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Strange cow or strange me??

Sri Lanka travelogue, part 3: Ratnapura and Kandy

Ben van den Anker
2006-05-02 01:38:57

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with a view. The Canadian guest warned me not to eat anything in the restaurant, I intended to eat in town anyway.

I went by bus the Peradeniya Botanic gardens, absolutely a highlight in Sri Lanka. what surprised me that some rich people used a car to drive through the gardens. They halted every once in a while and opened the window to sniff some fresh air and look at the beautiful nature. Through the trees I could see the river. woman washing clothes, boys diving and bringing buckets full of sand to the daylight. It all had a peaceful atmosphere. I saw trees and plants I've never seen before in the major Botanic gardens in Europe.

I walked up the hill for a view from the huge Buddha image. I had to pay a 100 rp admission ticket to get in, religion is closely associated with money here. The ticket said that some people donated in millions and some in thousands, I got a bad feeling reading this, the main item is money.. Buddhism should not be like this.

By way of accident I ran into a Hindu temple, its roof was covered with banana leaves. I left my shoes and entered. Taking pictures was forbidden, I was kind to ask and got the amazed "NO!!!" A kind of deer was lying in front of the next entrance inside the building, a man with his hair and body all covered with ashes is sitting next to a door and watches me. These moments in this temple I will never forget, the smoke, the hidden character of the temple, the sacred atmosphere..

I haven't seen all that can be seen here but my mind is already thinking about the ancient cities, to me these cities should be the number one highlights of the island. I discovered my interest in Buddhism in Thailand, now it looks like it's a central point in every journey I make.

I drink some beers with the Canadian woman in the evening to close the day off. She gave up her job for four month's of traveling. Quit risky to me, I asked her about her chances for getting a job again. They were very small she said. Her mother was a so called "war bride", born in the Netherlands she left with her Canadian husband for Canada. After her husband died she got the feeling that she wasn't that welcome in the family anymore. But after forty years in Canada she didn't want to return to the Netherlands. The only "Dutch" that her daughter was able to speak is not of the kind to reproduce here! Now I climb the stairs again, smell the great herbs in the room underneath mine, someone uses the room to practice ayurvedic. I carefully close the windows everytime I leave, the monkeys out in the trees steal anything they can get their hands on. I'll miss this room with a view!

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