The Martin's Blog

Helen – We began our round trip – traveling to Matara and Kandy and back to Colombo to show Pat the sights and where we lived.  We were having trouble, as I mentioned, getting our things home through China because of weight restrictions and overweight charges from here to Beijing on Cathay Pacific airlines.  So, on the way to Matara, we stopped at Sudath Antiques, where we had stopped three months earlier, and I bought a rice box, spice chest, and a two door bookcase!!!  They will bring them to Colombo on Friday morning where I can inspect them, pay for them, and then add all our other possessions that we want shipped before taking them for packing and to the shipping lines.  Since I will be on the road, I guess I really can’t say it is all taken care of…but it is close…and hopefully will be done without too much hassle. 

Bodhi tree and flags at Buddhist temple

Tom – We stopped in Galle to do the walk around the ramparts of the walled Fort City built by the Dutch (another UNESCO World Heritage site) that was damaged by the tsunami in 2004.

and then stopped at the Sri Gemunu Beach Resort for ice café in beautiful Unawatuna. 

We also stopped in Weligama to give Pat a close-up view of the colorful outrigger fishing boats.     

After settling into the hotel (Surf Lanka) in S.K. Town right next to the house that we had rented, Luke, the hotel manager, made us the most delicious fish dinner.

Helen – it’s hot, hot, hot!!! AND sticky, sticky, sticky!!!  Ruki and I went shopping this morning for a coconut grater for me and eggs for her….we went to the manufacturing company for the Oridis Grater so I could have my choice but of course they were still closed for the holiday.  Then we went to the big general market and they didn’t have any, followed by several smaller stores and they too were sold out.  It was the same story for Ruki’s eggs but finally in the fifth store she was able to buy the 4 dozen she needed.

Tom did great driving in Colombo because it was still holiday and he went to the Fulbright and book store to exchange the cookbook I bought the first week we were here.  I found a much better one since.  After he returned and had lunch, Ranjan sent his driver to pick us up and we all went to an antique shop.  I am still looking for a rice/spice chest but didn’t find anything I liked.  On the other hand, Tom bought an old suitcase for packing some extra stuff and Ranjan bought two copper pieces (under my keen eye and influence) one a great large rice strainer and the other a large cooking pot…both looked pretty grungy but I said they would clean up; also a nine candle wrought iron holder for his garden or entryway.  He was hesitant but bought them because he got the pots for $30 and the candle holder for $5.  I went away empty handed and disappointed.

STRESSFUL EVENING – Reality has finally set in and I don’t know how I am going to get all my stuff home…then the decisions of what to take and what to leave.  The biggest snag is the flight from here to China which is only allowing us 40 lbs each (are they crazy???) and then charging $7/pound for extra weight.  At this rate, I think Tom would leave me too!!!

Tom – Our morning walk – wall built to include tree –

We came across a youth soccer team passing the national Independence Memorial and going to practice

A happy bunch of kids!

Helen – Those monkeys have been busy on the roof again.  I think that I mentioned before that they move the red tiles on the roof to get to the spiders which they consider a delicacy.  We have been having thunder storms every day, beginning about 2pm and today it really stormed.  In a matter of minutes the second story had two puddles in the TV room and there were three in our bedroom…the worst was right over Tom’s bed.  We quickly moved the beds, put out several pans with cloths in them to prevent splattering, and covered Tom’s bed with plastic.  We now just do this arrangement in the mornings so that we won’t be surprised when we get home.  It sort of reminded us of home and Chad’s room where we have that ceiling leak even though we have had the mason check the chimneys, the roofer repair several spots and the plasterer repair the ceiling, only to have the leak reappear.

We went to mass at St. Anthony’s church for 5:30 mass.  It was nearby but we still had trouble finding it so were a little late.  After mass, Tom went the wrong way, on not one but THREE streets, trying to get us to the main road to keep a dinner date.

That evening we were invited to dinner by a professor from the Geography Department at the university. Tom was given his name by the former secretary to the Minister of Education in Colombo, who is also on the Fulbright Commission, but he never got around to calling him.  On Thursday, Tom finally contacted him and they had lunch on Friday.  They had so much in common, he and his wife traveled around the US while graduate students at Syracuse, that he then invited us to dinner so we wives could also meet.  I promised to give their son (17) the rest of our peanut butter and maple syrup and he was thrilled!

Tom – This is a picture of the Buddha on a hill above Kandy Lake.

 Here is a picture of a Tuk Tuk in the drink.  It seems he failed to negotiate a turn going around the lake.

Tom – We were up at 5am to go with Namal the Tuk Tuk driver to do the 5:30am puja (offering and prayer) at the Temple of the Tooth.  It was raining but we left our umbrellas and shoes in the parked Tuk Tuk in front of the temple.  Namal had prepared a rice offering for each of us to present to the monk in the doorway to the room containing the sacred tooth of the Buddha.  We got pretty wet before we were able to use the umbrellas provided inside the gate of the temple. 

