Sri Lanka 2013

Colombo is the commercial and administrative capital of Sri Lanka; a city of contrasts from the quiet tree lined embassy district with its colonial buildings to the bustling modern traffic snarled streets. But we were here for the lampries , the only traditional Sri Lankan dish we hadn’t yet tried. Anton rang ahead to the Dutch Burgher Union to put in our lunch order. Lampries (Dutch for “Lump of Rice”) are much more than a mixture of curry and rice wrapped in a banana leaf . There is a multitude of flavors – rice cooked in stock; eggplant curry; pork, beef, and mutton curry; some sambal; a paste made with dried fish, onions, lime, salt and spices – all steamed in a banana leaf and delicious! Lampries – rice and various curries steamed in a banana leaf – our new favourite Sri Lankan food An old colonial club house in the embassy district Making manioc chips at a street stall on the Green by the Indian Ocean – they taste great! The venerable Veranda Bar at the Galle Face Hotel (186...

As we headed west along the south coast of Sri Lanka, the dry thorny forest of Yala gradually changed to lush and wet tropical with palm fringed coves and bright green rice paddies. Galle , occupied by the Portuguese in 1619, expanded by the Dutch from 1640 and further developed by the British from 1796, is home to the World Heritage Fort “Santa Cruz”. We enjoyed our day’s cooking class with Karuna, starting at the Galle market to buy the ingredients and spices. She is a lively humorous woman and a great teacher. Southern coast of Sri Lanka

After a steep descent from the hill country we arrived at the 30,000 hectares Udawalawe National Park (200m), an ideal place to view elephants at close range. In our first 15 minutes in the park we spotted two herds of elephants, a jackal, peacocks, buffalo, a crocodile and a pair of bright green parrots. Off to a good start! A herd of elephants in the Udawalawe National Park

Our trip through the Sri Lankan hill country started at Kandy (500m). We climbed through soft rain and fog to the cold Nuwara Eliya (2000m), stopping en-route to visit a tea factory and enjoy a nice cup of tea – complicated business this tea processing. From Nuwara Eliya to Ella (1100m) we travelled by train. As we descended, the weather cleared allowing views of the tea growing plantations. For 2 days we stayed at the new  98 Acres Resort , built on top of a hill in the middle of a tea plantation. It was very quiet with wonderful views from our balcony. We enjoyed this place. We walked a few kilometers from Ella along the railway track in time to see the train crossing the 9 Arch Bridge, then walked another couple of kilometers to Demodara where the track makes a 360 degree turn.  We caught the old rattler back. Our travelling companions on the train to Ella One of the waterfalls as we climbed up from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya

The Dambulla Cave Temple is part of theUNESCO Heritage Cutural Triangle of Sri Lanka and is encrusted into a large rock which sits more than 160m above the surrounding land This ancient complex was initially established in 3rd Century BC. We were awed. It is truly a wonder – the largest and best preserved cave temples in Sri Lanka; home to numerous religious and cultural paintings and sculptures. Entrances to the Dambulla Cave Temple There are 153 statues of Buddha in the caves One of the early Kings Murals on the walls depict the life of Buddha Every square inch of the cave ceiling is painted A giant reclining Buddha carved into the rock     The Temple of Tooth Relic is located in Kandy , the second largest city in Sri Lanka.  At 500 meters above sea level it rains a lot, in contrast to the hot dry northern plains we just left behind. The Tooth Relic , one of Buddha’s teeth snatched from his funeral pyre, is one of the most venerable places for the Buddhists of Sri...

Sigiriya , known as the “Fortress in the Sky” was built into a city complex about 500AD when the king moved from Anuradhapura .  It is another UNSECO World Heritage site and a “must see” for every visitor to Sri Lanka. It took us about an hour to climb to the top. Sri Lanka was ruled from Sigiriya in 500AD – the top is 200 meters above the surrounding plains

Anuradhapura was the first ancient kingdom and capital of Sri Lanka. It prospered from about 300BC until 1100AD. By 500AD, 5000 monks lived here. The scale of this UNSECO World Heritage listed site is incredible. We spent hours exploring the stupas, Buddhist shrines and monuments. The biggest of the white Stupas at Anuradhapura Bride and groom in traditional wedding dress Moonstone at the bottom of steps shows the endless life and reincarnation cycle Steps are guarded by dwarves The lion, a symbol of strength, is on the Sri Lankan flag Elaborately carved guard stone holds the steps in place Buddha carved from a single stone was once covered in gold Giant reclining Buddha Lady making delicious banana rotis on a makeshift stove The world’s oldest tree – from a branch of the tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment Imagine 5000 red robed monks coming here to bathe 120 meters tall and containing almost 100 million bricks, this is the world’s largest brick building: the 3rd largest s...

From Singapore we flew into Colombo on Tiger Airways. Anton our guide/driver met us and drove to nearby Negombo which retains much of the Portuguese & Dutch influence with canals and Catholic churches. Hundreds of traditional sailing canoes, carved from a single large log, still fish in the Indian Ocean and bring their catch to the active fish market. Traditional sailing canoes carved are still used for fishing in Negombo A jumble of modern fishing boats bring in the catch … … for sale in the fish market Old Dutch canal used to bring spices down to the Negombo port Sun sets into the Indian ocean   Next day we were delighted by the antics of the elephants bathing in the river at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage about 2 hours drive north of Negombo. Elephants bathing in the river at Pinnawala A mahout washing his elephant Monkey in the trees outside our room at the Palm Garden Village Hotel