very genuinely nice, unlike the older tea pickers who actually beckon you to take photos with them so they can force you to pay them for that opportunity. We tipped this wonderful woman afterwards, anyways. I hope though, that through the years she doesn't become like the older women. After our walk, we had breakfast, then we were off to the train station to catch the train to Kandy! 

Kataragama and Yala National Park

A brief stop in Matara.

No time machines in this excellent adventure, but lots of good times were had! In Part 1 of our adventure, we started off in a rather cramped A/C bus in Colombo heading to to Galle. A brief pit stop in Galle to use the bathrooms and stretch our legs we quickly continued to Matara, this time on a regular non A/C bus. We briefly stopped in Matara for lunch before getting a bus to Tissamaharama, where our accommodations would be for the next two days. Travelling along the coast rather than going inland rewarded us with some amazing views of the coast!

In the garden of My Village Guesthouse.

We booked at My Village Guesthouse which turned out to be one of the best guesthouses I've stayed at so far. Sujith, the owner and his friend Alae, who was down from Colombo helping him were amazing hosts. We wanted to get to Kataragama for the evening puja (about 7pm) pretty quick so they helped us organise a tuk tuk for 1200LKR. No hassles, no problems!


Puja at Kataragama was interesting and different. Unfortunately, it was raining so we spent quite some time just standing under cover. I was later told that the Puja at Kataragama is mostly attended by Hindus and Tamils which have different traditions than the Sinhalese (as witnessed at Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic/Sri Dalada Maligawa). We saw one lady who was twirling head of long hair around (similar to headbanging) to the chiming of the bell at the temple, like she was possessed by some sort of spirit. Then there were a couple of different groups with drums, flutes, dance, and chants that paraded through the grounds touching and worshipping in particular ways. The one thing that I wanted to see was people smashing coconuts. So there are these two, giant tiles I suppose, in the ground on which people wish upon their coconut. This said coconut is sometimes on fire. When the wish is completed, the wisher smashes the coconut into the ground. If it breaks, it's good luck. If it doesn't, well, I guess what you wished for doesn't come true!

We got back to My Village to an amazing Sri Lankan dinner consisting of the proteins of our choice (chicken and fish) accompanied by 6 other side dishes! We were stuffed at the end and still couldn't finish. We got our full day safari organised for the next day (8000 LKR for the jeep and driver/guide + entrance fees). A note to expats with residence visas - try to get your driver to get you the local entry fee. It's something like 150 LKR as opposed to 2500 LKR! Photo is on my iPhone... will upload when I remember!

Entry Gate to Yala.

The next morning we were up at 4:30am with a tea ready for us. Alae and Sujith had been up preparing and packing our breakfast and lunch which we would eat in the park. Just after 5:00am we departed with our awesome driver who passed a bunch of jeeps on the way to the park to get us as close to the front of the pack as he could. We were in the park by 6:30am in time for the sunrise and immediately started to spot animals! We broke for breakfast at around 9:30am at a stopping point on the beach in the park. Most half day safaris leave the park by 10:00am leaving the park to just those on the full day safaris (which was just a handful) so when we drove around for another hour and a bit it was much more peaceful, allowing us to observe the leopard we spotted for quite some time!

We stopped by the river for lunch for a couple hours before starting the afternoon portion of the safari. Again a bonus was being able to start before all the afternoon half-day jeeps arrived. During this period we had some amazing close encounters with a few elephants where they were just a foot from the jeep while walking by. Just amazing. Also these elephants were such a contrast to the elephants in chians at Pinnewala, which I really don't like.

It started to rain, then pour at around 3:00pm. However, we weren't quite done yet! The jeep drivers have a bit of a network so if they spot a really cool animal they call each other. So at this point, there was word a sloth bear was spotted so we were rushed to that position where about 10 other jeeps were already. However, our driver, being patient, predicted that the sloth bear would exit the brush a little farther back and backed us up away from the other Jeeps. Eventually he moved a bit forward again but he was spot on! We got the closest sighting of the bear as it walked right past our jeep!

On our way back it was a bit of a slow trip on the wet rainy roads following or passing the local motorbikes/scooters/tractors. We waved to many of these locals and got some great smiles. One local man and his family on a scooter even tried to have a conversation with us while driving along! We arrived back at My Village for another amazing dinner after a nice shower. After dinner, Sujith asked us to help him place his guesthouse on Google Maps. This came up because when I booked his guesthouse I asked him to point out where he was located on Google Maps. Anyhow, it wasn't a really easy task as Tissamaharama ends up being Trincomalee on Google Maps but we figured it out eventually (we put Hambantota which allowed us to tag his guesthouse in Tissa). Sujith was so appreciative and we were so happy we could help!

