Life begins in Colombo

I forgot to mention that on our first day in Colombo we booked ourselves into an apartment block (address above) having heard from various sources how hard they are to come by. Definitely not feeling too hard done by as we are in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom serviced apartment with satellite tv, gym, sauna and use of the neighbouring hotel pool. Downstairs there is a small shopping complex where I can get decent coffee, snacks, a great food court, supermarket and it's very central. So we've fallen on our feet even if it is taking the whole of Duncan's UN allowance!

Meet up for coffee with a friend of a friend, Robyn who whilst based in Sydney travels far and wide with her work as a consultant to various development focussed organisations. Currently she is completing a project for the World Bank in Colombo and is here for another week and offers to show us the ropes. On day one this consists of a route march (!) which nearly kills me, up the main road for a couple of kms which isn't far I know but it's hot and you have to keep a constant eye on your feet to avoid falling into a 6ft pothole. Arrive at this beautiful and well known shop called Barefoot - run by a Sri Lankan family for the last 20 years it specialises in fabrics, craftwork, has a bookshop, homewares, gallery, a cafe (though no proper coffee -?????) and on sunday afternoons, jazz. Bliss. Then over the road to Paradise Road - upmarket homewares and Sri Lankan handicrafts, then next door to Geoffrey Bawa's old office (renowned Sri Lankan architect) which is now The Gallery Cafe - open setting with ponds, carp, water lillies, drinking and great food! We settle for a drink and a rest. Over the road to investigate The Cricket Club, more good food and you guessed it - cricket (Andrew you would be in 7th heaven here!) which leaves me for cold, but after 2 weeks in SL I now at least know the names of 3 of the Australian Cricket team ....

DY is to start work the next day and we both feel a bit like the new kid at school, I don't know who is more nervous.

Dambulla and the ancient cities

After a rotten day, Duncan is better and so we set off for the final bit of our current grand tour. Before leaving Kandy we go to the ancient Buddhist Tooth Temple which is fantastic. Reputed to hold the Buddhas Tooth which underwent a fascinating journey due to warring kings, gods, the British (of course!) it finally ended up safe-and-sound in Kandy. Security is high at the complex as the Tigers set off a bomb there 10 year's ago, but the temple itself is astonishingly tranquil. What I find unique is the number of Sri Lankans there (but then it's not a tourist site but a site of worship and 70% of Sri Lankans are Buddhist). This will be replicated at a number of sites we visit. Am in awe of the magnitude of this religion - manages to strike a chord in a way that much "architecturally grander" western worship sites don't.

Prior to our departure we pop into the local store to stock up on water for the journey. Crossing the road back to the car I jaywalk and manage to fall flat on my face (literally) in the middle of the main road. Luckily the traffic stops - mainly because they've never seen a white woman spreadeagled and bleeding before!!! Dignity extremely dented, as are my hands and knees and I'm very aware of the fact that I narrowly avoided becoming a 'tuk tuk' sandwich - I limp to the car with my heart beating out of my chest. After a quick wipe with iodine I settle back for the drive as the adrenalin begins to clear - who needs drugs, just fall over more often.

Along the way we stop off at spice farm and go on probably our best "tour" learning all about cinnamon, coffee, vanilla, sandalwood, aloe vera etc etc The finale is a 20 min Ayurvedic massage - absolute bliss. Just what a poor damaged girl needed. The masseur even very kindly squeezed fresh aloe vera on my knees and hands - I did feel much better afterwards. Over 75% of Sri Lankans' use Ayurvedic medicine as their first call. Based on eating healthily and using natural products and massage for the body's ailments as opposed to rushing to the doctor for a pill. Doctor's in Ayurvedic medicine study for 9 years for accreditation. I'm certainly convinced that it's a wonderful companion for conventional medicine.

After a hot and dusty but uneventful drive we arrive in Dambulla, which is like a 'transit town' - it's close to the ancient cities and is used as a stop by lots of western tourists. We billet at the Amaya Lake Hotel, www.amayaresorts.com which was fabulous - at last a hotel that lives up to it's price tag! What a relief. Really peaceful, next to a lake, loads of wildlife, fabulous swimming pool, nice guests, great staff, good food. We've got 2 nights here and I'm looking forward to it.

That afternoon we drive half an hour to Sigiriya. What can I say? This is a winter palace built around and on top of a 1,000 metre rock in about 6AD. It's astonishing on a number of levels - the construction, the use of natural form i.e. the boulder garden, the climb (how on earth did they do it, never mind construct a palace up there?). It's mindblowing. I am again reminded of my fear of heights as we climb - tell me what modern rocket scientist rebuilds access where at any given stage you can see through the stairs down to the gradually receding ground level below? What is that? Can't engineers build proper stairs anymore?

Get to the top without having a hissy fit or a heart attack, but half way up notify Dunc that he's going to have to help me down, there's no way i'm going to make it on my own. From the face of several other females up there I'm reassured that I'm not the only one! Admire the vista as well as the engineering - can see for miles. Climb down with one hand gripping Duncan's shoulder for dear life and the other gripping the hand rail - did you know that you can walk down circa 200 stairs at 1,000 metres above fresh air with your eyes closed (if you have to?). Well it is possible, but only with a willing sherpa - thanks Dunc.

Very hot post climb so after viewing a wild giant squirrel (in the car park!) we head back to the hotel for a swim. Everyone looking at me strangely and begin to think my swimsuit's got a hole in it - then remember my knees - one is already purple and yellow and the other has dried blood scrapes everywhere. Elle Mcpherson needn't be too worried.

Next day we head to Polonoruhwa (I think I've spelt this incorrectly) another ancient city, this time with a very good museum. It is stinking hot, hot, hot (though apparently it gets hotter in the middle of the year as we are in the northern hemisphere (just)). I have to resort to the hankerchief soaked in water draped over my neck. Doesn't help that I've taken the "killer" antimalaria tablets this morning - they are repulsive. Anyway, not enough to put me off, and we view fabulous reclining buddha's and temples galore.

Prior to departing Dambulla the next day we head to the Dambulla Caves which are full of the most ornate frescoes and statues of Buddha from circa 10AD and are situated as the name suggests in caves up a big rock. Foreign tourists (pleasingly) are outnumbered by Sri Lankans by about 3/1 ratio. Buddhism is actively and openly practised and three times a day all these sites close for prayers and offerings. The monkeys have also worked out that where there are religious offerings there is food so there is a huge swathe of monkeys which brings delight to both locals and tourists alike as there are several babies. They live up to their cheeky moniker!

Now back to Colombo, along the "good" road (it is) ....

The worst day ....

Onwards and onwards. After a comparatively restful stay in Nuwra Eliya (despite no sleep) we leave early for the drive to Kandy, the cultural capital of SL. We have allowed all day, but again we weren't really prepared for it. 98kms and 6 hours of pain.

Duncan woke complaining of stomach cramps, but proceeded to tuck away his usual yoghurt and fruit breakfast so I have to confess I didn't take too much notice. However after the 20th hairpin bend he began to look a bit green and it went downhill (pardon the pun) from there. All my previous comments re driving in SL still apply, but this version of "chicken" has a couple of new additions - mountains and roadworks. So please add in contractors, heavy equipment, tar machines, landslides, hairpin bends, steep drop-offs and a healthy dose of testosterone. I mentally "tune out" and look at the countryside which is breathtaking - like Switzerland in summer. In the distance I can see the most enormous buddhist temple - it's beautiful. The serenity is shattered by needing to pull over for DY to vomit - luckily or not in the middle of a roadstop town so I manage to get anti-acid tablets and tissues from the pharmacy. Nothing we can do except get him there. Still two hours to go.

Arrive in Kandy and this is when the driver from hell kicks in again (now known between DY and I as Elvis - dyed black hair, big black shades, fag constantly at hand). What we didn't realise at the offset is that this guy had plans for our itinerary which weren't run past us! These plans include taking us to businesses run by his mates at which he gets a kick-back every time we purchase. Not realising this or quite how dreadful DY was feeling, when he suggests a quick stop at a silk factory I say yes. I look for 5 mins and then go back to the car and DY looks like he needs to be admitted. Resisting the driver's protestations that we need to go to the gem museum I insist that we go straight to the hotel.

The Hotel Suisse overlooks the lake at Kandy and again is grand in it's pretensions and again the rooms are awful, but soundproofed. I put Dunc to bed with gastrolyte, draw the curtains and take a pleasant walk around the lake. I then get Elvis to take me back to the silk factory and buy up pressies for my European relatives. He insists on taking me to the gem museum even though I say no. Needless to say I sit through a very interesting film on gem mining and then get disgracefully "sold" to!!! It is so overt it's embarassing. After the movie I'm taken to a room full of gem stones and information about them - again interesting, but when I try to leave, my "guide" won't let me, because next stop on this magical mystery tour is the stone cutting and there's a bunch of japanese tourists already there. I play the game and am shuttled through stone cutting and jewellery making where I nod my head regularly. Finally downstairs and I have to look through every cabinet (25) before I can even attempt an exit. This is actually enjoyable - the raw cut stones which are cheap as chips - topaz at $US2 a carat - girls let me know if you want anything. I'm now flustered as I dislike a) overt salespeople, b) being put in this situation, c) feeling like a fraud because I know I'm not going to buy anything. Get outside and it's hot - it only ever gets to 32 degrees here but the sun has a burn to it. Jump in the car - won't start. Elvis gets very technical with a rock bashing something and we soon attract a small crowd. I launch my umbrella and sit in the shade. After 20 mins I'm ready to jump in a 'tuk tuk' and leg it but we get going and despite Elvis's protestations that I need an Ayurvedic massage and that he knows somewhere with a good price (I have visions of the Arak bar but with ladies), I insist that he takes me back to the hotel and resist his offers to take me out for dinner.

Back in the hotel room I'm greeted by the gloom and Dunc still seriously sick. Feed him another gastrolyte and am feeling really quite depressed. Don't fancy another 3 days with Elvis and his tricks nor any more of SL's hotels. Am considering cutting and running back to Colombo.

A long drive ....

So our driver for the next 5 days has arrived in Dickwella and off we go. Arrive in Hanbantoto which has been completely and utterly devastated - more akin to the Banda Aceh shots of obliteration that you will be used to. The GM at Dickwella was managing the hotel in Hanbantoto and lost his wife and child plus 10 members of staff - Dickwella lost none.

Up through the centre of SL to Nuwara Eliya (pronounced Nuralia) otherwise known as "Little England" because a) so many Brits settled there and b) the climate is akin to the UK. A long and hazardous road past waterfalls and through mountain villages of unflinching poverty. What is astonishing is the number of people sitting by the road seemingly doing nothing, all day. This area is also the "vegetable basket" of SL, but why aren't they in the fields?

On the way we get the first indication that all is not as it seems with our driver and an indication that the next few days will feel very long! At 12 midday I ask the driver if we can stop for some food - does he know anywhere? "yes Madame" (I'm now a 'madame'). Two hours and 15 mins later we pull up at what can only be described as an Arak den (Arak is the local lighter fuel). Outside there are 5/6 guys so off their heads that they can't sit up straight, inside the walls are black from the smoke, it stinks, it's filthy - oh man. There is not a woman in the place (of course not - only prostitutes would enter this joint) and consequently every delightful soul in there makes the logical conclusion about me!!! Anyway, our driver disappears out the back (probably to have some Arak) and then returns with a big smile to announce that he has got us the local rate on food - only 300rps 'madame'. God knows why I don't just announce that I'm leaving - I am almost physically sick at the thought of eating food or just being in this place. Duncan looks as if he's going to explode with anger. Food arrives - we both eat a token mouthful and I am now grateful that I had all my shots!!! Can't stand it any longer so just get up and leave - I'm shaking (probably from lack of food!)

Nuwara Eliya itself is an unprepossessing town. It's claim to fame is a racecourse which hosts the SL equivalent of the Grand National. There are old tea plantation mansions dotted throughout the town and we are booked into the euphemistically named The Grand. We are fast discovering that SL hotel rooms often don't live-up to the promise of the foyer or public areas! This is very grand indeed in a colonial way - big rooms, very high ceilings, plush drapes, comfy lounges - a cup of vanilla tea and "jiggery" (another palm byproduct - a distilled sugar). All good. Then the rooms - not again! Dark, dingy, 2 single beds (?) and because the hotel is old you can hear everything. Which does not quieten the staff or the guests. Less said the better.

Go to "Cargills" (my maiden name) and buy some tea as a token; cross over from the monkey and python show - i'm not as excited by it as the locals! Visit a tea plantation called Mackwoods which is fascinating. They employ 2,000 people of which 1,000 are female tea pickers. You can see them dotted around the fields, all wearing sari's as they are mostly hindu. The fields themselves are astonishingly steep and I think of snakes! The process of making tea all happens in 24 hours from picking to packing, and the strength is determined by the process. This particular factory runs 24 hours a day with two shifts - the average tea plant lasts for 35 years and the average tea picker picks 15kg's a day - any more and they get paid extra. We sit on the verandah for a cup of tea - black which is how it's drunk and chocolate cake, straight out of the oven. Gorgeous.

