355

Finally! Yesterday I was having real problems uploading photos and actually ended up losing everything I'd written, so I'm glad that today everything seems to be working fine.

This is a picture of the rock citadel of Sigiriya - one of the highlights of my trip to Sri Lanka. During the 5th century there was a power stuggle between two brothers over who would ascend the throne and when one of the brothers, Kassapa, seized the throne he built his palace on top of this 200m-high rock outcrop to protect himself from attacks. It's a spectacular sight as the surrounding countryside is quite flat and it's amazing to think that someone would decide to build a palace on top of a rock. Of course nowadays it's one of Sri Lanka's biggest tourist destinations, for both overseas visitors and Sri Lankans, but even with the hordes of people who descend on the site, particularly at weekends, it's still an amazing and atmospheric place.

Yesterday there was a by-election in the area where I live to elect a new member of the NSW state parliament following the resignation of the previous member, who resigned along with the premier, Mr. Annuncement, Bob Carr and another senior minister. I was really hoping that The Greens candidate might get elected as the current NSW state government has become very complacent in my view, but according to this morning's news the Labor candidate won, although with a reduced majority. My biggest gripe is the lack of investment in public transport and although the new train timetable, which was introduced last week, seems to have resulted in trains actually running on time (and who said miracles never happen!) a train every half and hour on weekends from Newtown is ridiculous and just encourages people to get in their cars.

The title of today's post is not the title of a new Wong Kar-wai film, but the number of the bus route that connects Bondi Junction and the Inner West, where I live. It's a strange bus route, which takes a very convoluted route through various inner city suburbs and is used by a very eclectic mix of people, but for me the beauty of the 355 is the fact that it provides me with what is basically a door-to-door service to the Maya in Surry Hills - home of perfectly crisp dosas and filling thalis and where I went for lunch yesterday.

Last night I finally got round to watching Tim Burton's 'The Big Fish'. Philip recommended it to me ages ago, but I kept forgetting to look for it up at the video store. It's a beautiful tale, with amazing imagery and definitely one film I'd highly recommend. It's one of those films that draw you in so much that you don't notice that two hours have gone by. I also got out an Australian film called 'The Boys', which is supposed to be amazing.

Looks like a beautiful day outside - a little windy, but beautiful blue skies. I was going to go for a walk yesterday afternoon, but after my thali I was a little sleepy, so I ended up coming home for a nap. Have to do some grocery shopping this morning (Sunday morning is the best time to go shopping), but definitely want to get out this afternoon.