November 2017

Hi Everyone Am starting to lose track of the days and dates. What day is it? I need to check into reality. Unfortunately, that will happen sooner than later. ] When we left off, on the last blog, we had arrived at our hotel in darkness and did not know where we were except our room seemed like it was in the middle of the jungle. Woke up this morning, looked outside, and we knew that we were in the middle of a Sri Lankan jungle. The resort is very close to the Yala National Park. After some moping, we decided to venture out. For the new subscribers, moping is what I do when I am tired and want to be left alone. You mope around your room doing nothing and accomplishing nothing. Just mope. Try it. As soon as we opened the door, you know what hit us in the face. Of course, “Africa Hot” and I really mean “Africa Hot”. It was so hot and steamy that I could barely have some hot coffee. The dining area is open air and there are large fans trying to keep you cool. After breakfast we walked to a small lake area in back of our unit. Each unit has two attached units. All on the ground floor and each unit is separated by some jungle. We were told to watch out for crocodiles and that they venture out of the water. Outside the dining area is a large ant hill. There are many in the area. We saw a large ant eater come out of one of the openings of the ant hill. He needed some breakfast as well as us. I wonder if he had hot coffee or prefers hot tea. There were three water buffalos in the water just looking at us and probably saying “Who said we don’t have a brain? Look at you and us. Who is smarter now?”. I took some pictures and then we went back into the A/C to cool off. When we arrived last night we heard some noise sounding like it was thunder. We then ventured out and walked to the beach. The waves from the Indian Ocean were creating the noise as the waves hit large boulders on the waters edge. Olivia said that I had gotten too close to the boulders and waves. Anything for a chance at a good picture. Saw some large elephant footprints in the sand. We then journeyed back and saw a sign within our resort. The sign warned guests that sometimes elephants venture into the resort at night. If you are carrying a torch (what they call a flash light or cell phone light) drop it and the elephant will be distracted to the light so that you can make it to your room safely. Have you ever been in a resort that warns you to watch out for elephants? We haven’t. It was then time to listen to the soaking water buffalos and go to the hotel pool for a long swim. The water was not treated with chlorine nor was it salt water. So refreshing. Don’t ever call water buffalos stupid. They know how to beat the heat. Of course, we went back to the A/C to do some decompression and relax. The “Africa Hot” takes a lot out of you when you are my age. At 2:30 it was time to gather and meet for our jeep safari to Yala National Park. Before we met, I ventured back to the small lake to pay a visit to my new water buffalo friends. They were laying in mud outside the water. I told them I would not copy them, even though it looked like the perfect way to beat “Africa Hot” and bid them farewell in their temporary water buffalo A/C unit. As I had previously said yesterday, Yala National Park is on the Indian Ocean and home to the most leopards in the world. We were loaded into four safari jeeps that were much more comfortable than the previous safari when we saw the Sri Lankan elephants. Each jeep had six large seats and were open all around. The top had a large rubber mat over us. Right outside the entrance to the Park was a small herd of wild boar. I felt great and had the thought of taking beautiful pictures of leopards in the wild. As we drive along a dusty road, we saw lots of beautiful birds. Stopped and took some great pictures of various birds and some eagles. These are not the type of eagles we see, but smaller. There were lots of peacocks. We saw a peacock unfold his feathers trying to impress a female near by. A real show off flaunting his equipment in this manner. That was so beautiful. We kept on seeing lots of pelicans, wild boar, monkeys, water buffalos and an occasional elephant. We also saw a large iguana walking right in front of our jeep without a care in the world. The iguana looked like a small Kimono Dragon. Where are the leopards? We finally stopped at a rest area. There were other jeeps parked and the area was up against the Indian Ocean. There was a monument. It was at this place on December 26, 2004 that 47 people died when the Tsunami hit. This was the same Tsunami that had hit Thailand and created such damage and death. We were told that there is a warning system in place, but could not see any sirens. When we were in Lima last year, they have large sirens placed all over the City to warn people of a tsunami. It was then back to the entrance and to our hotel. Where are the leopards? Guess what? Never saw any. Life goes on and the search for leopards continue. It is currently raining here. We hear the down pour hitting our beautiful A/C unit. The beds are twin beds under a