Galle onwards

Whilst in Galle Duncan caught up with his UN Habitat colleague Katja, who kindly took him around one of the villages' that she has been working with on restoration efforts. According to DY (unfortunately I didn't get to go) the villagers were incredibly receptive and grateful for the UN Habitat approach of encouraging their own participation in the rebuild. Particularly pleasing to both Katja and myself is the amount of involvement women are taking in the village councils and therefore being really enabled to make decisions that incorporate the whole community including the most marginalised (usually women and children). We went for a drink that night in a hotel overlooking the whole of Galle - fantastic. Katja kindly put me in touch with the main recruiter for UNDP in SL so finger's crossed.

From Galle we commenced onwards down the coast in the eternal search for surf! No really the surf is just the icing on the cake, our decision to cover the south coast was to get a good idea of the tsunami effect and problems still being experienced. So after two more hours of "chicken driving" we reached Dickwella where we were based for the next 3 days.

Staying at the Dickwella Village Resort was like being in a Monty Python film. I kept expecting either John Cleese or a candid camera crew to jump out of the bushes, and was sure that I could hear the sultry cry of "Basil, Basil, come here Basil". It's hard to describe why we felt like this as the actual resort is beautiful, located on a peninsula, with nice enough rooms, but it just didn't quite work. I'd have to put it down to the combination of characters working there - from the eccentric Italian owner Enzo (who claims to be a Mussolini supporter - Mamma Mia - but I think this may be for effect), wandering the resort looking like some beatific figure with a long white beard and local garb; to the waiter who was straight out of Benny Hill (SL version) to the 12 year old (actually 19) pizza chef who burnt every pizza that he went near. Dinner every night was 'fixed menu" and I reckon the chef had been drinking too much Arak (local paint stripper) because he was coming up with the weirdest concoctions. There was a beautiful young waiter (Mamma Mia) who kept trying to practice his English with us but getting ushered away by the Maitre'D - there is a rigidly enforced management structure here (in SL) and multi- tasking is definitely not encouraged! Oh by the way, did I mention that it rained for 3 days straight?

Whilst there we took the opportunity again to visit the local village and were treated to a display of how the women make coir rope - which is from the coconut; weaving instruments have been donated and enable the women to make quite a livelihood for themselves as it only takes about 3 minutes to make one length of rope. It really is amazing how much can be gained from the palm tree and coconuts - literally every little bit is used here - coconuts (obviously), a whole range of by products including rope; brooms; roof's; matting; baskets; ARAK; ornaments; it's astonishing.

One of the more disturbing side effects of the tsunami has been the increase in the number of "tourist scams" and just a general change in attitude to working. Enzo was bemoaning it. He stated that 28 fishing boats were lost on their beach but 126 were replaced and he claimed that the downside of this is a complete loss of work ethic. Every single member of his staff comes from somewhere else - not one of them is a native of Dickwella. Unfortunately we were to hear this many more times as we journeyed on.

The Adventure Begins! It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, with us arriving in Colombo on 9/01 after a day in monsoonal Singapore.

Colombo is a full frontal assault to the senses, starting at the airport with an arrivals hall reminiscent of certain Eastern European countries before the Cold War ended but with that indescribable, Eau de Asia. Despite being collected by a driver we were still inundated by the usual barrage of: "me help you carry bags", followed closely by "where you from?", which for some strange reason I answered "London". This response produced instant fossicking around in a pocket from which 10 one pound coins were produced with the request, "you have note?". I then explained that actually we had most recently arrived from Australia - no problem, the other pocket was now searched and 10 one dollar coins were produced! Duncan sensibly stepped in at this stage with the hissed comment that he was buggered if he was going to carry 10 one dollar coins around SL for 9 months, so I politely declined and we boarded the minivan (more of this later).

After a one hour drive which was more akin to a game of "chicken", we arrived at the hotel (very plush) intact but with an irreversible twitch which I don't think will leave until we do. Everyone had warned us about the roads, but you know what it's like you don't really believe it until you experience it yourself. Well it's all true and then some. Officially there are two lanes of traffic, one in each direction. Then there are the illegal overtaking lanes which can happen on either side of the official lane. And then there is the express lane (also illegal) for those that don't want to wait for any of the other lanes, official or not.

