Village Life and Sacred Peaks
First of all apologies for not updating my blog over the past few weeks - I know there are many of you out there who are have been hanging out for the lastest on Ian's Sri Lankan adventures. I was going to post when I was in Kandy 10 days ago, but I ended up helping Dhanushka to set up an e-mail account and by the time I'd finished showing him how to use it I didn't have time to post anything. This post, by the way is going to be in two parts; my life in Dhansuhka's village and our 10-day trip through the hill country.
Part 1: Village Life
Fun and challenging - those are the two words that come to mind when I think about my first few weeks in Dhanushka's village. Dhanushka's family and friends have been very kind, but I've found living in a small village in rural Sri Lanka where everyone knows you and knows what you're up to difficult at times. Dhanushka actually feels the same way and is always telling me that he can't stay in the village. I've been trying to learn Singhala (which is spoken by 70-75% of Sri Lankans), which has made things a little easier, but given that I haven't learned the alphabet yet and that for the past 10 days I've only spoken English I've found I haven't made much progress. Am going to see if I can pick up some language books today before Dhanushka and I head back to his village tomorrow.
A few days after arriving in the village there was a cultural festival for all the surrounding villages and attended by all the important, local big-wigs. I expected it to be very amateurish, but it turned out to be much better that I expected with some amazing dancing and music. Dhanushka was part of the festival and did this hilarious send-up of a popular folk song - the audience were in hysterics - especially as he was dressed as a girl!!! About an hour into the programme the MC noticed me in the audience and of course being the only non-Sri Lankan there I ended up having to give a speech about what I thought of the festival.
Apart from the cultural festival life in the village seems to revolve around eating (Dhanushka's Mum is a fantastic cook), sleeping and visiting various people - family members and friends. I've drunk copious amounts of very sweet tea and have consumed lots of sweets and biscuits. I've come to the realisation that Sri Lankans have very sweet toooths - Dhanushka in particular!!!
Part 2: Sacred Peaks
When I visited Sri Lanka last year it was during the south-west monsoon, which meant that I didn't get to spend much time in the hill country, so Dhanushka and I decided to make a 10-day trip through the hill country - including an ascent of Sri Pada, one of Sri Lanka's most important places of pilgrimage. At 2243m Sri Pada is Sri Lanka's 5th higest peak and although there are steps all the way to the top, it's quite a slog. We decided - like many - to make the ascent for sunrise, so set off at 2 in the morning! There are small tea shops all the way up and during the pilgrimage season the path is lighted, so in terms of preparation it's pretty easy. However, during the season thousands climb the peak each night and sometimes the path was gridlocked with people coming up and down. We made it to the summit about 40-minutes before sunrise, which was a bit of a mistake as it was bitterly cold at the top. Once the sun rose however we were fine and it was well worth the wait. The views from the top were amazing and we were blessed with a beautiful morning. We also managed to see the famous shadow. For some reason for 20 minutes just after sunrise the shadow of the peak is a perfect triangle and seems to be suspended in the air. Coming down - although quicker - was just as taxing on the body and for 2 or 3 days after Dhanushka and I (but particularly Dhanushka given that he doesn't do much walking!) were quite sore.
Our next stop after Sri Pada was the hill station of Nuwara Eliya. Famous for it's tea and flowers, Nuwara Eliya is surrounded by tea plantations and on the day Dhanushka came to Kandy for his class I took the opportunity to visit a tea factory. On the tour I met an English couple, who live in Scotland - Beryl and Alan - and over a cup of complimentary tea we decided - in order to split the costs - to rent a jeep together the next morning to visit Horton Plains National Park. The park is on the edge of the hill county at an altitude of over 2000m and because the clouds tend to come in early the only way to really see the park at its best it to rent a vehicle and get their early in the morning. Unfortunately like a lot of things in Sri Lanka there were two entrance fees - 1600 Rs for foreigners (US$16) and 30 Rs for Sri Lankans. Given that Dhanushka and I were travelling together it was completely ridiculous, but apart from not going I didn't have any choice but to pay the huge difference. The walk though the park was fantastic though and we had amazing views from what is called World's End where the hill country drops dramatically to the plains below. An expensive trip, but worth it.
Dhanushka and I ended up travelling with Beryl and Alan for the following four days as we all ended up moving on to a town called Haputale, which is situated on a ridge in the south east of the hill country and with spectacular views to the plains to the south and the hill country to the north. The journey by rail was spectacular as well and the day we all travelled from Nuwara Eliya to Haputale we were blessed again with fantastic weather - a rarity in the hill country, given that the weather can be very unpredicatble. From Haputale we did some walking in the surrounding countryside - including a trip to a 220m high waterfall, the second highest in Sri Lanka. I don't think Dhanushka has ever walked so much in his life and he kept us all amused with his protestations that he was about to die!!!
Am now back in Kandy as Dhanushka has an exam today. Tomorrow we're heading back to his village, although we already have another trip planned - this time to the south coast. This morning I took a walk around the devales and visited the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth), which I try to do each time I'm in Kandy. Tomorrow is a poya or full moon day, so I imagine it's going to be quite busy at the Temple tomorrow.
Am not sure when my next update will be, but please keep checking...
Part 1: Village Life
Fun and challenging - those are the two words that come to mind when I think about my first few weeks in Dhanushka's village. Dhanushka's family and friends have been very kind, but I've found living in a small village in rural Sri Lanka where everyone knows you and knows what you're up to difficult at times. Dhanushka actually feels the same way and is always telling me that he can't stay in the village. I've been trying to learn Singhala (which is spoken by 70-75% of Sri Lankans), which has made things a little easier, but given that I haven't learned the alphabet yet and that for the past 10 days I've only spoken English I've found I haven't made much progress. Am going to see if I can pick up some language books today before Dhanushka and I head back to his village tomorrow.
A few days after arriving in the village there was a cultural festival for all the surrounding villages and attended by all the important, local big-wigs. I expected it to be very amateurish, but it turned out to be much better that I expected with some amazing dancing and music. Dhanushka was part of the festival and did this hilarious send-up of a popular folk song - the audience were in hysterics - especially as he was dressed as a girl!!! About an hour into the programme the MC noticed me in the audience and of course being the only non-Sri Lankan there I ended up having to give a speech about what I thought of the festival.
Apart from the cultural festival life in the village seems to revolve around eating (Dhanushka's Mum is a fantastic cook), sleeping and visiting various people - family members and friends. I've drunk copious amounts of very sweet tea and have consumed lots of sweets and biscuits. I've come to the realisation that Sri Lankans have very sweet toooths - Dhanushka in particular!!!
Part 2: Sacred Peaks
When I visited Sri Lanka last year it was during the south-west monsoon, which meant that I didn't get to spend much time in the hill country, so Dhanushka and I decided to make a 10-day trip through the hill country - including an ascent of Sri Pada, one of Sri Lanka's most important places of pilgrimage. At 2243m Sri Pada is Sri Lanka's 5th higest peak and although there are steps all the way to the top, it's quite a slog. We decided - like many - to make the ascent for sunrise, so set off at 2 in the morning! There are small tea shops all the way up and during the pilgrimage season the path is lighted, so in terms of preparation it's pretty easy. However, during the season thousands climb the peak each night and sometimes the path was gridlocked with people coming up and down. We made it to the summit about 40-minutes before sunrise, which was a bit of a mistake as it was bitterly cold at the top. Once the sun rose however we were fine and it was well worth the wait. The views from the top were amazing and we were blessed with a beautiful morning. We also managed to see the famous shadow. For some reason for 20 minutes just after sunrise the shadow of the peak is a perfect triangle and seems to be suspended in the air. Coming down - although quicker - was just as taxing on the body and for 2 or 3 days after Dhanushka and I (but particularly Dhanushka given that he doesn't do much walking!) were quite sore.
Our next stop after Sri Pada was the hill station of Nuwara Eliya. Famous for it's tea and flowers, Nuwara Eliya is surrounded by tea plantations and on the day Dhanushka came to Kandy for his class I took the opportunity to visit a tea factory. On the tour I met an English couple, who live in Scotland - Beryl and Alan - and over a cup of complimentary tea we decided - in order to split the costs - to rent a jeep together the next morning to visit Horton Plains National Park. The park is on the edge of the hill county at an altitude of over 2000m and because the clouds tend to come in early the only way to really see the park at its best it to rent a vehicle and get their early in the morning. Unfortunately like a lot of things in Sri Lanka there were two entrance fees - 1600 Rs for foreigners (US$16) and 30 Rs for Sri Lankans. Given that Dhanushka and I were travelling together it was completely ridiculous, but apart from not going I didn't have any choice but to pay the huge difference. The walk though the park was fantastic though and we had amazing views from what is called World's End where the hill country drops dramatically to the plains below. An expensive trip, but worth it.
Dhanushka and I ended up travelling with Beryl and Alan for the following four days as we all ended up moving on to a town called Haputale, which is situated on a ridge in the south east of the hill country and with spectacular views to the plains to the south and the hill country to the north. The journey by rail was spectacular as well and the day we all travelled from Nuwara Eliya to Haputale we were blessed again with fantastic weather - a rarity in the hill country, given that the weather can be very unpredicatble. From Haputale we did some walking in the surrounding countryside - including a trip to a 220m high waterfall, the second highest in Sri Lanka. I don't think Dhanushka has ever walked so much in his life and he kept us all amused with his protestations that he was about to die!!!
Am now back in Kandy as Dhanushka has an exam today. Tomorrow we're heading back to his village, although we already have another trip planned - this time to the south coast. This morning I took a walk around the devales and visited the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth), which I try to do each time I'm in Kandy. Tomorrow is a poya or full moon day, so I imagine it's going to be quite busy at the Temple tomorrow.
Am not sure when my next update will be, but please keep checking...
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