| home/pics/2006/Sri Lanka |       |
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Sri_Lanka.gif - Map of Sri Lanka | 22 KB |
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Colombo.jpg - Flew into Colombo, Sri Lanka on 25/5/2006 from Trivandrum, Kerala. Colombo isn't the most pleasant place, but its not as bad as everyone seems to think. | 28 KB |
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Colombo_Clown.jpg - Went to "Majestic City" to do some big-city shopping. Found this really scary 12 foot high clown terrorizing people. | 45 KB |
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Hikka_Nina.jpg - Took the (always overcrowded) train down to Hikkaduwa. Nina and Tim had already been staying there in a house rental with a group of volunteers. The place was just off the beach on the "jungle side". | 27 KB |
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Flower.jpg - Saw this while wandering around the our neighborhood. | 46 KB |
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Flower.jpg - Flower. | 39 KB |
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Beach.jpg - Didn't spend a whole lot of time on the beach, but was always happy when I did. | 30 KB |
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Waves.jpg - A bit too rough to actually swim in near our house. Had to walk farther north to where the reef was. | 35 KB |
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Speed_Cop.jpg - He was literally hiding in the bushes trying to catch people! | 60 KB |
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TrainTracks.jpg - The tracks that we crossed every day on the way to the beach. No guard rails! Walk / drive across at your own risk. | 56 KB |
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Galagoda_Painting.jpg - A mother and daughter living in a govt house provided to them after the Tsunami. Gen (far left) agreed to help to help get their walls painted and we all came along to help. From left its Gen, Charlie, Emily (our roommate), Hugo, Nina, Cressy and the "J" man. | 46 KB |
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Tsunami_Sign.jpg - A sign in Telwatta, just north of Hikkaduwa. Everyone in this area had a story to tell of how they survived... some were washed a mile inland, some clung onto a coconut palm, others were inland coincidentally. When taking the train to Colombo, you still see boats broken in half, demolished homes and cemeteries all along the south-west coast. | 41 KB |
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Kite.jpg - Kids on the beach flying a kite. | 30 KB |
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Cressy_Nina.jpg - Nina, Cressy, our roommate Sampath and myself took a short trip to the beautiful beach of Unawatuna just south of Galle. | 47 KB |
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Dog_Unawatuna.jpg - Dog on the beach. | 30 KB |
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Dagoba.jpg - The Dagoba (Pali synonym of stupa) across the bay in Unawatuna. Took a really nice walk out there at sunrise. | 29 KB |
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Unawatuna_Sunset.jpg - Swimming at sunset. | 26 KB |
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Sampath_Jonathan.jpg - Sampath and JC doing a land / water biathlon. Not sure, but I think he let me win. | 32 KB |
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JC_Fake.jpg - Funny bit of post-modern photography -- looks like I am in front of a fake-sunset studio backdrop eh? | 22 KB |
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Sunrise.jpg - Sinrise walk. | 36 KB |
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Doggy.jpg - Ooooh isn't he so fluffy and cute? | 38 KB |
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Rocks.jpg - Walked up to the Dagoba and had amazing views of these rocks off the coast, the surrounding jungle and coastal cliffs. | 26 KB |
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Nina_Dog.jpg - Nina with a random temple dog. Seems there is always ultra-confident dogs at Buddhist shrines! | 45 KB |
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Shore.jpg - The other direction from the ocean. | 44 KB |
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Asleep.jpg - It was early, I was tired. | 40 KB |
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Leg.jpg - Go for it doggy! Eat that leg! | 49 KB |
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Wesak_Lantern.jpg - Gen and Sampath making lanterns for the Wesak festival in Hikkaduwa. | 54 KB |
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Wesak_Lanterns.jpg - Wesak celebrates the Buddha's birthday and here in Sri Lanka people make these beautiful paper lamps. Candles illuminate small paths into the jungle, most people seem to turn out their lights and instead use candles. Feels like a holy-Halloween kinda. | 36 KB |
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Wesak_parade.jpg - There was a huge parade down the coast, I think they were going all day long! | 65 KB |
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Wesak_parade.jpg | 56 KB |
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Wesak_parade.jpg - Woman in the parade. | 36 KB |
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Wesak_trance.jpg - This drummer looked at me like he was in a trance.. it was really eerie to make eye contact through all the chaos with this guy. | 49 KB |
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Wesak_dance.jpg - Seemed to be many men dressed in feminine costumes. Don't know the significance of that. | 55 KB |
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Wesak_parade.jpg - Big Birds... | 53 KB |
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Wesak_dance.jpg - The night before, we had gone to a birthday party / Wesak party and seen several of the same people dancing (and drunk) at the families house. | 41 KB |
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Sunset_Boat.jpg - The coast just next to Hikkaduwa town. | 27 KB |
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Spider_Sink.jpg - A huge, fast spider on the side of our sink. | 30 KB |
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Kandy_Burmese_Rest.jpg - My favorite guest house in Asia -- Burmese Rest. Just a simple place run by a Burmese monk. Has a courtyard with several great tortoises and a crusty stone kitchen to cook in. Just a really nice place to quietly sit and drink tea while the monsoon rain falls. | 38 KB |
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Candy_Corner.jpg - Favorite restaurant in the city of Kandy (they don't sell Candy, its just a pun). Ate the obligatory rice and curry here every morning. Usually 4-7 different dishes with a mountain of rice and a sweet, thick tea made with powdered milk. | 35 KB |
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Adams_Peak.jpg - From Kandy we went to Adams Peak. On Nina's birthday, we woke up at 2:00AM and began the pilgrims hike up to Adam's Peak. Apparently Buddha’s footprint is embedded in a piece of stone at the top, but all we saw was a hideous tiled structure with all the beauty of a public restroom. | 34 KB |
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Adams_Cloud.jpg - Its monsoon time... so we couldn't see the "spectacular view" everyone was talking about because we were in the middle of a cloud! | 32 KB |
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No_Wasting_Time.jpg - Sign from a bus station office -- I think it was actually serious. | 47 KB |
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Train_Engine.jpg - On the train from Nuwara Eliya to Ella, 2nd / 3rd class were too crowded to even get in. The nice conductor let us ride in the storage area behind first class (with 3rd class tickets) and even arranged a visit to the engine room! This is one of the two drivers, he was a bit loony, but nice. | 47 KB |
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Ella.jpg - In Ella we took some wonderful day hikes. Along train tracks, over streams, across waterfalls, and up the green hills / tea plantations. | 41 KB |
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Lizard.jpg | 36 KB |
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Ella.jpg - I think this was Ella rock as seen from "Little" Adam's peak. | 42 KB |
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Ella.jpg - Ella rock from town. | 29 KB |
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Pee-Nol.jpg - The name says it all. | 42 KB |
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Badulla.jpg - From Ella, we took a bus north-east to Badulla. Monsoon followed. | 35 KB |
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Dunhinda_Waterfall.jpg - The famous Dunhinda waterfalls just outside of Badulla. We finally found a spot away from starring teenagers and took a quick dip. Vendors sold fresh lemonade and roasted corn along the 2 KM path to the falls. | 68 KB |
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Kandy_Peradeniya_Bat.jpg - Completed our loop with a bus back to Kandy. Finally made it to the Royal Botanical gardens of Peradeniya. Really great old trees and huge fruit bats! | 32 KB |
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Kandy_Peradeniya_Fat_Tree.jpg - Big Belly tree. | 60 KB |
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Kandy_Peradeniya.jpg - This was the most crazy, twisted tree I have ever seen! Went down into the ground in about 5 places, couldn't even see where this one ended and the next tree started. | 72 KB |
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Kandy_Peradeniya_Nina.jpg - Nina in the tree. | 65 KB |
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Dambulla_Monkey.jpg - North of Kandy, we went to see the Dambulla Rock Temple. Pilgrims brought Lotus blossoms... monkeys ate the lotus blossoms. | 67 KB |
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Dambulla.jpg - View from the top. | 31 KB |
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Dambulla.jpg - Painted stone sculptures from inside the cave temples. | 36 KB |
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Dambulla.jpg | 35 KB |
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Dambulla.jpg - Painted stone Buddha's feet. | 38 KB |
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Dambulla.jpg | 45 KB |
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Dambulla.jpg - Girls on a school trip to the caves. | 28 KB |
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Dambulla.jpg - Rain coming across the valley. | 28 KB |
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Dambulla_Cobra.jpg - Snake charmer doing his thing outside the temple. The Cobra was really beautiful, but it didn't seem to like the "charmer" very much. | 50 KB |
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Sigiriya.jpg - The rock fortress of Sigiriya was really impressive. The entrance fees were equally impressive so we decided to climb the deserted rock next to it instead. | 36 KB |
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Squirrel.jpg - A little squirrel that had its parents killed and now lived in the shirt pocket of a tea shop owner. Nina almost took it home, but decided it probably wouldn't survive. | 32 KB |
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Pidurangala.jpg - The "other rock" next to Sigiriya -- Pidurangala was absolutely beautiful! We hiked up there and spent the afternoon alone on the peak. | 27 KB |
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Pidurangala_fly.jpg - The biggest fly I have ever seen! Nina thought I was stupid for trying to get a pic -- but look at that thing! | 37 KB |
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Pidurangala_Nina.jpg - Just liked the exposure on this one. Reminds me of how things look in my dreams. | 43 KB |
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Sigiriya.jpg - Photo of the famous rock fortress from the top of Pidurangala. | 34 KB |
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Pidurangala_Nina.jpg | 28 KB |
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Sigiriya.jpg - Another pic of "The Rock" with a boulder in the foreground. | 41 KB |
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Pidurangala.jpg - The storm clods rushed across the plains, covered us in a torrent of rain and wind for a few minutes then continued past leaving just sunlight and clean air. | 40 KB |
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