Spring Break in Sri Lanka

Hello again,
Happy Easter everyone. To my loyal readers back in Minnesota and throughout the U.S.-our sincerest empathy is extended to you after the winter you have just suffered through and hopefully are finally emerging from (at times I wonder if we'll be seeing snow on the ground when we arrive home in mid-June).  While we certainly have nothing comparable to what you endured in these recent months, nonetheless we were quite ready for a break from school, and lo and behold, a beauty of a spring break stretched before us on the calendar.  Eleven consecutive days off from work, a particularly long break due to its convergence with the Bengali New Year.  When Marianella and I returned from Peru at the start of the new year, we shifted our attention to maximizing this gift of a break-we were seeking a bit of culture, a bit of adventure, and a healthy dose of pure relaxation. Among the contenders, Sri Lanka emerged.

As we began piecing together our vacation to the island resembling a teardrop off the southeast coast of India, we became more excited with each bit of investigation.  Just a touch larger than the state of West Virginia, we focused on the southwest quadrant of Sri Lanka, which proved abundant for a satisfying trip.  Our excitement began turning into low-level anxiety-were we being too ambitious with our plans?  Would we feel as if we were just rushing from one place to the next?  Would the weather (one of the monsoon seasons knocks upon the door in that area during April) cooperate?

Thankfully, the anxiety was all for naught and we were able to experience perhaps our most enjoyable vacation yet.  Each day brought distinct wonders, sometimes grand, often subtle, and as such, this blog entry will be unique in that I will be providing a day-by-day account of our trip, due to these distinctions.  Bear with, I do believe (hope?) it will be more enjoyable than a '70s style slideshow :-).

Day 1
Our time in the capitol of Colombo was brief-arriving in the late afternoon, we only spent one night in the busy city.  However, it was quite a rewarding night.  Let me share a story with you all about Marianella, that continues to develop as one of my favorite stories involving her.  Back in October 2002, she set off to study in Japan, a scholarship recipient from the government of Japan that brought many talented students from countries across the globe.  During the initial, intensive six-month period of learning the Japanese language, Marianella lived in the dorms, studied and became tight friends with other students from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.  When she left Japan in 2004, she figured she was saying goodbye to these friends forever, at least in seeing them face-to-face.  Never did she imagine she would someday move to Bangladesh where shortly after our arrival last year she was reunited with her dear friend Arif (more on him in another blog post, sometime down the road).

With our vacation planned to Sri Lanka, she reached out to her friend Dileepa, with whom she rode the train to campus on the very first day they both arrived in Japan.  They said goodbye to one another eleven years ago; on this night, we sat down for a dinner that was unimaginable two years ago.  Prior to Dileepa and her family's arrival to pick us up, Marianella reminisced on how Dileepa would always caress her cheeks in a motherly way; before we even stepped into their car to head off for dinner, that sweet familiar gesture was enacted again.  Smiles abounded around the table that night; the husbands and son could not help but be swept into the warmth of this reunion.
Dileepa and her family:

Day 2
The first of several early mornings occurred on this day, as we were catching the 7:00 a.m. train from Colombo to Kandy, which is centrally located in Sri Lanka and the second largest city in the country.  The mode of travel was a highlight in itself; after the morning dew was burned off by the sun, we were able to see quite a stunning vista in our three hour climb towards Kandy.  This was our cultural day of the vacation-we started our evening's entertainment with a show presenting the traditional dances of Sri Lanka and then visited the Temple of the Tooth, one of the holiest sites for the Buddhist religion in all the world.
At the show:

The Temple of the Tooth:

Day 3
On our second day in Kandy, we explored the vivid nature that abounds in the surrounding area.  I joined Marianella on a walk around the lake this morning after opting out the previous day to take a nap.  She had entranced me with a picture of a monitor lizard taken on that day's walk; on this day, we saw upwards of ten of these monsters as we progressed around the lake.  Energized, we ventured on a tuk-tuk tour that took us to a brief tea factory tour, a tea plantation, the Royal Botanical Gardens, and a visit to the giant Buddha statue that looms over the city.
Bird's eye view of Kandy:

 Kandy Lake:

 One of the many monitor lizards:

Three generations awaiting their sister/daughter/granddaughter's wedding:

 Royal Botanical Gardens:

The 88 foot Buddha that towers over Kandy:

A schoolgirl on a class trip, showcasing the wonderful Sri Lankan smile:

Day 4
Six and a half hours is a pretty considerable road trip.  I can't recall the last time I had been in a car for such a stretch.  This was our day as we left Kandy and headed south, although rarely directly.  While it was certainly long, that does not mean it wasn't enjoyable.  Advancing through the interior of Sri Lanka on hairpin turns and upward climbs, we were further treated to the splendor of the country that we had tasted via the train ride. Traveling rather comfortably in a van, the best moment may have occurred when our driver reported that he had to shut off the air conditioning for a spell as we climbed through a particularly steep stretch of road.  With the air conditioning off, we rolled down the windows and kept them down a lot longer than was necessary.  The relatively high elevation provided a cool breeze that blew through the vehicle as we admired the rolling hills, tea plantations, deep valleys, and waterfalls that abound in this region.