The next day we were a bit sad to leave, but after a relaxing breakfast in the garden we said our goodbyes as the tuk tuk they arranged for us pulled away to drive us to the junction where we needed to catch our bus to Nuwara Eliya!

For more photos, go to my Facebook album.

Grand Adventure Part 6 (Cayman Islands)

Chad is arriving in 26 hours ... and then we set off on a two week trip through parts of Sri Lanka and then to the Maldives. Life has been pretty all over the place (literally), but I will most certainly have an update after the Commonwealth Games 2018 host city is announced! In case you don't know, Hambantota on the south coast of Sri Lanka is competing against the Gold Cost in Australia. I honestly can't tell you who is going to win and who I want to win because like so many others, I keep flip flopping on the pros and cons. I don't envy the CGAs who have to make a decision on who to vote for!

Back to the adventure ...

So from the Isle of Man we left to go to London, met up with two other CSOs, Wendy (Uganda) and Natalie (Falkland Islands) and spent a night in disappointing 2 star "hotel" in a dingy basement triple room that smelled musty. The company was great though, we had a nice walk around in Covent Garden, and we were thoroughly excited for Cayman Islands!

We flew via Miami and reach Cayman on the evening of the 15th September. Greeted by all the CSOs we were relieved to find beautiful rooms at the Grand Cayamanian Resort and being in the company of familiar faces. Being exhausted, I hit the bed pretty early after dinner so to be ready for the next day!

Despite what some might think, we were in the boardroom from 9 - 5 everyday with the exception of one day ... where we made an afternoon trip to 7 mile beach (SO SO goregous!) I wish I had photos - I forgot my camera that day. :( Needless to say it was relaxing and really enjoyable. Jennie (CSP coordinator) did some one on one meetings, including mine, in the water. Now that is what I call an effective meeting! Aside from that, quite a bit of time was spent in the morning and evenings by and around the pool as the ocean off this resort had jellies in the water. We only learned after Nat and Jennie got stung!

We also met up with the Cayman Hash House Harriers who were an extremely hospitable group and made us feel so welcome! It was a "Hash Bash" meaning they had met some major milestone (in this case, the 1750th hash in the history of the club). The challenge that day was that it was a short run/walk (4km) but every km they had stopping points where participants, if they chose to participate, had to down a beer at each stopping point. Hearing from those who tried it, it was tough!

Anyhow, our midterm training in Cayman was incredibly rewarding. There was a lot of self-discovery through a lot of the nervous and anxious energy I was harbouring. I got some reassurances with what I was doing is in a positive direction and a much needed injection of self-confidence. We worked more on our cross cultural skills, problem solving, assessing our personal and professional progress, as well as evaluating the program thus far. We also did some work on principled negotiation ... I really need to work on that!

It was really hard to leave this group to come back to Sri Lanka. Not that I don't like Sri Lanka, but when you are with people who you are close to and love it's hard to leave them. I had spent the last month with some of the closest friends I have from meeting Linda in India, travelling with Paddye through Ireland and the UK, spending time with Wendy and Nat, then with the awesome CSOs in Cayman Islands. Additionally, for three weeks I had let my guard down and didn't have to deal with the constant questions of whether I needed a taxi, where I'm from, what I'm doing, or the staring. As much as those things don't really bug me, I am consistently in a heightened state of alertness which is a bit tiring and exhausting!  This was a really foreign feeling from the first time I left Vancouver. The difference I think was that I didn't have a benchmark of what it would feel like living alone, away from home, for an extended period of time. My trip back to home away from home felt like I was missing something ... but it wasn't long until I got back into my routine and things felt better again.

With that I conclude my Grand Adventure. I did spend one more day (12hr layover) in London on my return trip from Cayman back to Sri Lanka where I wandered around the Museum of Natural History (really cool place!) and Oxford Street. Photos will be on Facebook, eventually!

I also want to take this chance to thank my readers. I know many of you are reading this to just see what I'm up to, but I am also getting hits from some countries I wouldn't expect - particularly on my posts for the Kandy Esala Perhera and my stakeholder map! I also want to say that if you are one of those people who have ended up at my blog because you are searching for an image or information on travelling (or whatever else I have written about), please don't hesitate to send me a message/email if you have any questions! 

Because I said so!

It's been noisy around Olympic House the last couple of weeks. The walls that previously surrounded the grounds on which our building sits are in the process of being torn down. Why? Because "someone" said so. This "someone", like "He who must not be named" in a very famous movie, is a bit of a villain in my mind. Unfortunately, this person also has a lot of power.

A friend told me this person can order pretty much anyone around. This person, has "asked" the the National Olympic Committee and the other user groups around us to knock down our outer walls to create a more "open space". Why? Because he likes it. Because, from where he lived overseas, that's the way things are with more open spaces and he likes it. Along the the same lines, if this person sees a wall that is painted the "wrong" colour, he'll ask the property owner to paint it a colour of his choice.

Of course, me being me, I asked, "what if someone says no"? She replied, "No one can say no" to which I did not understand. There is no law against having a wall is mismatched with those around you. Nor is there a law that says you can't have walls up. I know I have no control over it, but it irks me that one person in a position of power can disrupt so many people's lives with a few words and perhaps a wave of a hand (or wand in the movie mentioned above). Sure, if in a neighbourhood where all the walls were white and an eccentric resident chose to paint his/her wall in a multi-colour splatter, I can see them being asked to conform. But, only if it the majority of those living in the vicinity of this resident agree that the wall should be white and even then they can ask and not force this person to change.

So here we are at the NOC, down to almost no walls and feeling rather naked and exposed to everything else around us. The walls provided a feeling of security and identity.  Not just for us, but probably for people like the ones I can now see through the window at my desk; the living area of the few live-in workers in the building next to ours. The walls were a boundary that told us "this place is ours". Now, anyone can walk onto our grounds and enjoy them, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as we have a beautiful place. It's just that there is little privacy anymore. But if the ducks have it their way on the grounds, no one will get to enjoy the grounds. (I tried today to cut through the outdoor dining area of the restaurant attached to our building and they chased me out. These ducks also like to leave little gifts all over our driveway and grounds).

Kandy Esala Perahera

Sri Dalada Maligawa lit up at night for the Esala Perahera. 

Last weekend, the girls in the office, with some help of people connected to the NOC, organized a trip for all us to go see the Kandy Esala Perahera. The Perahera is a big parade with dancers and elephants which celebrates and honours the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha housed in Sri Dalada Maligawa temple in Kandy.

The Intercity Express.

We took the Intercity Express train from Colombo Fort Station on Saturday morning in reserved 1st class seats. It was a lovely ride going through rural parts of Sri Lanka passing through rice paddies and coconut plantations before we climbed the hills, reaching Kandy in just under three hours.







Fast forwarding to the parade itself, we were lucky to have had someone arrange for us reserved seating under cover in the stands. It was a bit of a rainy day as according to superstition, whenever the Tooth Relic is taken out of it's room, it rains. Seems like the myth was holding true! We got to our seats at about 5pm to ensure they weren't taken and sat around waiting for the 7:30pm start. We snacked, chatted, and then got a bit bored. Because we were in the hills it got a little chilly too! Prior to the Perahera starting, the roads were washed water about a hour prior to the start. Then about half an hour before the start, the roads were washed again with a water and turmeric solution that is supposed to disinfect the road. According to Indian and Sri Lankan traditional medicine, turmeric is an antiseptic and is sometimes put on wounds. Who knew?! Before long, it was dark, and we heard the sounds of whippers - men and boys who crack long whips before the procession to signal the start of the Perahera.

Torch bearers walk alongside with the procession the whole way through lighting the way for the participants and the elephants. There are flutists, horn players, Kandyan dancers, fire spinners, and drummers interspersed with elephants carrying various relics on their backs and decorated with gorgeous drapery and lights. The Perahera repeats every night for two weeks ending on the Poya day in August with the grandest parade of them all. Because we saw the Perahera near the beginning of its season, it was lower key than the ones following it with more amateur performers - kids who look like they would much rather be somewhere else and many that looked bored to be there. However, there were a few performers who performed with so much passion it was such a pleasure to watch them dance with endless energy.

The elephant in the middle is the one carrying the casket in which the Sacred Tooth Relic sits. 

