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

Whatever did I used to do on my PCs in those ten or so years before the Internet? I am sitting at the jungle in Minuwangoda. This is one of the very few places my notebook has ever been where it cannot receive a wireless signal. I’ve been in plenty of places where I couldn’t use an encrypted secure connection, but there were some there. Right now, the list is empty. Does this increase my ability to rest? Each time I start up Windows, I get warnings that McAfee hasn’t been able to connect and may be out of date. It maintains that my laptop is in danger. It must be about equal to the risk of catching a STD when working alone.

---

Today I welcomed the chance to rest. I stayed at home and watched the coconuts in the trees, petted the silly family dog, and typed this. In the afternoon, Jay and his younger sister did go to visit their mother’s sister and her granddaughter.

Things get complicated in relationships here as it’s rather important in social interaction. Family members seldom refer to each other by given name; rather, it’s always the name of the relationship. For example, Jay calls for small sister or big sister when around the house. A more obvious example is the lady who came to help during the long illness of Jay’s mother. She had once left a drunken husband and had no kids. She isn’t really a direct family member. She has stayed on in the house and is now surely part of the family. Jay’s dad refers to her as sister and the Jay and siblings call her auntie. Relationship names are so important that the Sinhalese language has more names for them than English, I think. What is one’s mother’s sister’s granddaughter? Is that what we’d call a second cousin?

I was going to write more, but this is enough for today. It still seems weird that these are just sitting on my local disk rather than at my eJournal and images. I rest assured that eventually these keystrokes will end up there. Maybe I can create a list of possible future topics over the next few weeks. That is, if Jay gives us some more days off. I hear tell of plans to do an upcountry trip for three days next week.

In my remaining days here, I can write about:

The changes I can see in Sri Lanka during visits over twenty years.

Describe why Sri Lanka is similar to Canada in the way both live near a huge neighbour with well-developed media industry.

Examine how prices for various products differ.

The fact the Middle East creates wealth above many developed country’s standards, yet they are able to tap the labour pool of Sri Lanka to get workers for $3 per day.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2006

Just because it’s possible to go from Tissamahara to Minuwangoda in one day, doesn’t mean one ought to. We said goodbye to Dhamith at the Kadupul Guest House at 8:15 am and got home at around 6:15 pm. We first took a tuk tuk to the old town of Tissamahara and the bus stop. Then we took a government bus to Matara. From there, we connected to a private a/c bus to Colombo. Then, we found an a/c coach heading to Minuwangoda. Finally, from there, we took a tuk tuk home. The total cost was about $3.90 each, the total kilometers were around 300, but the total travel time nearly ten hours! Gosh travel in Sri Lanka can test one’s fortitude if not one’s pocketbook.

This trip did include some of the same areas as 1987 journey. Most all was along the coast. The southern coast was affected by the tsunami. We saw some evidence of the destruction and talked to people who’d seen the wave describe as telephone-pole height. Frankly though, for many areas, it was hard to tell. Much of the new road seemed nice. Things grow quickly in a tropical country. Yet many unaffected buildings in this country look as though they’d been through a flood and often worse.

It’s nice to be home and typing this in front of TV. I’m addicted to extremely silly, Indian-imported, evening soap opera named, Praveena.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2006

We started the day by running out to the junction to get ‘short eats’ food for breakfast. It was cheap and greasy which hit most of the merits I look for in a morning meal. We then walked to see if the other guest house had a room for tonight. We found that it did, so we walked back to our ‘old’ place and carried the bags to the ‘new’ one.

Then we took a tuk tuk about two kilometers to the Tissa bus stand. There was a government bus to Katragama waiting. It was the typical, old-style, Lankan government bus. The seats were mostly broken and squashed very closely together. I requested an aisle seat which really means I made Jay sit near the window. I could stretch my legs that way.

The bus only took a half hour to get to Katragama. Let me discuss a bit about what it is. It’s a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists and Hindus as well. Lots of folks take the trip in special busses. There are lots of ‘stays’ there which are extremely cheap digs without any of the comforts of a regular hotel. Some also just ‘camp out’. They cook their meals outside and wash up in the river.



It encompasses a very large area. It’s also sort of a religious marketplace with a mosque, kovil, and temple. We made it plenty early enough to walk to the stuppa and bo tree. We walked back to the temple area for the 11:00 am service. The god of Katragama is celebrated in a service that mostly consists of noise. There’s a drummer who starts, stops, and keeps up a tempo. Numerous bells hang around the edges of a fairly small chamber. When the drummer drums, people keep the bells ringing. A few words are said. Water and white chalk is applied to one’s forehead. When people leave after 15 to 20 minutes later, they take a handful of rice to eat. Most offer fruit to the god through the priest. What is not selected in now blended into juice to quench the thirsts of thirsty pilgrims.

On the bus returning to Tissimaharama, we stopped at a famous, Buddhist temple of its namesake.

It was time for a nap and then we stayed around and chatted with the proprietor of the guesthouse, Dhamith. He was an instantly likeable chap. He is 38 and is in the middle of constructing a second floor with eight additional guestrooms and a third floor with banquet hall facilities. He’s taking risks but I had the impression he’ll be successful. He was especially interested in learning from foreigners although he hopes his business to be frequently by local tourists too. I found him very handsome, affectionate and kind. We left our address in Canada with him. When we print some of the digital photos, we’ll surely make sure he gets prints.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2006, temple

I wasn’t bothered in the slightest by the crashing of the surf last night. Maybe those three big beer bottles that Lal bought did the trick.

We only did tea at the hotel because of the accompanying inflated prices for a complete breakfast. We had full intentions of finding a bakery in town. We turned right however to get to Mulkirigala. Since it wasn’t yet eight o’clock most shops weren’t opened. We kept driving and driving.

Since it was only 18 kilometers to the ‘rock’ we passed no good places to grab a breakfast. There are generally vendor stalls near points of interest but Mulkirigala gets most visitors on weekends, so no one was there. Then, someone pointed out the little shacks down the hill a bit. We ended up having our fill of hoppers cooks by two, tiny, ancient ladies. I think the total bill came to nearly a dollar.

The climb was steep but everyone did well. Even auntie took it in stride, so to speak. The mountain had about 3 stops on the way where cave temples contained Buddha images. Most were reclining and carved right from the stone of back of the cave walls. The entire inside was painted the wonderfully colourful scenes depicting the Buddha’s life. When we were finally on the top, the view was wonderful. The views from this sort of place are always wonderful. It sort of make one wonder why in our harried lives, we don’t take the time to have more personal reflection and mountaintop experiences.

The gang headed back with the exception of Jay and me. We let them drop us off at the Tangalle bus stop. We found a bus headed for Tissimaharama. We’d half considered going to Kindra but heard after the Tsunami there’s not much there except a lighthouse and the beach.

I’m typing this at the Regina Holiday Home. The quick tour guides spotted us at the bus stand and quickly whisked us to back to the ‘new town’. We ate a late lunch here and went for a walk to see an old reservoir. Rain hit when walking back and we avoided it by taking refuge at another guest house along the way. They are constructing new rooms. The proprietor was very interesting and Jay chatted for quite a while. Since we’re heading to Kataragama tomorrow and need another night in this area, maybe we’ll switch.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2006

It took nearly two hours to get to Lal’s. The roads to Colombo are swamped 8:00 in the morning. Jay’s dad stayed at home this time but Auntie and younger sister, joined Lal and elder sister.

We headed south down the Sri Lankan west coast. The last time I went in the direction down the Galle Road must’ve been in the late 1980’s. I’ll mention some of my impressions in a later entry.

We stopped at the roadside Kalutara Buddhist temple. It spans both sides of the highway on the edge of a large river. It’s famous for the ancient bo tree. I especially like the system where visitors can pour water into side funnels in the protecting walls and it eventually runs to nourish it. There is a very impressing dagaba that is constructed as hollow. On the second floor there are windows looking out 360 degrees. The center had the temple area. One could look up probably four of five stories to the top.



Also, after a ‘buffet lunch’, we stopped at Matara Verahena. The five storey Buddha image may be surpassed. In fact we saw the future successor earlier in the day. Most importantly to me, it was hard to believe I’d been in this exact stop in the late 80’s. I’m so much older as well as wiser now!

We pulled into Tangalle just before dark. This, incidentally, is around 6:30 here. It’s around 6:30 year round which is a bit different than for those who reside at a larger longitude. Jay is the expert planner and had a few names of places to stay that he’d scrounged from travel books. We ended up on the right road and quickly found one not listed --- Wavy Sea Hotel and Restaurant. It was perfect. Although they had no family rooms, we stayed in three separate ones. Lal insisted on buying me three beers which will ensure that I sleep well tonight. Fears of a reoccurring tsunami will be far away.