Roadside Sweet Corn:

 I would totally dine at this restaurant:

 

Rawana Falls:

Day 5
There was one reason we came to this interior region of Sri Lanka and that was Yala National Park.  Neither of us had ever been on a safari and during our research we came to discover that Yala is not only abundant with elephants, crocodiles, and other cool animals but also the most densely populated area for spotted leopards in the world.  Reading that piece of information, the decision was cemented.  Upon further reading, our enthusiasm was tempered a bit-while it legitimately stakes claim to the density honor, only 25-35 leopards reside in the Park.  It's a big park and leopards like to blend in with their environment-we stepped into our safari with hope, but no real expectations, despite the strong reviews for our safari leader.
Daybreak in Yala National Park:

This was our earliest of mornings-pick up from the hotel was at 5:00 a.m. and with bleary eyes we advanced towards the main entrance in the dark, arriving to find roughly twenty other jeeps with their customers waiting for the go-ahead to enter the Park.  As the morning light crept onto the horizon, we entered the park and began our rough and tumble search over the deeply rutted dirt roads in our quest for the animals.  We had both seen all the headliners before in zoos; but the anticipation of spotting these animals in the wild kept us on the literal edge of our seats through the early morning.  Having entered the park at approximately 6:00, our guide told us the best opportunity to spot leopards would be before 7:00 a.m., so that became the priority, as we sped past wild boars, spotted deer, and water buffaloes.  However, when we saw a momma, poppa, and baby elephant emerging from the bushes, it caused the driver to pause and he set us up in a position where they crossed mere feet behind our jeep.  Along with the young Spaniard couple that we shared the tour with, we were bubbling with excitement.  A phone call arrived shortly afterward to our guide, indicating that two leopards were enjoying a monkey for breakfast up in the trees, so we sped to the site, which had attracted every jeep in the park.  Fortunately, we were able to get position where we could peek through the branches and leaves to see a glimpse of the feast occurring.

 Leopard having his monkey for breakfast:

We had seen a leopard and a family of elephants, so we were satisfied to turn our attention back to the more commonplace animals that populated the park.  We ambled over to a pond that was hosting nearly fifteen crocodiles and some interesting birds and as we lazily gazed upon these animals, a phone call arrived again-no indication as to what, but the quick action of our guide told us it had to be something big.  We approached a road where two other jeeps were waiting; supposedly a leopard had been spotted in the thicket.  As we squinted through the dense cover, nothing could be seen and I figured it was much ado about nothing.  The jeeps all began to drift away, with our guide loitering the longest.  After turning around and inching down the road, Marianella glanced out the back of the jeep and there it was, slinkily sauntering across the road.  This is what we saw; unfortunately, as we spotted it, so did the jeep in front of us and as it rapidly sped towards us in reverse, the leopard shot off into the woods before we could get a photo.  No photo, but an indelible memory for Marianella and myself.   
Pretty birds:

Water buffalo:

Peacock:

Spotted Deer:

Crocodile:

Wild boars:

Painted Stork:

Monkey:

It was now around 8:30 and the Park was heating up-we pretty much thought we had seen it all for the day.  Our guide informed us how fortunate we were-the previous day, they had seen no leopards and just a few elephants at a distance.  We continued to explore, but I think everyone was ready to concede that the animals were laying low under the hot sun.  It was at about 10:30 that the last gift of the day was presented to us-turning onto a road, we saw several other jeeps and they had elephants in sight.  Boy, did they ever.  Our guide once again put us in masterful position to get great photos of the 15-20 elephants that began emerging from the brush and crossing the road.  That was our grand finale-after watching the elephants tromp away, it was time to head on back to the hotel.  It was a two person consensus in the back of the jeep-this was one of our best days ever spent together.