The drums were beating as we entered the temple and took up our positions in the line waiting to give offerings.  An extended family was sitting in an enclosure in front of the offering doorway – it was their day at the temple (an honor).  We made our offering (with donation) and took a peek at the reliquary inside the room containing the sacred tooth.  As we were leaving, one of the guards asked if we wanted to go into the room with the reliquary.  Again, this is quite an honor and relatively few people are allowed inside.  We said yes but had to wait about 20 minutes to be escorted into the room.  You were only given about 20 seconds inside – just enough to give another donation and get a close up look at the reliquary.  It was a spectacular sight!  You can see a little bit of it in the picture taken of the monk in the doorway. 

This is a picture of another temple shrine hall in the complex. 

We intend to come back to explore the entire complex and museum at a later date.

Helen – It was Tom’s last day teaching but he spent the rest of the day working on tying up loose ends at the university.  Shenani and I stayed home and were getting dinner ready because Shamila and Raj were coming over that night.  She made several dishes which I will make when we get home since the spice level was within our range and absolutely delicious.  Shamila brought us lovely gifts which included a red material shoulder bag for me, a blue batik wall hanging, and a smaller wooden mask which is traditional for the Kandy area.

Helen – Yesterday I taught a 3 hour workshop on Fitness Walking to a group of 40 women whose main goal is to lose weight (so what’s new???)  It was pretty funny watching them watch me because they are used to having the lecturer stand in front of the room in the same spot the entire time.  After the introduction, I told them my educational background, going to grad school for a MS and receiving MRS instead.  They didn’t get it until I wrote it up on the broad and then they all laughed (they don’t usually laugh during lectures either).  Moving right along, I was walking around the room demonstrating different paces and styles of walking and they were having a difficult time keeping me in focus while they were sitting on the mats in the gym.  After finding heart rates, we went out to the field to walk our timed mile. 

I was told it would be clear but we found a rugby game in progress and a class of preschoolers having a play day.  We walked our mile in and around them; most of the women were dressed too warm with long sweat pants, long sleeve shirts and hats.  I really felt sorry for them but they were troopers and did great.  Inside we did a little electric slide for a cool down then did a hula hoop relay to demonstrate clogged arteries.  They seemed to enjoy the lecture parts interspersed with activity and after class they said they never enjoyed a class so much and that the time flew by.  Being my normal crazy self I was a novel teaching experience for them.  We really had a few laughs when we came to diets and how to lose weight…they were disappointed that there wasn’t a pill that would get them in shape and take away the fat.  Their diets include a lot of coconut products and they really need to change their lifestyles but I think it will be most difficult for them.

I went to the office with Tom today to get my fitness swim files off the computer so that I could go over my lesson plans with Gota in the afternoon.  Gota and I spent about 2 hours going through the progressions and teaching methodology but did not get a chance to go into the pool to help him with his strokes.  He asked what time I was coming in the next day to finish in the pool and I told him that today was my last day.  He was disappointed but understood. He gave me a small university plate for a souvenir

Tom is down to two more classroom lectures and then we are FINISHED with work!!!  I will have to rethink the road trips as I am sure he has at least another one planned.  I can almost taste home and am getting anxious about our return.

Tom – I started a three-day workshop on “Exercise Physiology” for the Faculty of Medicine, Instructors of Physical Education and Sports Medicine Physicians today. 

I had about 30 in attendance for a three-hour morning session. 

To save time, I answered questions during their tea break!

Tom – I took pictures of two roosters above a Buddha shrine

 and the historic Queens Hotel at the front entrance to the “Temple of the Tooth” this morning.

 Helen and I participated in a “Fitness for Women Workshop” sponsored by the Department of Physiology.  She presented a three-hour Fitness Walking session in the morning and I gave a two-hour presentation on “Health-Related Physical Fitness” with an emphasis on the physiology of energy metabolism and weight/fat loss in the afternoon.

Helen – Dinner with Who?  Communication is difficult at best but this takes the cake.  Our landlords, Shenani and Ananda, were supposed to ask our physiology sponsors, Raj and Shamila, to dinner for Friday night.  The next day Shamila asks Tom if she and her husband could take us to dinner with Gota, from PE.  Tom is confused, thinking she means to come to our house and she says no.  Meanwhile, Ananda forgot to ask Raj and Shamila, so now I think we have a double engagement!!!   Next Day: we remind Ananda to ask the other couple because his wife has already begun cooking and he will be dead meat if he botches this up.  They accept and then ask us out for Thursday night with Gota so we can discuss the workshops from the last week.  Next morning: I tell Shenani that we will be going out to dinner with Raj and his wife and she says that they are coming too!!   I said, really, we are eating at 7 (they never eat before 8:30) and she said they would be OK.  Raj felt odd going to their house for dinner (they don’t socialize together) so when they invited him, he in turn invited them…are you following this???  Anyway the six of us ate together two nights in a row, once in the restaurant and once in our home and Gota joined us at the restaurant!!! 

Tom – brief descriptions of an interesting day!

Sri Muthumariamman Thevasthanam – Hindu temple in Matale, it is noted for the ceremonial chariots pulled along by people during an annual festival.

 I think this picture of children preparing to pray is an interesting one.