Hi Guys and Dolls How are we? I am so far away and feel so distant from the other side of the pond. The group had a late start today. I had such a sound and relaxing sleep after yelling and screaming during my deep tissue massage. Do not do this unless you are a masochist and need or like pain. Our hotel in Newara Eliya was so nice and the climate was very refreshing. We left the hotel for a thirty minute drive to the railroad station. We were boarding a train that was going to take us to a town named Ella and then board the bus again. The Sri Lankan railroad network is never on time. The train arrived thirty minutes late. Not bad for Sri Lanka. We had first class seats. The train looked and felt like it was left over from the British occupation. Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, received its independence from Britain in 1948. If we were sitting in first class, I wondered what the rest of the train looked like. We had cushioned seats and I was told that economy class has wooden benches. It didn’t seem to matter, since once the train started, many locals hung out the windows and doors. A few interesting things I picked up. The route we were on only had one track. No double tracks and I did not see any other tracks near our track. What would happen if another train came our way? The second point I picked up was that the tracks would not shift and change by electricity or automatically. I saw local people, with red flags, turn the tracks in certain directions by hand. Olivia said this system would never pass inspection in America. Two locals carried drinks and local looking food up and down the train. This food needed to be avoided. The windows were very dirty so I decided to stand between cars with my camera ready. We passed some beautiful tea plantations and then started to climb. There were numerous small tunnels to pass through. We finally reached a sign that said the elevation was 6500 feet. The landscape was so green and lush. We stopped at some local railroad stations where lots of locals got off and on. We finally climbed up into some clouds. There were lots of local farmers living in horrible conditions. Many of them were picking the leaves of the tea plants. Laundry was hung out to dry on the shacks and ground. My camera clicked away and I got a great view of life in rural Sri Lanka. We passed some large stupas that dotted the landscape.The train ride lasted close to three hours. We finally pulled into Ella and got off. We then boarded our bus, but first had to make a rest stop. I immediately noticed the change in the climate. “Africa Hot” was almost back. We drove to a beautiful bar overlooking a view to a lush valley. I thought of Bali Hi. Had a Lion beer and we all boarded the bus. Drove for around thirty minutes over winding roads through lush vegetation. We stopped at a waterfall named “Ravana Falls”. This waterfall is the widest waterfall in Sri Lanka. It was back into the bus for a drive that seemed that we had entered the “Twilight Zone” We drove through lots of local villages. There were water buffalo being herded on some stretches of the road and the ride seemed to never end. Finally reached our hotel at 7:30. I could hardly wait to bolt out. I was sorry I did. “Africa Hot” hit me in the face. Our hotel is located in Yala National Park. This park has many different kinds of wildlife and is known for the having the most leopards in the world. There are also large herds of elephants.  Will let you know tomorrow night. Yala National Park also boarders the Indian Ocean. It is about time for me to rest my weary bones and mind and try to recover from this exhausting days journey. Love Larry

Hi Everyone How did our day start? What is Ceylon and Sri Lanka famous for? Think. How about tea? That’s right tea. You know the stuff that they put into little bags that we dip in hot water. That’s the way Americans have tea, but almost everyone else has their tea brewed and simmered.So we left the hotel in Kandy at 9:30. Kandy is such a busy city filled with people going places and traffic almost at a constant standstill. The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic was impressive for the human outpouring of emotion that we witnessed. The dedication and belief that the people have for their religion is impressive. I saw people praying and meditating outside the gates to the Temple. Their minds seemed to be somewhere else. We are driving to a town named Nuwara Eliya. Nuwara Eliya is located high up in the tallest mountains of Sri Lanka or about 6500 feet up in elevation. We drove and drove through small villages and towns. We then entered an area where the vegetation started to turn a bright green. At about 11:30 we stopped at a tea plantation. The countryside was full of tea plants. The plants are all about the same size or about three feet. They are purposely kept this height so that it is easier to pick the leaves. If the trees were left to grow, they would grow to be the size of normal trees. The countryside was very hilly and the tea plants were planted on terraces. Olivia and myself saw terrace farming in the Sacred Valley of Peru last year. The Incan people used this type of farming over one thousand years ago. There were dirt paths amongst the terraces and we saw people picking the leaves and putting the leaves into large bags and baskets that they were carrying. The plantation gave each of us a large basket to pick the leaves and we followed a local woman into some terraces to start picking. I passed and