 Yala's stars and paparazzi:

Safari selfie:

Day 6
Another travel day, as we left the interior of Sri Lanka to head towards the southern coast and the Indian Ocean.  Here was our travel tally over these last three days:  six and a half hours on twisting roads; five hours bouncing over alternately washboard dirt roads and deeply rutted dirt roads; and three hours in a car that wasn't very comfortable.  Fortunately, upon arrival in the tiny coastal town of Mirissa, we checked into the most comfortable hotel on our trip and then went to our well-timed massage appointments.  An hour and a half later, we emerged feeling rejuvenated and ready for the adventure that laid ahead the next day.
Day 7
Not satisfied with the immensity of the elephants on our visit to Yala National Park, we set out on a whale-watching tour with the hopes of viewing a blue whale, the largest mammal on earth.  We discovered quickly that we are not the seafaring types; while Marianella battled sea-sickness throughout, I was singing the theme song to "Gilligan's Island" in my head while slightly hallucinating as I gazed onto the horizon where the blue sky and blue ocean met.  Once back upon terra firma, we voiced our thoughts-this was our one and only whale-watching excursion.  Thank goodness it was so fruitful.
Mirissa Harbor:

To see blue whales, you have to head far from shore; our round trip on the choppy Indian Ocean was just shy of eight hours.  As we chugged along, we were treated to a massive school of dolphins relatively early on our journey.  Our guide told us, find the fishing boats and you'll find dolphins, so that's what we did-he estimated that there were nearly 500 dolphins following the boats that morning.  Shortly after the dolphins, we kept on a roll, viewing a sea turtle floating placidly through the water.  And that was followed by. . .tedium.  We chugged and rocked and rolled further out into the ocean in search of the big boys.  After quite a spell of time I thought, 'well, at least we saw dolphins'.  But, with the perseverance of our captain, a plume of spray was spotted and we were approaching a Bryde's (sounds like Brutus) Whale.  As we kept our respectful distance, clicking away with our cameras, the ship's spotters caught the big daddy of them all relatively close by; a Blue Whale and a big one at that.  The pictures below capture the enormity better than words can.  We saw our Blue Whale.  We're good.

Sea Turtle:

 Blue Whale:

After getting back onto land and settling our stomachs a bit, we traveled down the coast a bit to our next spot which had the ocean as our backyard and was located just a short drive from the town of Galle and the totally charming Galle Fort, which has been in existence since the 16th century.  Within the walls of the Fort, live approximately 1000 people, whose family heritage extends back several generations.  The ramparts, views and lighthouse are quite alluring, as are the shops and restaurants which we found ourselves frequenting on both nights we were in the region.
Traditional fishermen along the southern coast:

Galle Fort:

One of our many delicious meals on this vacation:

Day 8
Beach...

Books...

 Beer...

Day 9
The view from our cabana:

This was our final day in Sri Lanka, as the next day we had an early morning flight back home to Dhaka.  We soaked up every last minute we could at our beach-side cabana, setting the alarm to get out to the beach early and checking out at the last possible minute.  The beach was quite prevalent with rocks and coral which combined with strikingly clear water allowed us to wade through waist deep water and watch schools of tiny, colorful fish swim past us, although Marianella felt a few bump into her legs while passing (I think my translucent skin prevented any of the fish from getting too close to me).

Wedding pictures at the beach:

  I haven't mentioned yet that we were visiting Sri Lanka during the hottest month of the year; located just 400 miles from the equator, it's always hot (except in the highlands) and any time spent out of the water meant sweat poring from our skin.  We felt the intensity of this heat the most on our final day, when we transferred ourselves to the town of Negombo, which is located quite close to the airport.  As we did our last minute shopping in poorly ventilated shops, I thought it possible my body was going to turn into a puddle, just like I saw in the cartoons of my childhood.  Fortunately, our final night accommodations provided us with a refreshing swimming pool along with a nicely air conditioned room, to the point that we teetered on the edge of being chilly.

It was an early wake-up call the next morning, as we sleepily headed to the airport and back home.  Through every visit we have taken in southeast Asia, we have ended our trips with the desire to come back some day, but none of the other countries has caused this feeling to be so strong as Sri Lanka.  Three-quarters of this island country is unknown to us and we couldn't help but tentatively plan our next excursion as we gazed at the in-flight magazine's map of Sri Lanka and the unexplored.

But, first things first-the next time Marianella and I will be boarding an airplane together will be in less than two months and it will be delivering us to Minnesota (hopefully snow-free!).  We're not yet counting the days, but we're not far from that point.  Hopefully our paths will be crossing in the very near future.
~Tim & Marianella