March 25 – 27, 2023 – Days 94 – 96
Tuk tuks (local taxis) awaiting riders in Sri Lanka.
Prior to arriving in Sri Lanka we had a quick stop in Phuket, Thailand. We didn’t have an excursion planned for our time in Phuket, so we took the tender in to shore to walk around on our own. We hadn’t had any internet or phone for several days and had some business to attend to. So, we found a hotel where we could buy a soda, make our phone call and use their internet to get online. That made us very happy.
Our dock in Phuket, Thailand
It isn’t exactly fair to judge a location on a couple of hours and a walk along the beach, but we did not see anything here that would entice us to come back. Phuket is known for its beaches and resorts, but we didn’t see that side of the island. What we did see catered to the hedonistic, base nature of our species. The sex trade and drug availability were so out in the open. (I don’t mean to imply that it would be OK if were hidden from view!) The mainstream acceptance was a depressing, in your face, statement of how people’s lives are valued here. After our time in Koh Samui (Nathon), Thailand, we had high hopes for Phuket. They were not fulfilled.
After Phuket, we spent 3 days sailing to Sri Lanka. Our journey took us across the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. These two bodies of water are in the Indian Ocean and became a key maritime trade route in 1498 when Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, arrived in India across previously uncharted waters.
We approached the western shore of Sri Lanka in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 25th. We knew virtually nothing about Sri Lanka prior to arriving; other than what had been in the news days earlier. In the week before our arrival, their economic struggle had reached the point where the citizens took to the streets in protest, demanding action. The day before our arrival, the International Monetary Fund agreed to bail out Sri Lanka, calming the public and things went back to normal. We were glad our visit wasn’t cancelled so that we could experience this colorful country firsthand.
This view of Colombo, Sri Lanka is from the harbor looking towards downtown. The tall building is called the Lotus Tower and is a communications tower with a rotating restaurant on top (it needs a new owner if you want to go into the business!) The sandy looking spot is part of a land reclamation project to enlarge the port.
We learned that Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon until 1972 when they gained full independence from Britian. This island nation is located in the Indian Ocean off the southern tip of India. It is sometimes known as ‘the tear drop of India’ due to its shape and location. Sri Lanka was first occupied by foreigners in 1505 by the Portuguese, then the Dutch (1638), then the British (1796), then became a self-governed British Dominion in 1948 before its full independence in 1972. It hasn’t been an easy road for this nation of over 22 million. They were engaged in a civil war from 1983 to 2009, so they are a young, but rapidly developing country with the second highest per capita income in South Asia.
The ‘Leaning Tower of Colombo’ in the distance. A modern office building in downtown Colombo.
The ‘Red Mosque’ serving the 10% of the population that follows Islam.
Colombo is the largest city in Sri Lanka with a population of over 6 million. It has been an important trading post for over 2000 years. Part of the ‘Silk Road’ this city has had many different influences as traders came from all over the region. The official religion, followed by 70% of the population is Buddhism, 13% of the people are Hindu, 10% follow Islam and 7% are Christian. You see temples and religious structures all over town. It was interesting to see both Buddhism and Hindu elements in the same places of worship. You’ll see the Buddha and the cow below at the Buddhist Temple. (The cow being sacred to the Hindu.)
A Buddhist ‘stupa’ in the middle of an intersection, its huge! They appear around the city, in various sizes, and contain relics important to Buddhist adherents.
One of the temples we visited was holding a prayer meeting. Those involved are all holding a length of twine to bind them together as they pray.
As we toured sites around town, we came upon some fellows trying to earn money from tourists by handling snakes and allowing their pictures to be taken (OK, I got this picture from the bus before I knew I should have asked and paid…). You could also hold some of the very large snakes… let’s just say you won’t find a picture of Jeff or I doing that!
The evening of our first night in Sri Lanka we attended a cultural dance experience. It was held at a hotel built in 1864, the Galle Face Hotel. This beautiful hotel caters to the local population for special events and cultural performances for tourists. The outdoor performance and dining venue was outside near the water, so there was some relief from the heat and humidity, but not a lot! We watched dancers in colorful costumes, twirl, jump and flip, as they told traditional stories through dance.
After the dance performance we had an amazing Sri Lankan buffet. It was probably more suited to the palate of the local families celebrating their special events. Some of the food was so HOT I’m not sure if it was good or not! I like Indian spices, but I found out I needed to be careful with my selections! Not to worry, before I fried my taste buds, I enjoyed a bit of the wonderful food.
On our city tour we encountered groups of young men holding what we might call ‘pep rallies’ carrying their school flags. Bodies and flags hanging off of trucks and motorbikes. There were several different groups driving through the streets creating noisy chaos. It looked like they were having great fun, but traffic is difficult to begin with, so this didn’t look like the safest of activities! But it was fun to see them having so much fun.
We passed by some shopping streets/bazars, but we were early and it was Saturday (the least of busy shopping days), so the streets were not crowded.
We didn’t stop to shop, but it was fun to see all the different methods of delivery and the way people were dressed.
On our last night in Sri Lanka we went on a lake dinner cruise. It was dark from beginning to end, so we couldn’t see much of the surrounding area, but we did have a spectacular thunder and lightning storm! The Lotus Tower was lit up and the ‘flower’ changed color as we floated around the lake.
Our last full day in Sri Lanka we had planned to visit an elephant orphanage. That didn’t happen. The facility we were to visit was found to be on an animal advocacy watch list, so being cautious, Viking decided to cancel the excursion until they could check out the facility for themselves and do more research. Some of our fellow travelers arranged private tours, but we decided to see what Viking found.
Fortunately, for the animals, Viking determined that the elephants were being well cared for and not exploited or abused, but they didn’t make this determination in time for us to make the trip. We were disappointed, but it was kind of nice to have a day with no commitments, classes or card games! Sounds kind of silly I suppose but we try to take advantage of all that is offered, so we do end up getting a little overwhelmed. None-the-less, we were disappointed we didn’t get to spend time with the elephants.
We enjoyed our time in Sri Lanka and discovered a few random things…
The Buddha was not a Nazi – it was shocking to see a swastika on very old statues of Buddha. I was afraid to ask, but the question was anticipated, and we learned that the symbol is actually a very ancient symbol in Buddhism. The word ‘svastika’ is a Sanskrit word derived from two words, ‘su’ meaning ‘good’ and ‘asti’ meaning ‘it is’. The symbol as used in Buddhism means harmony, peace and well-being. But it was still difficult not to recoil when seeing it so prominently displayed!
Armed military guards, in non-military settings, are common in this part of the world. We are finding this to be the norm, but to our Western eyes it elicits the feeling that something is going on rather than making sure nothing happens.
China is investing heavily in southern and south-east Asia. The port of Colombo is being enlarged by reclaiming lots of land (the picture above is one of several large reclamation projects here financed by China). The countries on this side of the world in particular have found a way to be economic partners with China without necessarily being political allies. It is a delicate balancing act to be sure.
After 3 days in Sri Lanka, we set sail for India. We will sail further across the Indian Ocean before our first stop in India, Cochin.
As March comes to a close, we are feeling our grand adventure coming to an end. We are so thankful to have this experience! When we arrive in Cochin, we will have been gone 100 days, with 39 left to go. We hope you have enjoyed following along with us as we chronical our travels. We set out to create a record of our adventure so that we could remember all we have experienced, but it has been made all the richer sharing this with you. Thank you for indulging us. We are looking forward to being home and seeing all of you and learning what you’ve been doing while we have been gone!
See you soon!