wanted to take pictures of this beautiful and lush scene. Olivia and the others did the picking. We then went into a large wooden factory where there were local people working. This plantation has been open since 1867. A little bit of history about tea in Sri Lanka. The British originally planted coffee in Sri Lanka and then the coffee plants were all wiped out by a disease. A Scottish man then went to India to learn how to grow and produce tea. He brought that knowledge back to Sri Lanka in 1850 and the tea industry was born. The preparation of tea leaves is a four step process except the processing of green tea involves three steps. We were given demonstrations of each step while workers worked each process. A little bit about the workers. They are paid 800 rupees per day or less than six dollars a day. They are given housing, food, medical care and schooling for their children. Sounds like a good deal, but it is hard work in a hot factory. They work six days a week. There were signs that said to not give the workers money, but there would be a large box outside that you could give if you wanted to. I took some pictures of the workers. They were very friendly. Some of them asked me for money. I felt uncomfortable so I left a nice tip in the box outside for all of them. I hope they get the money. After the processing demonstrations, we were taken to a tasting room and sampled many different varieties. We were told that the worst leaves are used in tea bags. So the next time you drink tea by using a tea bag, think about making it the old fashioned way. You might like it better and understand that the drinking of tea is a way of life for many people. After that we walked through the gift shop and Olivia picked up some to take home. As we left, my thoughts returned to the workers and how different our lives are. We then drove and kept on climbing up into the mountains and clouds. The higher we drove, the greener it got. Tea plants all over and the green was such a deep green. It was finally lunch time. We pulled over at a nice looking restaurant overlooking a beautiful valley with a large waterfall. It had just stopped raining and the clouds were hanging over the green mountains. Olivia and myself decided to skip lunch. I just had coffee and went back to the bus to grab one of my cameras with a telephoto lens. I then walked out on the terrace and took aim. The waterfall is called “Ramboda Falls”. A beautiful scene amongst tea plants and lush green vegetation with the clouds hanging over the valley. After lunch, it was then onto Nuwara Eliya. We drove further up and passed tea plantations and farms. Some of the curves were hairpin curves and the bus could barely navigate the road especially when another vehicle was coming towards us. Nuwara Eliya is called “Little England”. Why is it called “Little England”? In 1819, a British officer went on a hunting trip and explored this whole area. He was taken back by the cool climate and convinced the British to build the town. The town was used as a resort by the British to escape the “Africa Hot” of the rest of Sri Lanka. The British settled here and built houses and government facilities like their homeland since it rains a lot here and the climate reminded them of England. The town looks like a town you would find in the countryside of many countries in Europe and England. The climate is cool and the conditions are wet. A nice break from the rest of Sri Lanka. We finally arrived at our hotel. A beautiful hotel named “Araliya Green Hills”. There are large wooden elephants

Hi Everyone Today was a partial rest day and so I thought. Last night skipped dinner and went to bed at 7:30. Woke up at 10:30 to write and then went back to sleep at midnight. Finally woke up at 7 AM. Breakfast is served starting at 7:30 and then it was off for a short day adventure and so I thought. I must say this is the first hotel where the coffee was not great. In this heat, I have been drinking less java, but still need my tank filled each morning. We left then hotel at 9:30 for a short drive. Don’t forget, we are in Kandy. Kandy is almost all buddhist and there are lots of buddhist statues around town. We first went up a large hill for a view of the city. Kandy is built on hills overlooking the center of town. One famous buddhist temple is located here. The temple is the “Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic”. Why is this temple called the “Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic”? In current day India, there are three temples that have three different teeth of Buddha. There used to be four temples. In the fourth century, an Indian king was afraid that the fourth tooth was going to be taken by invaders so he sent the tooth to the then current king of Sri Lanka. Both kings had a close relationship. That tooth was eventually placed in a Temple in Kandy. The Temple is gold roofed. The tooth is located in a small casket within the temple complex. The tooth is not on display, but has been seen by the monks who take care of the Temple and dignitaries throughout the years. The Temple is one of the most sacred sites in Sri Lanka. Many buddhist people come to visit the Temple complex and bring flowers and incense. When we arrived at the gate, I was wearing shorts that were considered to short to enter the complex