It was a LONG and slow parade though ... 2 hours with everything repeating itself about 5 times but with slightly different costumes and colours. They were kind of split into different segments depending on which relic was being celebrated but the performances that followed each relic (being carried by an elephant and it's elephant entourage) eventually started to look the same. At least there people were performing all the way - unlike at home where sometimes it's just people walking behind a banner in a parade or waving on an uneventful float.

Kandyan Dancers

The day after we visited the Sri Dalada Maligawa for Puja while the doors to the chamber in which the Sacred Tooth Relic is held were open. We got a glimpse of the casket in a very busy hall where many people were making their offerings and chanting. The girls walked me through how to make an offering to the Buddha with Blue Lotus flowers which entitled me to one wish after the offering. I'm not telling what it is!


Fast forward to the next day ...

So I didn't plan any celebrations for my birthday and kept it pretty low key. Sri Lankans party pretty hard and I was not up to that task for my birthday so I didn't really put it out there. So what do I mean by party hard? In line with the habit of eating dinner late, say, not until 9 or 10pm, they don't head to the clubs/bars until well after midnight. It's common not to get to a club until 1am or 2am then stay until 4 or 5am! For those of you who know me well, I love my sleep and it's hard pressed to find me up that late. Usually at that hour I might be waking up to go snowboarding in the winter...

My Birthday cookies. 

I did do a small celebration with the girls at the office. Here, it's customary that when you celebrate something, you bring the celebration! Knowing that I wouldn't be able to just buy a birthday cake because of my egg and dairy intolerances, I baked some birthday cookies instead. They were a sugar cookie, dipped on one side with lime flavoured icing and topped with dried coconut. The girls gave me a lovely card and some gift certificates to spend at ODEL (yay!). I think the highlight though was when Dinushi said she would love to open a cookie shop with me. ;)

U want a tuna?

Relaxing on a grey Saturday watching the seas from the balcony of Hotel Dhammika, Unawatuna.

Emelie and Alex relaxing under a tree in front of the Happy Banana.

Well, I would offer you a piece of my tuna, but it's overdone and dry like jerky. That's what the tuna I had this weekend on my skewer was like. Aside from that, I had a lovely weekend in Unawatuna (you-na-wa-tu-na). Another gorgeous Sri Lankan beach and with great company yet again. I was invited out by Alex and Emelie, a couple from Sweden to join them and what was going to be a few others. Those few others turned into eight so they broke off and did their own thing. Glad I brought a friend, Laura, along so I wasn't a third wheel!

The view from our guesthouse on Sunday morning!

Arrived on Saturday to rainy skies and great big grey clouds. We checked-in at the wonderful Hotel Dhammika (recommended by Alex and Emelie - 3rd time in Una I think?) and got a room without air conditioning for a reasonable 2500LKR (22CAD) that included a little mini fridge and a TV - not common at guesthouses. After sitting through the afternoon at the laid-back Bong Spice Chili Cafe (which was beside Happy Banana, who is neighbours with Lucky Tuna ... all restaurants), we retreated to our rooms to wait out the rain and enjoy the view from our balconies.  Cooler yet was an adventurous American/Australian couple (hi Jennie and Greg!) knocked on their door on Saturday afternoon and asked if Alex and Emelie wanted to have dinner with them and then of course Alex and Emelie invited us along. Good times! Dinner on the beach with a couple torches in the sand and under the stars. Awesome. Sunday was a much nicer day, but alas, it was time to head back to the city to get ready for the week.

What Unawatuna really is all about. Blue skies, blue waters and soft sandy beaches.

Got back late afternoon on Sunday and wasn't feeling great so I rolled into bed instead of going to yoga. Ended up feeling pretty sick and slept all night and basically until Tuesday morning (yeah, 36 hours-ish) only waking up occasionally to boil some water, take some Tylenol, and freshen up to feel better. I think it was another case of stomach flu/food poisoning. To make matters worse, the traffic authority had changed the traffic pattern in my area permanently as of Monday so I now live on one of the busiest roads in Colombo. As I was trying to recover, dozing in and out of sleep, I would occasionally get a really loud honk from those crazy bus drivers, along with a bunch of honk honks from tuk tuks, cars, and motorbikes, that interrupted my rest. I found some solace that I wasn't the only one who thinks this arrangement is crazy: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110717/BusinessTimes/bt10.html. I'll have to try and do some before and after photos of the traffic difference for you guys later.

Unluckily through all this, red ants decided it would be nice to binge on my protein stash in my cupboard. They broke into my soybeans, cashews, crackers, noodles, rice, and oatmeal! Buggers! They ate through both plastic and foil packaging. GEEEZ.