Rock Monastery of Aluvihara – is situated among and in large rocks at the base of a mountain.  It is noted for its murals on the walls and ceilings of the caves as well as the monastery where monks are still working to replace the Tipitaka which was first transcribed on palm strips from oral and Sinhalese sources into Pali text in the first century BC.  The Tipitaka and other manuscripts were destroyed in 1848 when British troops burnt the library when putting down a revolt.  The manuscripts are hand written on palm strips called “ola” by an interesting process of preparing the strips, engraving them and then filling the engraving with an ink like substance. 

Notice the mural figure of a creature with an elephant nose, crocodile teeth, monkey eye, pig ear, horse leg, fish skin and peacock tail (with variations, used extensively in Buddhist art),

 also the ceiling mural of the astrological signs. 

There is a large bell donated by Korea outside the monastery.

 New Paradise Spice and Herbal Garden – I believe a young man at the Rock Monastery scammed us for an unnecessary $10 donation for entrance.  He also recommended a visit to this spice and herbal garden “free” as part of the same donation.  I was suspicious but agreed with Helen that we should try it out anyway.  Well, the owner gave us a very nice and informative tour of the garden, first cups of cocoa tea and later cups of spice tea, then massages by his employees, and then pressure to buy products before we left.  Helen bought some hair removal cream, spice tea and what was labeled saffron.  She now believes the saffron is really turmeric and has called trying to get her money back and threatening to report him to the Ceylon Tourist Board.  As far as I am concerned, the $60 I spent was well worth the experience.

 Umbrellas for shade in wagon as we pass

 Nalanda Gedige – is one of the earliest stone buildings constructed in Sri Lanka by Hindus (8^th century) but later used as a Buddhist temple.

 Dambulla Royal Rock Temple – Initially a gaudy entrance for the Golden Temple and large Buddha but up the mountain five interesting cave temples. 

 Sigiriya (Lion Rock) A UNESCO World Heritage Site – this was the highlight of our day. 

The official story, told by our guide, is that it was a palace fortress built in the 5^th century and there is surely evidence to support this claim.  However, a recent theory hypothesizes that it really began as a Buddhist Monastery in the 3^rd century BC.  In any event, we had an interesting tour of the royal gardens (water gardens, boulder gardens and terraced gardens) and it was fun climbing the 1200 stairs to the top of the rock. 

The female frescoes found in a niche half way up the rock are considered a national treasure. 

The ascent continues and goes through the “Lion’s Mouth” (see the paws in the picture) to the top.

Sunset at the Polonnaruwa Rest House

 Helen – EVERYTHING LOOKS BETTER IN THE PLANNING!!  This weekend Tom planned another trip to some historical sites supposedly within a few hours of Kandy.  We always begin being cordial to each other and looking forward to another adventure with map in hand.  Within the first hour, I misread the map (those names are hard to decipher) and there were no signs so we ended up on the wrong road.  Tom was ticked because he can’t read the map and watch the crazy traffic…I on the other hand, am upset because I thought I was doing a good job.  That mistake took an hour.  Now we are not on very friendly terms as we stop to visit the first temple or the second one where we have to climb many stairs to see the rock (cave) temples.  It is so hot and the venders at every bend in the trail get your dander up shoving their trinkets in front of your face.  We pick up a couple of vegetable rottis (I am getting hooked on these bad for your health treats) and ate them in the car as we continued to the main focus of the day. 

We get to Sigiriya which is a huge rock outcrop in the middle of a flat landscape.  One of the kings built a palace on the very top so that he couldn’t be attacked and of course made enough room for himself, his several wives, and his 500 concubines.

At first we thought we would do it without a guide but because of the time crunch we reconsidered and hired a nice man with good English.  We told him that we only had two hours to complete the tour/climb because we needed to get to our lodgings while it was still light.  He was very accommodating, took us to all the sites and even included a couple of rock sites (which looked like enormous elephants) usually omitted by other guides.  We hoofed it quickly up the cliff which had stone and metal stairs, depending on the incline, to see the frescos of some of the 500 concubines (the king had each one painted in the cave like indentures in the rock or on what they called the mirror wall.  On we went up to the very top to see the remains of the palace and baths.  The views from the top were very beautiful and it was worth the effort to get there.  We came down pretty quickly, passing the slower Asians who were blocking our path and finished the entire climb in ONE hour…the man was impressed with us and we were all pretty sweaty when finished.

Tom had booked us a room at the Polonnaruwa Rest House, which is owned by the Ceylon Hotel Corporation (It is government run and they have many lovely hotels around the country), which was situated right on Topa Wewa Lake.  It also backed up to some of the archeological sites we were to explore the next day.  There were only a few people there (because of the war and terrorist activity) and we occupied one of the six rooms booked for that weekend.  Too bad we were number six, because the first 5 had balconies with better views of the lake.  Anyway, we had a chance to clean up and have dinner.  We were the only ones in the dining room and we had grilled chicken, green beans with carrots, french fries, and fruit for dessert.  The hotel would have been quite lovely but it has been neglected.  It would be amazing what just paint would accomplish!!