Randoli Perahera

Yesterday was the final evening of the Perahera and despite again having a sore arse, the grand spectacle was well worth the wait. People must have been claiming the best positions from early morning as when I got into town with Dhanushka's grandparents and his cousin there were already huge crowds. We managed to get a great spot on the main street leading from the temple past the lake though with basically unobstructed views of the procession. Lots of places along the route of the procession have seats available, but because of the influx of tourists and rich people from Colombo the prices are wildly inflated.

The highlight of the procession was the tusker carrying the karanduwa, the casket symbolising the tooth relic. The actual tooth relic never leaves the temple, but the casket is still venerated and a white sheet is rolled out in front of the tusker so that it's feet never directly touch the ground. The procession last night began just after 8 and was still going on when we left. On the final evening the procession weaves its way around the town centre, so even though we saw the whole thing from where we were when we went to get the car we still had to wait to get home as the procession was still in progress close to the British Council.

Dhanushka's grandparents and his cousin left this morning - am enjoying the space again. Dhanushka didn't get home until 5.30 this morning, so he spent most of the day asleep. I did think about going for a swim, but it's been raining most of the day - am glad I didn't make plans to see the 'day' Perahera.

Am off on Sunday. I wish I could have the rest of the week off. Am feeling apprehensive about the course now - especially the workload. Am planning on visiting Sophie in Oxford, but have this feeling that I'm going to be flat out trying to get the assignment I have to submit done. It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks.