A Collection of Daily Wisdom by Dennis Sylvester Hurd since September 2003.

(Jump to Sunday the 12th.) These first days have proven to be a wonderful chance to adjust to the new environment. Before we head off on treks around the country, we've tasted a bit of everyday life. This was a typical day where the simple routine is what's comforting and relaxing. The events:

Got up at 6:30 am.

Brushed teeth.

Drank milk tea at 6:45 am.

Swept up leaves which had fallen overnight.

Washed and shaved at the well.

Ate breakfast at 8:00 am.

Hand-washed some clothes.

Sat, read, looked at maps.

Drank 2 beers with Jay's dad before lunch.

Had lunch at 1:30 pm.

Took a nap from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

Had afternoon tea and a frozen popsicle.

Waited with cat, dog and others to see the door-to-door fish salesman.

Sat and wrote this at 4:40.

Labels: lists, Sri Lanka 2004

Posted by: Dennis S Hurd / 4:40 PM 0 comments

Today, Jay's sister and brother-in-law left to go back to their home near Colombo. Luckily, it's easy to call a 3-wheel that drives right from the house to the downtown bus stand.

It was a relaxing day with nothing too eventful. Oh, wait a minute! The bottled gas ran out. The meant that Jay's dad also took a trip downtown. All cooking used to be accomplished by fire at the kitchen hearth but LP has made life much easier. The bottles are bigger than the North American barbeque-type. I guess one generally lasts three or four months.

I took a nap that stretched from 1:30 to 3:30 today. Later, I looked at some family photo albums. We were going to visit Jay's brother's wife, Dharmeeka; however, she and the kids were busy.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2004

We were up early today and on the road to Pinnawala Elephant Sanctuary. We travelled out to the Colombo-Kandy road which has some great scenery as one starts into the mountains. We got there a bit after 10:00. As soon as we arrived, we walked right to the river and saw them bathing. After, they were herded across the road. There was a feeding time for baby elephants. It was a great day for an outing and we stopped at a nice restaurant on our return trip. Mastercards can be used everywhere. Our rented van, driver, and the 7 of us arrived back in Minuwangoda at 6:00.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2004

Hey, it's nice you could be at home for the occasion, we wish you a ...

Happy
Birthday,
Jay!
As we are planning a trip tomorrow our ranks grew larger this afternoon. Jay's brother-in-law came so we could leave directly from Minuwangoda tomorrow. Although it was Jay's special day, it was me who helped Lal polish off the bottle of Johnny Walker from the duty free in Singapore!

Labels: Sri Lanka 2004

Today's big event was going to Negombo (WGS84: N07`12.517 E079`50.150). As Jay's elder sister came from Nugegoda yesterday evening, the four of us went. We arranged for a van and driver. During the time we:

used an Internet cafe to check email

ate lunch at a Rest House

drove a bit to see the Negombo beach hotels

bought an oven, a pressure cooker, shower curtains, mats, groceries, and finally fish directly from the beach traders.

Although the city is only 13 KM from the house, it surely seemed like a long trip. It's a good road but busses, motorbikes, tractors, and pedestrians slow the travel. Driving here is such a headache!

Labels: Sri Lanka 2004

Posted by: Dennis S Hurd / 7:46 PM 0 comments

There are two pets hanging around here.

First, there's a lanky dog. In order to help describe Brown, I'll have to mention the Simpson's pet. Can you picture it? This dog too has spindly legs and each seem to function independently. It is a bit of a wimp as proven by its total fear of me for the first few days of contact. Oh, sure it can bark during the night at an imagined intruder but I doubt the thin body would really be much of a threat. Brown has begun to warm up to me emotionally, yet physically the dog can never seem to get warm enough. It waits in the morning until the sun bakes the concrete floor so that it can sit and soak up heat. Today was bath day and after it was over Brown sat shivering next to the doorway.

Secondly, there's the crabby cat. Jimmy is a hunter and spends most of the night out on travels. This creature is only affectionate at meal time. I think it's a bit of a sadomasochist as it seems to enjoy being swatted. If one gets in its way though, they're likely to bear the evidence of the encounter in the form of some scratches.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2004

At 10:00 we walked down to the junction and took a bus to Minuwangoda again. This time we went because it was the Sunday Market. Although primarily market produce, plasticware and clothes vie for a buyer's attention too. Jay's sister bought vegetables from many different vendor stalls. Folks might be used to tourists elsewhere but they weren't really expecting a white guy in the market. Of course it could've been my video camera that made me the center of attention.

We got back for lunch and as I'm sitting here with dessert at the back door, I am watching armies of ants walking the clothesline. It's a regular expressway with those from the opposite direction sliding over and taking their route upside down.

I'll be going to bed soon but I noticed a Sunday musical program on TV. There is a genre of popular dance music in Sri Lanka that can be traced to Portuguese rule. Costumed dancers practice today although the origins are from the 1500 and 1600's.

Labels: camera, Sri Lanka 2004