The girls and I have been in Sri Lanka for two weeks now.  The time has flown by and we are having a terrific time.  My friend Jet grew up here before coming to New York on scholarship to study music (and science/pre-med) in the late 70s.  She is super smart and ended up a lawyer rather than a violin playing internist, thankfully, because I may not have met her or husband Lance otherwise.  In fact, Lance is partly responsible for our decision to go on this adventure.  Lance’s parents took he and his two brothers on a similar trip and we have spoken many times about the impact it had.

Jet and Lance arranged for us to tour the island country of Sri Lanka over seven days with an Ondaatje book on hand to give an additional layer of local color.  (Ondaatje family is well known and you are probably thinking of Michael – The English Patient and Running in the Family.  I read a small novella by older brother Christopher. His is a more personal journey that includes a man-eating leopard tale and captures a particular time between warring periods here.)

Sri Lanka’s internal war ended in 2008 so the experience is still fresh for people here.  On our second day touring Sri Lanka’s ancient ruins we had a very interesting exchange with our tour guide. It started simply enough with the question of “what country do you come from?”  When I replied the US, he became quite animated.  “Best country in the world!”  I don’t remember what exactly I said but after being in India and careful not to say we come from New York City (where diplomats are invasively strip searched these days) I don’t think I said much more than a simple “thank you.”   He then said something I remember clearly.  “Never Surrender.”  I repeated it back as a question.  Yes, he said, I love America because you don’t give in to terrorists; “never surrender” to terrorists.

The news that day reported that the UN had conducted an investigation of war crimes by Sri Lanka’s current leadership.  His assumption was that I would be sympathetic to the Sri Lankan governments actions to rid the country of its terrorists, a reference to the Tamil Tigers.  I didn’t press the issue but I did try to politely point out that defeating terrorists, which I do support, doesn’t have to include wholesale massacres of  unarmed civilians or other war crimes – whether it’s the slaughter of surrendered Tamils or our treatment of prisoners at Abu Gahrib.  Anyway, I kept the conversation short and deferential. I am no expert on these matters.

On our seven day whirlwind tour, we stopped at an elephant hospital (some have been injured by landmines, others just babies abandoned by their mothers), visited the ancient capitals of Anuradhapura (2nd century BCE) and Polonnaruwa (11th century AD/CE), increased our running count of buddha statues to top 50,000, stayed in a hotel designed by one of Sri Lankans best known architects (Bawa), climbed the Sigiriya rock fortress, watched ornately costumed local dancers in Kandy, visited a 172 year old tea plantation and consumed copious amounts of fresh mango, pineapple, curry, cashews, and Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was known prior to its independence from Britain) tea along the way.

After proving my mettle, roadside fresh-cut pineapple with chili and salt, I was dubbed an honorary Sri Lankan.  I think I need to see a leopard before I can take the honor seriously but I rather doubt my success from here in Colombo.

For our final week we have been staying at a hotel with its own beach, one of only two private beaches in the country.  It was glorious in its day but now its a bit tired.  No matter, it has decent wifi and we are focused on visits with Jet and her family, uploads to dropbox, school assignments and some essential trip planning.

On Tuesday, we made a day trip along the west coast to see Galle and its old Dutch Fort. Quite by luck, we noticed a small makeshift museum – the Tsunami Photo Museum.  It was started by a Dutch woman but is overseen now by a Singhalese woman who lost her home. More than 250,000 people died in the tsunami, 40,000 in Sri Lanka alone.  People had never seen anything like it and before that day, I’m told, there was no word in the Singhalese language for “tsunami”.  After the first wave, people naively went to the shore to see the ocean’s bottom with its fish flapping on dry land.  The water had receded for more than a kilometer before rushing back at the coast with a second wave more than 30 meters high that would wash away entire communities.  Nine years have passed; a warning system is in place.  Peoples homes and shops are beginning to line the coast again.

Jet, the girls and I all depart for Istanbul on Saturday where we will meet Andy at the airport and visit altogether for an hour or so before bidding Jet a bon voyage for NYC and setting out on our next adventure. It’s my birthday next week and I want to spend it in Africa…

Photos:

Pinnawella Elephant Orphanage

Sigiriya Rock
    

Anuradhapura (200 BCE)

   

Bodhi Tree – there was a Buddhist festival going on here at the site of the oldest tree in recorded history.  It was brought as a sapling from India and is said to be a sapling from the tree under which Siddartha found enlightenment.

 

Polonnaruwa – Sri Lanka’s second capital city built in the 11th Century

  

One Rock – Three Buddha

   

Traditional Kandy Dancers

Labookellie Mackwoods Tea Plantation

  

Tsunami Photo Museum

Day Trip to Galle Fort
  

Colombo

    (State of the Union Address)