Sri Lanka

Leaving Sri Lanka: Down the Mountain and Across the Sea

Leaving Sri Lanka: Down the Mountain and Across the Sea

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lal_thumb.jpg I could also call this episode “So Long and Thanks for all the Dahl: Part 2,” (a la our departure from India) but I’ve written enough praise about Sabah’s cooking. I could describe to you the goodbyes and gift-giving of our last week in Nuwara Eliya, but I’m tired of farewell, inured. I don’t think describing our final day crunch-time in the PALM office or our last-minute preparations for Africa would be very exciting either, though some mention of Harinee’s delivery is due, a healthy girl who the astrologers name “Dimanti Thisarie.”

Map: Sri Lanka, laying down

Map: Sri Lanka, laying down

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map_srilanka.jpgMy flat map of Sri Lanka denies the island its normal north-is-up “teardrop” romance, but laying it on its side, it looks like big-headed whale, don’t you think? Colombo the eye, rail tracks the teeth. . .a blunt-headed giant of the sea, swimming south while casually raising its tail to India.

Back to Nuwara Eliya: Earth Day in Hill Country

Back to Nuwara Eliya: Earth Day in Hill Country

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trees.jpgIt’s raining in Nuwara Eliya, most evenings and nights; bone-chilling, pre-monsoon stretches of wet that an expat friends compares to Scotland. After pleasant, light-filled mornings, storm clouds gather in the afternoons, but different from the breezy, faraway affairs of March.

The Walls of Galle

The Walls of Galle

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gal1.jpgWe venture down the coast to the Galle Fort on Tamil and Sinhalese New Year’s day, though with the full moon Poya, the Holy Prophet’s birthday, the coming of Easter, etc., we are quite confused about just what is being celebrated and by whom.