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SEA GEM LOG
January 21, 2000
IMPRESSIONS
 In
a limited amount of time and space I want to give you some impressions
of Sri
Lanka.
Undulating and pulsing masses of humanity are moving,
struggling and living in conditions we find hard to fathom. The narrow rutted roads are crowded with people, cars, vans, trucks, cows, dogs and more people. People, cows
and dogs move very slowly. Motorized vehicles move very fast. At the end of a day on the road you are exhausted from the fear that you will either receive or inflict serious bodily harm. We took a tour into the interior of Sri Lanka and spent three days and two nights with our guide, Gihan, and our driver Lasanta. It is always a leap of faith to place your life in the
hands of someone you don't know, but twenty-one year old Lasanta proved to be a very able driver. I didn't know whether to be reassured or nervous when he stopped to pray at
one of the many Buddhist shrines along the road. Prayers were answered, his and ours, and we came back safely which might be considered a minor miracle if you consider road conditions.
We passed so many beautiful scenes. Charlie took his life in his hands to photograph the fishing village, for he had to stand on a narrow bridge to do so, and busses were practically
brushing the hairs on his arms while he was taking pictures. Most of the first day on the road was spent going north, through Colombo. We had to pass
through the capital, which is a place to stay away from, to reach our destination of Kandy. We stopped for lunch in Colombo. On the road we went through military check points
periodically. Finding acceptable places to eat and acceptable rest rooms is interesting. Tourist oriented hotels are usually your best bet, if there are any available.
 Late
in the afternoon we stopped at the elephant orphanage to see "elephant
bathing." We purchased tickets and made our way on foot
down a narrow street lined with shops on both sides with hawkers
anxious to sell you all kinds of items designed to catch the eye
of the tourist. When we approached the river the elephants
were already there, bathing, milling and being kept in a group by
the mahouts, or trainers. We took lots of pictures, Charlie
worked hard trying to catch the photo I really wanted of the tiny
new baby being carefully protected by his mother. Watching
was a treat but we soon decided to make our way back to the van
to continue on to Kandy. As we walked up the street we noticed
all the shops were closing up in front. We wondered why, and
then turned and saw the herd of elephants coming up the street.
I gingerly stepped out just long enough for Charlie to snap the
picture of elephants coming, and then ducked back
inside a shop. Knowing cows as we do, we were not going to
stand in front of a herd of approaching elephants. They lumbered
by, knowing exactly where they were going, and we watched in amazement
as few mahouts controlled many elephants going.
After all day on the road we finally reached Kandy and our hotel. We stepped from a world
of need into a world of luxury: polished marble floors, crystal chandeliers, uniformed attendants and clean lovely rooms. This was truly a five star hotel, tucked out of the way in
Kandy, the ancient capitol of Sri Lanka. The price of the hotel was included in our "packaged tour." We paid $300.00 US (per couple) for the three day, two night tour. That
included the van, the driver and guide, both hotels, and included dinner and breakfast. The rate for our hotel in Kandy was $30.00 US per night. The buffet they had for dinner was
varied and excellent. Breakfast was the same. We went to dinner at seven-thirty into an almost empty dining room and worried about the occupancy rate, forgetting that most of the
guests were Europeans who dine late. By nine thirty the dining room was full and we were told the hotel was full also.
Charlie and I went to see the Kandy Dancers performance in the city before dinner. Don and Lois elected to rest before we ate. We enjoyed the performance of the dance troop and
thought it was over and rose and started to leave when an English woman said, " Follow me, you must stay to see the fire walkers."
She led us up on the stage and soon all the audience had been rearranged to gather close to watch the demonstration. First a huge tray of coals was carried in and set on the stone
floor. The performers went through a preparation ritual of prayer and then did demonstrations of rolling burning torches up and down their arms and putting flames in their
mouths. Then the walking began, and both men walk up and down the flaming coals many times. A sprinkle of lighter fluid, or something like it, is put on the coals before each walk.
The whole performance was quite spectacular and Charlie had a chance to check out some very tough feet on the way out of the theater. The feet are important but I believe the mind
is even more important and I don't plan on trying fire walking any time soon. Our crew member, Sandra, thinks she would like to have a go at it, but she jumps out of airplanes for fun.
The big tour in Kandy was the Buddhist temple which houses a relic, a tooth of Buddha. This relic has been fought for, stolen, returned and enshrined and the temple is huge and lovely. Two years ago the
Tamil Tigers, who are Hindu, blew up part of the temple with a huge blast which killed sixteen people and did severe damage to the structure. Repairs are still underway and
security is very tight. We went through three security checks to go into the temple and women especially are searched for it seems much of the terrorist activity is done by women.
Of course a big purse with lots of junk is always suspect so it was searched all three times, and you are body frisked also. Like all temples you check your shoes before you go in and
this one had a good long walk on rather gravely sidewalks before you got to the smooth part. We were fortunate to see one of the daily services which we did not understand but it
included a lot of drums and allowing some selected people to go in and out of one of the inner chambers. A guide took us through the temple and explained the different rooms, and
since I had purchased a flower at the entrance, I gave it to our guide and he left it as an offering at one of the altars.
One of the things I enjoy most about our travels is watching and interacting with people. I love to see the families and the children and often when you take a picture someone will
press an address into your hand and ask you to send them one. At times we carry a Polaroid so that we can take a picture and give them one on the spot. At a place where we were
buying some vegetables we were drawing a crowd and Charlie took some shots of the people who all very solemnly lined up, attracting more participants by the minute. As soon
as the film would come out of the camera someone would grab it, and as it developed smiles appeared. People are very friendly. I had a nice conversation with a Tuck Tuck driver about
our country and his and problems we both face. He found it hard to believe that we don't have Tuck Tucks in America. The little vehicles are manufactured in India, their engines are
five horse power and they might not be a bad idea for some locations. We certainly have ridden in a lot of them. CONTINUE
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