My first Eid Break in the U.A.E. (Arabic holiday- like Christmas) I took a five day trip with my new friends, Kirsty, Nick, and Peter to Sri Lanka. (The small island off the South East coast of India).
We had a great time! I tried on a Sari and got to ride an elephant. Our new elephant friend was 35 years old and named Maricow. I was surprised to feel how rough her skin was as well as how spikey her little hairs were on top of her ginormous head!! It was a ton of fun!
After a small hike up through Lion's gate in Sigiriya, to get to the Palace in the Sky and wandering through the Rock Temple and Golden Temple in Dambulla,
we woke up at 2 am to begin the best trek up to Adam's Peak.It is the only mountain in the world where people of different faiths, (Christain, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims)make the prilgimage of 4,358 vertical steep STEPS to the base of where Adam's (Adam and Eve)first footprints are on Earth from when he was kicked out of Paradise- the Garden of Eden. When we arrived at the top of the mountain, just before sun rise, we were welcomed into a tiny hut to warm ourselves by the heater and have a cup of tea. It was then in the light, I could see all the baby leeches that had attached themselves to our feet, ankles, and legs... EW! It was gross, pulling them off one by one, as they left behind small bite marks and running streams of blood. That what I got for hikin in my chaco sandals and splashing through all the muddy puddles for the three hour vertical tramp. At the top, we each rang the bell. Clear and loud it echoed for miles, informing the villages below of the number of hikers who made the symbolic trek early that morning. Cold and barefoot, we said our prayers at the temple, and then began the equally long voyage back down. This time not in the dark with head lamps,but in the nice clearing fog and warm sun rising.
The next day we went to the Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic. When Buddah passed away and his body was creamted, his left canine tooth was retireved from the funeral and it was said that whoever possessed this tooth had devine right to rule over that land. Monkeys! We also saw hundreds of mokeys in Sri Lanka. We were told that there are 3 kinds, black faced, red faced, and all black, but we never saw the all black kind. They were soo cute, playing around, mother's pulling their young ones tails, to keep them near, some relaxing on hotel benches, and hanging out on balconies. A great trip filled with amazing wild life!
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| SRI LANKA August 2011 |
My first Eid Break in the U.A.E. (Arabic holiday- like Christmas) I took a five day trip with my new friends, Kirsty, Nick, and Peter to Sri Lanka. (The small island off the South East coast of India).
We had a great time! I tried on a Sari and got to ride an elephant. Our new elephant friend was 35 years old and named Maricow. I was surprised to feel how rough her skin was as well as how spikey her little hairs were on top of her ginormous head!! It was a ton of fun!
After a small hike up through Lion's gate in Sigiriya, to get to the Palace in the Sky and wandering through the Rock Temple and Golden Temple in Dambulla, |
| Adam's Peak- Sri Pada |
we woke up at 2 am to begin the best trek up to Adam's Peak.It is the only mountain in the world where people of different faiths, (Christain, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims)make the prilgimage of 4,358 vertical steep STEPS to the base of where Adam's (Adam and Eve)first footprints are on Earth from when he was kicked out of Paradise- the Garden of Eden. When we arrived at the top of the mountain, just before sun rise, we were welcomed into a tiny hut to warm ourselves by the heater and have a cup of tea. It was then in the light, I could see all the baby leeches that had attached themselves to our feet, ankles, and legs... EW! It was gross, pulling them off one by one, as they left behind small bite marks and running streams of blood. That what I got for hikin in my chaco sandals and splashing through all the muddy puddles for the three hour vertical tramp. At the top, we each rang the bell. Clear and loud it echoed for miles, informing the villages below of the number of hikers who made the symbolic trek early that morning. Cold and barefoot, we said our prayers at the temple, and then began the equally long voyage back down. This time not in the dark with head lamps,but in the nice clearing fog and warm sun rising. 
The next day we went to the Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic. When Buddah passed away and his body was creamted, his left canine tooth was retireved from the funeral and it was said that whoever possessed this tooth had devine right to rule over that land. Monkeys! We also saw hundreds of mokeys in Sri Lanka. We were told that there are 3 kinds, black faced, red faced, and all black, but we never saw the all black kind. They were soo cute, playing around, mother's pulling their young ones tails, to keep them near, some relaxing on hotel benches, and hanging out on balconies. A great trip filled with amazing wild life! 
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| Our last day outside of Columbo-the Capital and largest city in Sri Lanka After a night of fresh seafood on the beach... crabs with faces and a bunch of food not for me we relaxed on the beach and I was joined by a cute little red faced monkey. Sadly he was on a chain leash, as his owner played an instrament for a dancing cobra and roaming python, all on the beach next to our hotel. We spent out last night, at Shero's house. He and his wife made us a wonderful dinner as we met his two beautiful children and hung out at his house before heading to the airport. |
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| Saying Goodbye to our Driver and Guide- Shero |
Sounds like an amazing experience! Thank you for not posting pics of the leeches though! I was almost afraid to keep scrolling through, fearful a pic would come across my screen. :)
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