Sometimes, the best vacations are spontaneous. After a last minute decision to go to take a break away from work in Doha, I contacted a former employee here in Qatar that hooked us up with his family and friends in his home country, Sri Lanka.
My friend, Rukmal "Ruki" Perera set up a great tour of his favorite spots in Sri Lanka, including a stay with his mother and extended family. (Here Susan is with Ruki's mom, Lucki.) They were so warm and friendly to Susan and I. We feel so fortunate to have met them.
Once one gets outside of the capital city, Colombo, much of Sri Lanka is agricultural; including extensive rice paddy farming. It is not uncommon that locals do some rice paddy farming to supplement their regular occupations. Some, like our resort host, Jayantha, owns a couple of acres and tends it himself with his family.
The resort owner, Jayantha "Jay" Samarawickrama (blue cap) and the national park guide took us on a wonderful afternoon / early evening safari. Wild asian elephants, water buffalo, monkeys and countless exotic water fowl. Here, Susan and I enjoy the view of elephants coming down to the lake for their regular evening bath and dinner.
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| Water buffalos, storks, egrets, cormorants |
Check out the water buffalos that are partially submerged in the water behind the stork. They seemed content to lounge in the water all afternoon.
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| This young bull allowed us to get amazingly close. |
Like clockwork, the pack of elephants emerged from the jungle forest to graze upon the lake plain grasses.
Susan and I were able to get so very close to the herd of wild elephants. It was a perfect time of late afternoon, after the heat of day, to mix with these wonderful animals. The males were separate from the females their babies. At one point, we were fortunate to see over 75 - 100 wild elephants that afternoon.
One of our favorite visits was to the ancient fortress / palace, Sigiriya. Sigiriya literally means lion's rock. Now this archaeological ruin is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As a landscape architecture graduate, I could not help but be impressed by this former royal fortress that is now surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, canals, reservoirs, and some very ingenious subsurface water systems. Sigiriya is also renowned for its ancient paintings (frescos).
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| Only a few of the frescos have been protected over the centuries. |
As to its origin, Sigiriya was built during the reign of King Kasyapa I (AD 477 – 495). According to legend, Kasyapa murdered his father by walling him alive and then usurping the throne which rightfully belonged to his brother Mogallana. Mogallana fled to India to escape being assassinated by Kasyapa but vowed revenge. In India he raised an army with the intention of returning and retaking the throne of Sri Lanka which he considered was rightfully his. Knowing the inevitable return of Mogallana, Kasyapa is said to have built his palace on the summit of Sigiriya as a fortress and pleasure palace. Mogallana finally arrived and declared war. During the battle Kasyapa's armies abandoned him and he committed suicide by falling on his sword. Cool story, eh?
Although relatively small, Sri Lanka is geographically and culturally diverse. There are highland regions, low coastal plains, beautiful wetlands and coastlines, and alot of what seemed to be jungle and forests. For that reason, there are growing conditions for so many exotic plants. What ever is planted seems to thrive! In fact, Sri Lanka is famous for much of its agriculture; i.e. -- Ceylon tea, rice, spices, cinnamon, tropical fruits and nuts (coconuts, mango, papaya, cashews), rubber plantations, horiticulture (landscape seeds & nursery propagation) and exotic lumber plantations.
Culturally, Sri Lanka is also diverse. Although primarily a Buddist population, there was also a long-established European influence from the Portugese, Dutch and British that brought Catholicism and other Christian denominations. In addition to the Buddist and Christian populations, there are also large populations of Hindu and Muslims. The countryside is scattered with Buddist and Hindu shrines and temples.
The beach at Pidgeon Island off Nilaveli Beach was wonderful. Located about a mile offshore, this is the type of beach one dreams about being stranded upon. Not too long ago this beach and surrounding area was hammered by the Tamil Tiger Civil War, then also the 2004 Day-after-Christmas Tsunami. Only recently has it been opened again for tourism. Susan and I did some spectacular snorkle diving with a member of the Sri Lankan Military's Special Forces.Yep...kinda like our Navy Seals....(as I mentioned before, my Sri Lankan friend hooked us up with the right people). Then after our dive and day on the island, we were invited for "afternoon tea" at the Officers Barracks on the local Special Forces military base.)
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| Why doesn't he understand "giddy-up? |
Ever ridden an elephant? I kind of felt sorry for the big guy sitting on his neck, but it was all part of Ruki's package deal. (I even got to "drive"....kinda. The mohout was calling out commands in Sinhala language, so I am sure that my "giddy-up" went ignored by elephant and mohout alike.)
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One afternoon, we went on a paddle trip on a lake to take pictures of exotic water fowl. Spectatular! Our paddle guide was a coconut / papaya farmer that living in a tree house overlooking his orchards. Ones asks, why a tree house....simple. Stay away from wild elephants. |
He was very proud of his shotgun as it was his best deterrent for keeping the elephants away from his orchards. And his papayas were large and tasty....so I guess the shotgun is very effective. Gee...I look too white! Scary.
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| Ox-drawn cart ride down to the lake. |
"All good things must come to an end"....Six fully-packed days is not enough to really take in this wonderful country. People, food, culture, history, wildlife and Ruki's family were all amazing. One really needs 2 -3 weeks here to really take it all in.
Definitely two thumbs up!