and was denied entry until I could cover my legs. There were two other men with the same problem. Our tour guide took us to a local merchant where we each bought a sarong to wrap around our waists and cover our legs. We were finally allowed to enter and the rest of the group had a great time laughing and taking pictures of us. Our tour guide showed us a strange looking tree. The tree is now called a “Cannonball Tree”. The fruits are shaped like cannon balls and not edible. We were told that Buddha was born in a field of these type of trees. Of course, there were also lots of monkeys making their presence known. We finally arrived at the Temple entrance and had to take our shoes off before entering. Inside, the Temple was a mass of humanity of men, women and children all in some form of prayer and or meditation. The scene was almost mass chaos as we walked amongst the people praying and waiting to enter the main Temple entrance. There was an interesting buddha that had large elephant tusks on either side. The main Temple entrance was on the second floor where there was a whole floor of people sitting on the floor either praying or meditating. We were told that the crowd is at least double this when a full moon occurs. I could not imagine that scene. We were able to look inside the main Temple area where the tooth casket is housed, but could not see much. I did not try to take a picture out of respect and felt it would be inappropriate. There were lots of buddhas in almost all the corners of rooms where people were praying and meditating. I felt somewhat out of place being there, but was glad I saw this showing of strong belief. We then went into another large room where there was a beautiful buddha setup with lots of flowers and incense all around. The roof was interesting. There were gold busts of elephants on the white ceiling. It was then time to leave. “Africa Hot” had set in and the sarong was making me even hotter. We then went for a walk through Kandy and the local Market. There is an old hotel across from the Temple named the “Queens Hotel”. The hotel looks and feels like it is two hundred years old and you could feel the history. I went inside to get a drink at the bar. The bar is named the “Lord Montbatten Bar” and was established in 1840. I could not describe the traffic and mass chaos as people walked up and down the shop lined streets in “Africa Hot”. We arrived at the local Market, where vendors were selling all sort of leather goods, clothing, sarongs and shoes. Olivia bought some pants. We also sampled some local fruits and finally made our way out into the chaos of people outside. It was then time to walk back to the Temple area for our bus ride back to our hotel. The bus arrived at 2 PM and I was so happy. By this time I was drenched and needed to decompress from the heat, traffic and people. We were told to meet at 6:30 in the lobby for a special dinner. I spent four hours looking and editing my photos. I love doing this and my mind goes into a different process. The dinner was special. We were driven to a local families house for a local dinner with them. We were only served local food. There was an interesting dish of a rice kind of noodle that looked like white pasta made into a large cookie. Quite good. We were also served red rice and various curry and coconut dishes. Some of the dishes were hot and spicy. Not my cup of tea. The family also served us a coconut patty that is made with a special type of wooden instrument that we

Hi Everyone’ What a long and tiresome day. The day started at the crack of dawn as we got up for breakfast at 6 AM with a departure time of 7 AM. We were the first ones in the breakfast hall and ate while the staff was setting up for an official opening at 6:30. It was off last 7 AM for a thirty minute drive to the Sigiriya Rock Fortress. The Rock Fortress dates back fifteen hundred years. A former king built his palaces on top of this large and imposing rock so that he could be protected from any people who would want to overthrow his reign. He came to reign when he purposely killed his father, who was the reigning king. He did this to become king since his mother was a concubine and his younger brother was the child of the real queen. The fortress sits on top of this immense rock that sticks out from the landscape. I am trying to describe something that is hard to describe unless you are there. Sort of like a small mesa amongst a lush green vegetated area. The problem is to get to the top you have to climb over twelve hundred steps straight up in the “Africa Hot”. Most of the steps were ancient stone steps that were not wide enough to fit the normal sized feet of today. That means that most of the steps had to be navigated sideways in order to accommodate the size of your feet. Furthermore, I was carrying two cameras mounted onto two lenses. One of the lenses was a telephoto lens that was big and awkward. My feeling was that if I made it all the way up then I needed to have the right gear to take pictures. The steps were built onto near vertical walls. My shirt and shorts started to get drenched with sweat as I worked my way up. There were a few places to rest along the way. As I worked my way up, I hoped that the end would justify the amount of effort needed to reach the summit. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally reach the top. Ten of us had made it. The summit had lots of ruins and old ancient looking terraces and small ponds. The terraces were the remains of old stone structures. The view was a panorama of the surrounding countryside. I had to sit down and wonder how these structures were made on top of such a location and how ancient people had carried all the materials and tools needed up these vertical sides to the top of this immense rock. We spent some time on top enjoying the view and walking amongst the remaining ruins. It was now time for the descent. I have always felt that walking down is harder than walking up. There is more pressure put on your legs as you descend and especially from this place on the ancient stone steps. It seemed that the descent was going on forever and that the pressure on your legs would never end. I was amazed that no one fell and hurt themselves. Was the climb worth it? Probably not, but to have not done it would have always left a question in my mind. I do not think my pictures will justify the effort required too take them. Furthermore, when will I ever return to try it again? After drinking lots of water and thinking of a long ride in the air conditioned bus to our next destination, we finally boarded and left. It was now a thirty minute ride to the Temples of Dambulla. The Temples of Dambulla are five large caves that have lots of buddhas and small stupas inside. The story is that a former king lived there amongst monks to hide himself from invaders from India. He governed while living amongst the monks in these caves and raised an army to chase the invaders away. In gratitude, the king had these buddhas and stupas built inside the five caves for the monks. I have been to lots of buddhist shrines and seen lots of structures, but i can tell you that these caves were very impressive and will rank very high up on my travel list of things you must see. The first cave was the smallest. There was a large reclining buddha and some smaller ones in a very eerie looking place. The second cave started to really step it up. Lots of buddhas lined up along the walls, some small stupas in the middle and a large reclining buddha long one wall. The lack of light created a perfect place to see these imposing structures. There were small lights scattered amongst the structures. There structures created their own shadows on the cave walls. I could not stop taking pictures. The eeriness and shadows created an incredible scene. Each cave got larger and housed more structures. I hope my pictures do this place justice. We also had to take our shoes off before we entered the complex and wear the appropriate clothing. I need to also say that there was over a two hundred steps climb over ancient steps. Climbing sideways was the norm. Monkeys were all over and some of them posed for me. I could have walked through the caves a second time, since every time I changed my position the light created a different way of looking at the scene. We finally left for a hopefully long and quiet ride on the air conditioned bus. It was a ninety minute ride to a spice garden where we would take a tour, be given a cooking class and eat lunch. My mind yearned for a nice cold beer. The local beer here is “Lion Beer”. The beer is purchased in large bottles and costs less than two dollars each. Quite a bargain. I tried to take a nap, but was so tired and exhausted that

Hi Everyone How is the other side of the world? Have not read a newspaper since Thursday. The day started late today. We all slept in and I needed that. The hot humid “Africa Hot” gets you tired and sluggish by the end of the day. We started our days adventure at 10:30 after a good and relaxing breakfast with lots of Java. Served and enjoyed the old fashioned way. No paper cups and takeout. Drove to a local village named Hiriwadunna Village. Hope it is spelled right, but doubt it. My memory is not as good as it used to be. We all took a long hike with a local guide through a village of farmers. There were some cattle and cows there and the people were friendly. Passed some women doing their laundry the old fashioned way at a local lake. The people appear to be very friendly and have that innocence that I love to find. Life in this local village appeared to be very simple. We finally hiked up to a man made tiny pier where we boarded some catamarans to cross the small river to the other side. The catamarans were made of plastic and not the authentic type that we had previously seen in Negumbo. Once on the other side, we hiked up to some farm where different crops were growing. There were bananas, mango, peas and other assorted vegetables. We were told that some elephants had recently eaten some of the crops and stomped some others. Saw some large elephant prints in the soggy ground. We finally stopped at some benches where we all sat down. There was a stump from a tree sticking out of the ground in front of us and there were a whole bunch of coconuts behind the stump. A local with a machete came over and started to cut the top of the coconuts off on the stump and hand them over to us to drink the juice. The local was wearing a sarong. About half the men in Sri Lanka wear sarongs. We were told that coconut juice is full of electrolytes and will help us stay hydrated. After we