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

(Jump to Sunday the 3rd.) Today it was time to leave Jaffna. Rather than finding a private van for the return, we decided to do it like the locals. We only went 142 kilometres today but due to the fact the Tamil rebels occupy and rule some territory, it was not an easy route. The road is in horrible condition as it was not maintained during the war years.

I suppose there are some advantages to bouncing along on a narrow strip of what passes for tar; namely, it becomes very easy to observe life. People were out washing at their wells. Dogs slept in the road. Unconcerned goats were munching garbage. We had time to read the UNICEF signs warning people not to venture off the road way because of unexploded landmines. We saw into the real huts of the poor people. It's all there ... right in one's face.

A journey in North American inevitably means rolling along on an Interstate highway which was designed as limited access. They are safe but sterile. That system is designed so one should never need to drop below 100 KPH. All the exits look the same whether in desert or forest. For the jaded, I suppose from a Sri Lankan bus window the villages blend into a familiar blur of dwellings too. Yet, at least it's up close and personal.

Our first section of the trip was about an hour. This brought us to the edge of LTT territory. We had to get off that bus, go thorugh a Sri Lanka military checkpoint, then walk a half kilometre to show the Tamil guards our temporary visa from when we headed north. (I thought the Sri Lankan Consulate in Ottawa had given me a 2-month document for ALL of the country!) Next, we boarded an LTT bus and rode for the better part of 2 ½ hours. At the final point we re-entered Sri Lanka and got on a small, private bus. It should have held 35 people but more than double were crammed in.

I was happy to get to Vavuniya where were checked into the Vanni Inn at 1:15. An air-conditioned room? I have a bit of a sore thoat and am sneezing already, but the a/c room at $15 was much nicer than the one in the same building for $5.

For entertaininment at sunset, from our window we watched as thousands and thousands of birds came to feast on tiny flying insects that were hatching and then being immediately devoured.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2004

Today wasn't action-packed but Jaffna isn't a tourist mecca yet. The plan was we'd go to the top of the peninsular by going to Kankesanturai. We knew there'd be a checkpoint and figured that would mean changing busses. So, we went to the bus station at 8:30 am and had to wait for the 9:00 am bus. It actually left at 9:10 am and travelled to Tellippali. That's the most northerly point we could reach as access beyond there is closed for military reasons. I thought it was strange we had to walk nearly a kilometre from the town to the checkpoint! One soldier who was guarding the post was from Minuwangoda. We had a little chat and then turned around. We got on a bus that took a different returning route and saw grapes and bananas growing commercially.

After a take-out lunch in our 2-room hotel room, we napped. Then we took a tuk-tuk to Nathur Kandaswamy Kovil. We had to remove our shirts to go in this big, Hindu temple. Our little 3-wheel guy was the first showed us our Guest House for free, so we paid him SR 100 and tipped him an extra SR 50. We bought some grapes. This afternoon, as Jay's been occasionally doing, he called home to say hello.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2004, temple

The water from the tap is salty here and, even after a shower, I need lots of baby powder so as to not feel sticky. Today, we went by local bus and ferry to visit an outer island. First, we travelled over a causeway which was in rather poor condition.

A Buddhist temple, Nagadeepa, was the first stop on the Buddha's second visit to Sri Lanka. When we were there, my GPS showed us in the middle of water. (The internal map contains information primarily for North America, and the rest of the world is made of polygons.) It was a very interesting journey that ended as we returned to the hotel at 2:00 pm.

My battery charger is used for the GPS and my camera batteries. Unfortunately, I think I burnt it out with the 240 to 120 adapter. It did used to get quite hot! The electronics shop did not carry a 500Ma transformer here. It looks like I'll have to conserve battery power on the rest of this journey. We'll have been on the road for two weeks come tomorrow …

Labels: camera, GPS, Sri Lanka 2004, temple

This was the last morning for breakfast from the sisters. We took a 3-wheel to the bus station and went to Vavuniya. We're getting quite far north now! It was 50 kilometres, 1.5 hours, but only about US 44 cents. We arrived at 9:00 am so we decided that we should try to go as far north as possible today. We decided to go to Jaffna. There were no busses but we found the place where vans leave from. Being cheap, we waited until the bus filled up and paid SR750 each. If we'd been in a real hurry, we could have paid more and gone immediately. The down side was we needed to wait until 11:00 and it was really hot.

I think we had to get off for three different checkpoints. Some were the LTT (Liberation Tamil Tigers) and other Sri Lankan forces. I could never tell who wanted to check the bags again. It was a tremendous hassle and for what? Almost twenty years of war . . . and for what? People dead, economic development stalled, human lives interrupted . . . and for what?

Jaffna is not a tourist haven yet. People are very friendly but it looks like Castro's Cuba. All the vehicles except those of the United Nations are pre-war vintage Morris Minors! I supposed just being able to travel here is special as it wasn't possible between the mid-80's and a few years ago. We did manage to get a very convenient room at the Yaara City Villas. We are just one street away from the town center but it's quiet and green here.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2004

Up and away quickly. It was breakfast from this sisters again. The 3-wheel driver who showed us the ancient city yesterday, took us to the old bus station. We took the 8:00 bus to Tantirimalai. It's a temple and the location where Ashoka's daughter stayed when bringing the sacred Bo Tree to Anuradhapura. This is significant as it's part of the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. This area of dark rock had a Hindu temple at the time. It is directly on the route between Mannar and the destination city.

The road we travelled .. well .. wasn't much of one. It was not wide enough for two vehicles. I've got a lot of respect for those old Tata busses as they can operate under such adverse road conditions. We got back to town (50K) a bit after 12 noon. We ate rice at a traditional place with extra fish and bottled water for SR 200 which means $US 1.00 each. Nap time, today!

Labels: Sri Lanka 2004, temple

We retired early last night, so we got up early. This room is on the second floor with a large open staircase. The windows look out on an empty lot in the rear. Many wild parrots fly amongst the banana trees.

Rather than eating at the Guest House, we sneaked to the same place we bought dinner snacks. We got breakfast rolls, yoghurt, and juice from the sisters who worked there. After finishing, we walked outside. Right across the road, a 3-wheer driver offered to take us to see the Anuradhapura ruins for SR 700. He was a very honest man and ended up showing us places that many tourists generally do not see. The day was grey, but we didn't use the umbrellas. After 3.5 hours, we gave him SR 1000 and he left us by the bus station. He's a retired military guy who supplements his pension by owning and driving a tuk-tuk.

Our plan was to get a bus to Mihintale, but yesterday's driver that bought us to the Guest House, saw us downtown. He offered to take us out, wait, and return us for SR 650. It was almost exactly 15 kilometers one way. Up another mountain! This is there place where Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka. We did open our umbrellas but the rain was warm and felt nice. On the road back, however, it really started to pour. Rain is a blessing in a dry area. Today, we were doubly blessed.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2004

Residing at the French Garden were a batch of small puppies. When the Australian family came, the little kids adopted them and lugged them around. When we sat to eat they'd snuggle against my bare feet under the table. So, it was with sadness, we said, "bye bye" to the beach puppies this morning.

We went to the bus station early but got on the second bus which left at 10:00. With us were lots of people, a live chicken, and eight boxes of fish on ice. Just because there's a line on map doesn't mean that it's really a road. Three hours after the fun started, we got off here in Anuradhapura. The drizzle stopped but resumed after we'd checked into the Milano Guest House. We ate a big lunch downstairs and took a walk to test the umbrellas and buy bakery snacks for dinner.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2004