Observe the holes in the foil packaging. They ruined my crackers. :( 

Those are all (dead) ants after I sprayed a dishwash detergent & water solution on them.  And that wasn't even the worst of it. I was too freaked out then to take a photo!

Mirissa

Click on the above photo to go to my Picasa photo album of Mirissa!

Last week I attended an Internations.org (a online network for "global minds") event in Colombo and met an awesome Canadian named Jaimie who is interning at the Asia Foundation here until August. She had been travelling every weekend since being in Sri Lanka with another intern who is from the US. Anyhow, the other intern had to work last weekend so she was planning on finding a beach and R&R time. I asked if I could join her so her, myself, and another intern Jaimie works with (Grace), went on a 3.5 hour bus journey to Mirissa after some advice from the coordinator of the local Internations group.

It's monsoon season here on the West Coast of Sri Lanka so it is also the low tourist season (May - November). That means, the waves are bigger at the beaches on this coast and smaller on the east coast. Then it's the opposite in December - April where I've been told the waters are super calm on the West Coast and the water gets really clear. Didn't matter to me. The low season meant the beaches of Mirissa were deserted and we got dirt cheap accommodations. We paid 1000LKR (about $9 CAD) per double room with a private bathroom when it usually would likely cost around 3000LKR in the high season.

Personally, when we had arrived in Mirissa I felt this feeling of euphoria. I had been deprived of nature since getting back from New Zealand and have been a bit frustrated that way. Living in Vancouver, nature was always only a short distance away and not having that convenience has been hard to adjust to. Spending the weekend in Mirissa was really energizing to me. I was in such a good mood at work on Monday; I felt amazing.

What was also refreshing were how nice and welcome the locals were. Whereas in the city boys tend to be really obnoxious (like today, walking home from the bus stop a boy steps right in front of me, bends down, looks and me and says "hello lady" like I'm stupid) these guys seemed like they've embraced the beach bum life, listening to Bob Marley and are just chill. They weren't looking at us like objects, but were genuinely interested in showing us their way of life and learning a bit about ours. I'm sure it helps that it's the low season and they've got a bit more spare time to just hang out and not have to work. You'll see in my photos of them showing us a blowfish with their smiles that they are a really happy and laid-back bunch!

I also think that it's a town that has mostly been untouched by major tourism. There are no major resorts in Mirissa ... mostly guesthouses. However, I don't think it will remain that way for long. Despite most locals being nice, there are signs that some are becoming more aggressive with tourists. We had one guy who really was trying to get us to follow him to some accommodations. He ended up following us to where we were staying and wanted to pretend that he showed us there and I think wanted some commission from the place we were staying at. In any case, I do plan on going back at some point to enjoy more peace and quiet on the beach where I can hear no honking or shouting. Just the waves.

McRice?

After work one day last week, the girls in the office decided to head to McDonalds for some burgers and chips. It was good times ... 6 of us in a booth, 3 large extra value meals (so we could share the large pops and fries), 2 burgers and my selection.So while they had their burgers and chips, I went for the special offering as McDonalds does to cater to regional tastes. The McRice with Chicken.

The McRice and I.

The lovely ladies I work with! (L to R: Rasani, Hiruni, Gayathri, Dinushi, Shammi)

Basically, it was Uncle Ben's type rice (seasoned) with a McChicken patty on top, with a side of spicy sauce which I think is meant to imitate masala. I couldn't tell. But, it wasn't bad, especially for 240LKR (about $2.20 CAD).

Since consuming the McRice, the following week has been pretty crazy (no, the two are not correlated although I imply it is - a consequence for eating McDonalds?). Commonwealth Youth Games accreditation deadline is looming so this week has been filled with more selection stuff, training representatives from National Sports Federations to enter information on Zeus, plus completing my work plan for the year and this month's report! Anyways, that's all in as of 15 minutes ago and I'm off to Mirissa, a small beach town 4 hours south of Colombo (only about 140km though) for one night and two days with a Canadian (Jaimie) I met this week at an Internations (a networking site for "global minds") event and a Taiwanese girl who is interning with Jaimie at the Asia Foundation. Hooray for my first real adventure out of Colombo!

Alright. Off to bed now as I'll be up in about 7 hours until departure. I promise photos ... but how quickly I'll get them up is another story. Sorry for being so lazy on posting photos, especially on Facebook!