all had our fill of the juice, the man then cut up some pieces and asked any of us if we would like to scrape some fiber and juice out. I did and the wet fiber tasted quite good. It was then back to the man made small pier that looked like it was going to topple over any minute. We then all boarded the plastic catamarans for a short ride back to close where we started our hike. Saw a baby crocodile sunning itself on a log. It started to rain. When it rains, it rains buckets and then stops. Everything is so green. We all huddled under umbrellas and finally got off the catamarans. It is now time for a hike to a local family. We arrived and were served lunch. Lunch was served in a lotus leaf. The large leaf was put in a bamboo dish and we all got up to sample some local food. All the food was made from products grown in the village. There was pumpkins, white rice, mung beans and other strange looking vegetables. The also had small pieces of fried fish. We were told the fish were cichlids caught in the local lake that we had just been on. All the food tasted quite good. Sri Lankan food has lots of spices. The people do not crush the spices first and then cook with them. They first cook the spices and then crush them before they are used with their food. We were also given some local tiny bananas. They are called Monkey Bananas here. Sri Lanka has twenty seven different varieties of bananas. Sweet and juicy pineapple was also given to us. We now boarded the bus to visit the ruins of one of the prior provincial capitals. Sri Lanka had eight different provincial capitals. India has constantly tried to invade Sri Lanka throughout its history and the capital was moved many times. The name of this site is Polonnaruwa. The ruins date back close to one thousand years. The site has only been open to the public for the past thirty years. Quite new. We first visited a museum where we saw models of some of the sites we would be seeing to see what the site originally looked like. It was then back into our bus and into the archaeological park. The first stop was not too impressive since most of this site was originally made from wood so the only ruins still standing were some rock columns, but you could make out what the original structure looked like by thinking of the models we were shown. One structure originally had a large stupa in the middle and the area had a wood roof so people can come and pray in any weather. We were also shown what a toilet looked like then. Not too different from the old fashioned hole in the ground used today. It was then back into the bus for the next site. The next site was located deeper in the jungle and there were other stone structures with large stupas located inside them. There was also the remains of a Buddhist structure that was different from the others. We were told that this was a temple built in the Cambodian style. One of the Khmer kings had sent Khmer soldiers to help the Sri Lankan king protect this site from the invading Indians. A Cambodian temple was built for the soldiers to be comfortable when they prayed. There were lots of wild monkeys here. Olivia had a great time making videos of the wild monkeys for our grandchildren to see. It was then onto the third and for my taste, the most impressive site. Of course we got back into the bus and drove. We then parked and walked. We finally

Hi Guys and Dolls Hope everyone is enjoying my blog on Sri Lanka. There was a party going on all last night above our hotel room. I tried to sleep but finally gave in at 4 AM and dragged my old bones out of a very comfortable bed. We are meeting at 6 AM to go to the local fish market in Negumbo. Made myself some instant coffee and read. Got used to drinking instant coffee in Mongolia. Sorry to disappoint everyone, but instant coffee is pretty good. I know we are all spoiled, but give it a try. Even Starbucks carries instant coffee. Our local guide told us that you will see many of the fish from the Indian Ocean and he was right. There were all sorts of scenes unfolding. There were people cutting fish and of course, many locals were bargaining for their fish. I saw fish that I had seen before, but not that often. There were long bodied gar fish with long noses. Lots of swordfish, huge fish that looked like pompano and even a large sting ray for sale. It seems that a popular fish is a small fish that is caught and then let to dry in the sun. We saw that yesterday and passed by lots of plots set up with the fish drying in the sun. The scene was almost chaos. People were yelling and some had machetes. Fish heads were everywhere and blood and guts were flowing. Reminded me of the fish section of a food market in Southeast Asia. It was then back to the hotel for breakfast and onto our first journey. We left the hotel at around 8:30 and were on our way. There are no highways in Sri Lanka. All the roads are roads that go through towns and villages. We passed many rice patties and coconut farms. The tour guide told us that the people use the coconut for just about everything. Besides eating, they use the bark and shell for all sorts of other products to even candy. Some of the locals also use the bark as roofing for their houses. The island is lush and the vegetation is bright green. Reminded me of Cambodia at the end of the rainy season. I asked the