Add to this melee children, dogs, old people, "tuk tuks" (3 wheeler mopeds with covers) that pull to a stop whenever they feel like it and buses that prefer to do 80 kmph in the 40 zone and literally you have to run to jump on and off from, and you've got the general drift. Oh and in addition, watch out for the pedestrian crossings which work on the principle of mass - once you've accumulated enough bodies you can usually force the traffic to a standstill as you will now do more harm to them than they can do to you ...... but the funny thing is it works or seems to. I haven't seen an accident yet, despite Duncan informing me that 3,000 people die on the roads in SL annually (cheery thought).

The Cinnamon Grand Hotel where we stayed is in the centre of town and has a shopping centre underneath (from where I'm posting this) and seems to be the hotel of choice for all the NGO's, as it's safe, nice, but not Hilton posh (or expensive). That being said we had our first education on SL hotels - unlike Australia everyone smokes here, plus most of their tourist market is from Germany, Italy and the UK - also heavy smokers. So when I asked for a non-smoking room - well you can imagine where we ended up. A 300 room hotel has 30 non-smoking rooms and whilst the rest of the hotel has been progressively renovated those weird non-smokers can like it or lump it. I lumped. Went for dinner with Tim and Madeleine, Duncan's Lendlease colleague who has been here working for UN Habitat for the last 5 months and his partner - great to get some advice on how to settle in.

So 10/01 and we set off on our whirlwind tour of the country, designed to give us a taste of the country, customs, pluses, minuses and most importantly to view several of the Tsunami affected areas.



Again the drive - 5 hours this time, but our first real taste of SL so after a while you stop screaming and start enjoying the countryside. We stopped at a place called Hikkadua where DY had a surf (small) and I fed puppies under the table of the beachside restaurant (what?). Beaches here for those of you who have been to, or live in Oz, are reminiscent of Port Douglas - without the crocs or stingers. So for us, nothing to write home about, but the Euros certainly weren't whinging given its about 0 degrees in Europe at the moment.

Then back into the car and down to the heritage listed city of Galle. Along the way we really began to see the tsunami impact - not least, signs everywhere giving credit to various NGO's from around the globe for their work. The Japanese seem to have the monopoly on engineering/ roadworks and the Americans on dustbins!!! (which aren't being used). What struck was how erratic the devastation was - 3 houses wiped out - whilst the two on either side remain more or less standing. This was all viewed from a car and we were to get a better view later.

Stopped off at a turtle farm along the way (see photos). The owner has been running it for 25 years and was devastated to lose his "girls" in the tsunami - 4 extremely rare white turtles. He is rebuilding slowly and doing a fantastic job. He buys the turtle eggs off the fisherman for 10 rps each (circa 15 cents) and then keeps them in warm sand for 6 weeks at which point they hatch. Post tsunami he can then only hold them for 3 days - he used to hold them for a month, but those 3 days increase their chances of survival by 50% - all from natural predators. He does an amazing job.


Speaking of animals the feral dog and cat situation is bad, but not as bad as Indonesia. Given that the majority of the population are Buddhist all life is respected, if not actively protected. There is a difference and unfortunately it is the gap between the two that causes the problem - respect results in transport swerving out of the way of animals by the road, however no one bothers to protect them i.e. give the minimum level of care that we expect in the West. Given that there is no de-sexing programme and SL is still a largely agrarian community you can imagine the results. From those animals seen on our travels to date I would estimate 20% should be put down for humane reasons; 30% would be marginal as to why you would prolong life (or cost prohibitive); 20% are malnourished or mange ridden, but will probably have a bearable quality of life; 15% are doing quite nicely; 10% are doing very well and 5% are spoilt rotten pets.

10/01 Galle - for those who watched the tsunami footage there were some particular images of buses swirling around and women in sari's being dragged by the force of water out of a bus shelter - this was Galle. When we arrived we were shocked - it is obviously a major hub and there would have been 60 buses and easily a few hundred people there on the day we drove through. I can't imagine what it would have been like seeing the wall of water approaching, particularly for women and children who largely cannot swim.

We stayed in a fabulous swish boutique hotel called The Sun House, set high on the hill above Galle. An 19thc house belonging to an ex Scottish tea planter. Wonderful, and to date the best food we've had in Sri Lanka (there were several Donna Hay cookbooks in the kitchen I noticed - thank you Donna). Mozzies the size of flies, but we put this nuclear reactive stuff on and didn't have any issues (you know it's strong when it says on the label not to get near any synthetic clothing ...). Galle itself is a unique old fort city - seriously old - 16th c ramparts etc built by the Dutch and a town thriving in the middle of the fort. Several swish hotels here for those of you planning a trip .....