Labels: Sri Lanka 2006, temple

We didn’t arrange for the lift to Minuwangoda in the family’s 3-wheel until 9:15 am. Although back at 4:25 pm, it was quite an exhausting day.

Perhaps in contrast to the solitude of yesterday, we chose to go to Colombo just for the heck of it. We walked around the Fort, cashed a few traveller’s cheques, and strolled through the main Cargill’s as well as Laksala. There was no real reason for the trip other than for diversion. We walked down Galle Face. The grass area is all blocked off for the third phase of improvements. We had thought it was something to do with the military! This clearly is the reason for no Kite Festival this year.

I hadn’t been to the Vihara Maha Davi Park since it was called Victoria Park. It’s still just as impossible as in the mid-80’s to get a good photo of City Hall’s white dome from halfway down the center of the park.

We tried an Internet business. I had all of these text files as well as my “Daily Picture Parade” photos on my camera’s memory card. They had the necessary USB connector on the PC, but the computer and connection was horribly slow. After ten minutes a single photo hadn’t completed uploading; however, the average photo from my present camera is about one and a half megabytes. While trying to upload, I opened several other Windows and was able to check my gmail. There were mostly unimportant messages. There was a nice email from a woman in Kuwait. She had seen the class photos from the Al-Bayan School in 1982. A while back I scanned them and put them on Flickr. In fact, more than seeing them; she was in one of them! I just emailed that I’d received the message and would answer more next month after getting back in Canada. So, there were no updates to my eJournal and images or Flickr today. I am starting to wonder when this will actually sit on my domain!

We at lunch at a modern-style, food court offering “village-like” food. Jay just told me the name but I didn’t catch the spelling. We started back after finding the private busses to Minuwangoda. The bus area is now huge and chaotic. It seems like there is no one who is willing to take the responsibility for the mess. We finally started back at about 3:00 pm.

I feel so sorry for those who must work downtown. It’s probably only a 35 kilometers (21 mile) trip from here. Yet, it took nearly an hour and a half each way. It is little wonder that most government and some business just don’t get work done promptly. It’s not just due to institutional lethargy although that may play a part. People must be too damned tired by the time they get there to finish anything. I have to admit to taking private, a/c coaches too. I don’t know what a government bus would have been like. For then we’d have had to breathe more of the polluted air and hear the ear-piercing noises more loudly. Why do vehicles that don’t have working taillights or even bumper seem to sport upgraded horns?

There were some upsides to the trip. First, since it was not an urgent trip, we avoided rush hours. In addition, parts of Colombo 2 are quite pretty. Lastly, even with lunch for two, the purchase of a baseball cap, and two tuk-tuk rides as well as bus fares, we spent less than $10 in total.

Labels: camera, Sri Lanka 2006

Today was low key. We didn’t have any trips. We didn’t even go to Minuwangoda’s Sunday Fair. Lots of vendors come to sell food and products in temporary stalls each Sunday. We had no need to go, as we’re planning to be gone for some of next week and there’s already enough food in the house.

As I’m typing this, it’s only a few hours short of our arrival a week ago. It surely doesn’t seem as if so much time has passed. Maybe this seems more obvious due to the fact we’re only to be here for four weeks!

I spent a lot of time today just doing the things that make up life. I washed a number of clothes by hand and hanged them out to dry. It takes things an incredibly long time to dry naturally here because of the humidity. Personal shaving and washing take time. Preparing food and snacks occupied a large part of the day too. It seems possible to get into true vacation mode here.

The benefits of an authentic vacation is one has to get back to basics. When hunting first for shelter and then for food, people are forced out of the routine of their normal lives. That is what makes these times extremely important. I will remember this evening, typing in front of music from the recent Sri Lankan Idol, longer than many of the other nights of 2006.

---

On another train of thought, I considered I was quite kind on the environment today. You have to remember I have grown up with criticism of North American energy use. I have always maintained that a little waste can keep things rolling. Furthermore, habits change quickest when they come up against economic realities. The most effective long-term changes will occur not through the signing of an international protocol, but from the point at which economics forces people to do things differently.

I could have used fewer calories of energy had I not frozen my freshly-pulped beli juice today. I would have not put it into the freezer had it been too great an economic cost. It wasn’t, so I enjoyed the luxury of using more energy than necessary. Maybe it’s the manipulation of the environment in pursuit of personal pleasure that separates us from the animals.

Labels: food, Sri Lanka 2006