tour guide if they had durian. We all know what durian is. If not google it and find out. One of my favorite fruits. He told us durian is harvested in June/July and the people love it. Just like I do. It was now time for our rest stop. I am not the oldest on the trip, thank god. Frequent rest stops are now a way of life for us old folks. At the rest stop there was a snake charmer playing his flute as the snake danced away. Have never seen one and wondering if snake charming would be well accepted in America. As we drove along the roads, it seemed that we were traveling back in time. The towns and villages became more rustic and local looking. Lots of three wheel tuk tuks. Very few trucks and vehicles. Passed lots of Buddhist sites including Stupas. I have previously visited Stupas in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Each country has its own unique version of a Stupa. A Stupa is a round structure that is a temple in the Buddhist religion. The Stupas here are quite small compared to the ones in the other countries. By the way, yesterday I asked our guide if we should walk clockwise in a Buddhist temple and leave backing out and not facing forward. He told us that you should always walk around the temple clockwise, but do not have to leave back out. At around 12:30 stopped for lunch. I decided to pass on lunch. Need to be more quick and nimble and besides do not like to eat three meals when I travel. It was now onto the highlight of the day. We arrived in the town of Habarana. Outside of Habarana is the Minneiya National Park. The bus stopped on the main road outside the park and we all got into open air jeeps except it was pouring. The jeeps looked like they were left over from World War II and each one had covers over the top and sides. I had mounted my telephoto lens on my backup camera and was ready to see some wildlife. As we entered the Park, the skies cleared and the driver stopped to take down the covers. We all stood up in the back and entered the Park. The Park is home to herds of wild Sri Lankan Elephants. Sri Lanka Elephants are the largest Asian Elephants in the world. The terrain and weather is perfect for them. There are plains of high grass and lots of small ponds and lakes. When we entered the Park, the skies opened up again and everything seemed pretty calm. I was wondering will I ever catch of glimpse of these wild elephants. Saw wild monkeys, huge bee hives and beautiful birds, but no elephants. The rains stopped again and the driver pulled over to take the tarps back down. We then drove into a large clearing and there they were. Herds and herds of them. These beautiful majestic creatures roaming around with no cages nor bars and free to do and go where they want. My camera started to click away. It was easy taking these pictures. Elephants are slow and they acted as if we were not even there. They went about their business as we were the outsiders looking in to a world that is vanishing. Some of the males even got into a stare down with a slight scuffle at the end. We even saw two elephants mating. Not a care in the world and no regard for us. We were the visitors. This was their world. Olivia was taking a video for our grandchildren when the two elephants started to mate.

Hi Guys What’s happening in Sri Lanka? Currently it is raining and raining hard. We were told November is the start of the dry season. Oh well, life goes on. So I fell asleep like I was in a coma. Why you ask? After flying half way around the world and dragging yourself through various airports and security checks, the mind and body gives out. Woke up around 7 AM by my wife’s cell phone ringing. I wish we were somewhere where cells and the internet did not work. Looked out the terrace window and saw the beautiful and calm Indian Ocean starring back at me. Looks like a large lake with very calm waves. Finally dragged myself out of bed and had to have lots of java. Needed the java to start the engine and get into gear. Always have lots of coffee when I travel and need it to function while away. Who taught me that? My buddy Andy. The only guy I know of who has quadruple shots of coffee in the morning and when he goes to sleep. What a guy. Why drink four cups of coffee when you can pack it all into one cup? Makes sense to me. Think about it. A way to streamline your time. If you drink two cups of coffee in the morning, have the same cup with an extra shot. Saves time and effort. One problem with this way of drinking coffee. The drinking of coffee is supposed to be a way that you relax and ponder your thoughts and possibly read the daily papers. Almost every morning I sit in our local Starbucks and watch the insanity unfold as people rush in for their coffees that they had preordered in their take out containers. Just watching the scene gets me uptight and upset about facing my day. In Slovenia, coffee is never served in take outs. They use real china and you sit and either read the paper or watch the world go by. Why can’t we go back to this simple and basic way of coffee drinking? I challenge everyone to do this for one week and see if this way of drinking coffee makes the quality of their life better. Went down to breakfast and had my java with some interesting breakfast items. Sat next to a couple from San Francisco, who have been traveling for six