My turn to discuss Sri LankaJ
Oh how amazing it was. I want to write
about it before I forget. I find myself
writing blogs as I am experiencing the event and then once I get back from the
adventure I am too tired. I am going to
push through and make it happen this time.
Day 1: we arrive in Sri Lanka and the sun is setting. I have convinced Josh that we needed to see elephants. After lots of research with people that have
been there and contacting different safari companies we decided to go to Yala
National Park which was 6 hours from the airport after arriving at 6 pm Josh
was not excited about this pipe dream of mine.
The journey was precarious to say the least the roads were one lane with
traffic coming and going in both directions in the dark. We took turns sleeping
and got to see the nightlife of small villages as we traveled along. Eating the many snacks that we packed to
sustain us until who knew when. Our
driver did not speak English and was quite pleasant because he played American
tunes and let us sing and play name that tune.
After 6 hours of questioning if this was the right decision on my behalf
we arrived at a rickety hotel at 1 AM. I
had heard from people this was the place we had to go to see animals in the
wild, so here we were.
Day 2: We woke up at 5 am after a nice little nap, with
peacocks outside our door we were ready to go.
The driver was there on time and we bumped down the road to arrive at
Yala National Park. We saw two leopards;
lots of peacocks, some wild bore that kind of looked like elephants, water
buffalo, deer and some monkeys. I began
to have a mental questioning of the meaning of life because we hadn’t seen
elephants and the day was nearing 9 am and they later it got the less our
chances got. We took a detour to see the
Indian Ocean and I finally had come to terms with no elephants, because Josh
told me that I needed to embrace the experience and let it be what it was. I was forcing myself to believe this. Then our driver runs over to us and says
“LET’S GO!” We eagerly jump into the
jeep and race off. It felt like the
moments in the movie where you didn’t know what was going to happen but you
hoped for the best. We bounced around a
corner and there they were a mama, baby and toddler sitting there eating from
the tree. Life made sense in that moment,
the journey was all worth it and I was instantly feeling a lot less anxiety
about the meaning of life. We watched
the elephants walk side by side and give each other love. It made me feel tears in my eyes and really
excited to be a mom. The whole journey
was so amazing, I felt like Josh really went outside of his comfort zone for me,
and in the process we got to fall even more in love with each other.
After the Safari we picked up two packages of Pringles and
some Cokes that really brought us back to life and ready for the seven-hour
drive to Hikkaduwa Sri Lanka, which are where, our friends Ann and Jason were
staying. It was really neat to drive
through each village and watch them go about there daily tasks. Josh slept which I am sure was nice for him
as well. It was quite a feat to get
through the first 24 hours in Sri Lanka, we were ready for some beach time!
Then we were off to town to shop and see how the hippies
live in Hikkaduwa. There were lots of
crafts and message places, all of which brought me excitement. We ate a nice meal for dinner, as we ate we
stared at the calming water and talked about enlightening things like weaving
your life by likes and dislikes and how that makes people angry. All of which made total sense at the time and
still makes sense to me but probably not everyone.
Day 3: We woke up to some good Sri Lankan breakfast curry
potatoes and tea. We went back to town (Hikkaduwa) to look at the shops and to
eat lunch that consisted of a cheeseburger that was made by a Dutch expat and
pretty amazing. Once we returned from
town it was time to put on our swimsuits and get ready for the parade. We swam in the Indian Ocean while we waited
for this infamous parade to begin for a town holiday. Boys with flowers strapped to their bikes ran
up and down the rode to inform us that the parade was beginning. This is one of the best parades I have ever
seen dancers of all sorts, brace bands and bull wipes. The excitement and the talent was endless and
so eclectic. I took a ton of pictures
and my favorite part was seeing the little girls smile in their dance costumes. My least favorite part was seeing the chains
hanging from the elephants necks, everyone tried to convince me that this was
necessary because what if the elephants got out of line that would be
dangerous. I understand that but
elephants don’t need to be in parades either.
It was fun to see a parade with talent and not candy just pure beauty.
Day 4: We hired a driver named Upali to take us around to
some of the tourist attractions around the area. Our first stop was a moon stones mine, which
started with teaching us how to harvest cinnamon. Then we got to see the entire process of
getting the moonstone from the mine all the way to the store ready to
sell. We went from the miners that were
working harder than I though humanly possible and ended in the shop that was
pristine with men in suites selling gems from all over the world. I of course bought something because they did
a good job at selling me with all the different people having to shine and mine
the stones just for one ring.
Next stop a Buddhist Temple; this was one of the things I
was most excited about! We walked up
what seemed like hundreds of stairs that seemed to lead nowhere and then we
reached the top and found a Temple that didn’t seem that special. After continuing to explore we came across an
amazing view that overlooked a jungle.
If I was a Buddhist monk this is where I would like to call home. We explored got to see a statue of Buddha
lying down which is super amazing I am not sure why but we saw it. As we were leaving I saw two monks sitting on
the front porch and I tried to slyly walk past them hoping they would at least
smile at me. I got better than that;
they invited us in to teach us about the four noble truths. These are kind of like the ten commandments
of Buddhism. We sat down and were given
all kinds of knowledge by the most peaceful man; he was absolutely inspiring
and has driven me to meditate again.
There was also a 90-year-old monk sitting peacefully petting a cat. This experience was absolutely unforgettable
and is the entire reason people travel.
I will never forget him.
Next stop lunch we went and ate a cheeseburger again which
was not very Buddhist of us but “baby needed food.” We of course shopped a little bit and then we
went back home to contemplate the day.
Day 5: At this point in the trip I was absolutely exhausted
but we had paid Mr. Upali to take us to on a river cruise and to a turtle
hatchery. Both were nice I was a little
detached at this point and not very interested.
We had our feet eaten by fish; there are these fish that will eat the
dead skin off your feet. I thought this
was absolutely horrible and Josh loved it.
It was still a nice day with friends; I just wish I could have been a
little less tired. On the river cruise
we got to see some really large lizard that I am sure is related to
dinosaurs? After our adventures we ate
at a very sketchy Chinese food restaurant and none of us got sick. Then we went home and rested because we were
absolutely exhausted.
Day 6: To Colombo we went.
It was our friend Jason’s birthday and we woke up to breakfast and Mr.
Upali brought a cake that his wife made.
It was such a sweet gesture and very unforgettable. As you can see this was a pretty
unforgettable trip, Sri Lanka is full of friendly people and a culture that
needs to be discovered. After a couple
rounds of happy birthday we were off to the train station for Colombo where we
would fly from the following day. One of
my favorite things to do when I travel is to stare out the window and watch and
observe how people live around the world.
With the window open I stared and took as many pictures as I could. Josh and I also discussed how to raise a
child properly in the first six weeks of
life and a man stopped by to give us a three hundred year history of Sri Lanka,
all of which were very interesting.
Once we arrived in Colombo Ann and I decided to venture out
to the market and see what it had to offer.
True to the Trip Advisor reviews it was dirty and very chaotic. I bought some fabric for a baby blanket and
two bouncy balls that had the world painted on them, after that we gladly left
and got ready for Jason’s birthday dinner.
After a night with our friends we were off to bed to wake up
and head for the airport at 6 am. The
trip to Sri Lanka will be a memory that Josh and I will always have. Thank you for coming on the journey with us
in these three pages of stories and enlightenmentJ
We miss you and love you all! Now it is
time to eat some lasagna and go to bed.
I have gone to bed between seven and eight every night since we have
returned and this weekend my agenda is international movie day(s)!