weeks and was leaving today for Singapore. Told us that Sri Lanka is an interesting and appealing country with lots of beautiful things to see. Did you ever have curry for breakfast? Did not sound appealing to me and as you know, I have had sheep head. I had a sunny side egg made in a light dough type of pouch that was very good. Olivia and myself love breakfast in other countries since there are usually some interesting items on the menu that are characteristic of that country. Curry, chicken and rice were all offered at breakfast. It was now time for our walk on the beach. We walked for miles and miles. Passed some locals bathing and some strange looking sailboats and catamarans. Most of the catamarans I have ever seen and been on have all been made of either fiberglass or metal. Not these. They were all made of wood and the sailboats had one big sail. I have seen a few movies shot on the Nile and these sailboats looked like those with only one large sail. It seemed like we were in a time warp and seeing boats that had been never seen in America. We passed local fishermen who were dragging their nets out the water with large catches of small fish. They laid the small fish on the ground to dry in the sun. Lets speak a little of the sun. The sun here seems to be “Africa Hot”. For all of the new comers, “Africa Hot” is a phrase that my wife, Olivia, coined on describing the weather in Cambodia. The sun is intense and got more intense as the day wore on. The humidity also fell into the “Africa Hot” terminology. When I took my camera out, the lens immediately fogged up like my glasses. The Indian Ocean was so warm and comforting. it appeared to be saying to me, “Come and let me comfort you from your long journey”. We walked by lots of interesting sites and took some great pictures of the scenes around us. I love to take pictures of people living their lives and especially in different cultures. I try to have the pictures tell a story of these people and how they lead their lives. The area we are staying in is called “Negombo Beach”. It is on the west coast of Sri Lanka. One of the guests told us that there is no land mass south of here until you get to Antartica. Maybe I should stay here. But that’s another story for my last day. Once we walked far down the beach, Olivia decided that she wanted to visit a Mosque that she saw in the distance and got onto the road or what the locals call a road. The Tuk Tuks are interesting here. I have been on Tuk Tuks that are pulled by bicycles, motor bikes and paddled by people. How about three wheeled Tuk Tuks with a tiny engine and a small back seat for the passengers? I saw one that said Corvette on it. Please, a corvette dressed up as a three wheel Tuk Tuk. No way. Walked to the Mosque and looked inside. Looked pretty barren to me and then it was time to walk back to the hotel on the local road. Saw people living in the conditions that they live in. I have seen much worse and many of the conditions looked similar to some of the countries of Southeast Asia. Got asked many times if we wanted a Tuk Tuk ride but decided to gut it

Hi Everyone Long time no hear from anyone. Where am I and what am I doing here? Olivia and myself have finally arrived in Sri Lanka. We both go on a trip together each fall and take turns picking the country where we want to go  on a yearly basis. This year was my year to pick. After Olivia was angry at me for going to Mongolia, but finally understood, I passed the baton to her for this year. We both looked at Cuba, but decided that most of the tourist trips there now are all about the same. Looked pretty boring. It is getting harder and harder to find places that have not been saturated by tourists yet. We then found a tour of Sri Lanka through Gate 1 travel. This is the first year they have offered this trip on a small group basis. Both of us like to explore countries and go places that have not been saturated by tourists yet, so we decided to sign up and go. Where is Sri Lanka? Sri Lanka was a former British colony that gained its independence in 1948. The former name was Ceylon. Sri Lanka is a large island in the Indian Ocean south of India. To the left is the Indian Ocean and to the right, the Andaman Sea. I had previously swan in the Andaman Sea when I visited Myanmar about 6-7 years ago. The major religion is Buddhist. I have been to many buddhist countries and always like seeing the differences in how each buddhist country practices the religion. We left JFK on Qatar Airways for Doha. Doha is the capital of Qatar. A 14 hour nonstop flight and seven hour time difference. Got there at 6 AM their time and left at 9 AM for Columbo. Columbo is the capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is 2 and one half hours ahead of Qatar. So we are 9 and one half hours ahead of NY. Myanmar is 10 and one half hours ahead of NY. Why the half hour? Do not understand? Maybe someone can explain that to me. How can a time difference fall in the half hour? It was dark when we finally got out of the airport and went to our hotel. The hotel is five star and appears to be on the ocean. Will find out in the morning. The currency in Sri Lanka is rupies. 150 rupies for one US dollar. Got 30,000 rupies for $200 dollars. Am just about ready to fall over and go to sleep. Talk to everyone soon   Love Larry