For my final weekend in Sri Lanka I planned a trip to one of Sri Lanka's most interesting places, Adam's Peak (also known as Sri Pada). It is the fifth highest peak in Sri Lanka and home to a mountain of religious myths. On the top of the mountain sits a bizarre impression which resembles a foot print. Depending on which religion you ask, the story behind the foot print changes.
Buddhism - Buddha left the print
Islam - After Adam was cast out of Eden, he landed upon this mountain and stood on one foot until his sins were forgiven.
Catholism - St. Thomas left the print
Hinduism - Siva left the print
Although the peak has sparked the interest of many religions, the mountain is predominantly a Buddhist pilgrimage site. This is apparent from the numerous Buddha statues and pagodas at the base of the trek. The "best" season for hiking to the top is between December and May when the weather is drier. During full moons which fall in these months, it is not uncommon for thousands of pilgrims to ascend in one day. Besides the weather, the benefits of climbing in the right season include lights the entire way up the mountain and tea shops along the trail open all night.
Unfortunately for Jack and myself, we climbed the peak in August... right smack in the off season. I had had countless warnings about heavy rainfall and "jungle animals" preventing adventurous westerners from climbing off season, but I was determined to do it anyway.
Getting to the base of the mountain was an adventure in itself. I first has to take a bus from Galle (in the south) to the capital of Colombo (on the west coast). From there, Jack and I hopped on a train. We had the intention of purchasing 1st class tickets as recommended by Lonely Planet and Rough Guide, but these were sold out due to school holidays. We settled for second class tickets (third class does exist and it resembles a cattle car). The tickets for second class do not guarantee you a seat (news to us) and we ended up spending the entire journey in the passageway between two cars... hanging out the train from time to time. The railway system is INCREDIBLY rickety. The trains literally bounce along the track and it feels asthough they are going to fly off at any moment. We traveled through some of the poorest neighborhoods of the country and saw some incredible views along the way.
We arrved in Hatton, a small town in the hill country and took a bus to Maskeliya... a smaller town in the hill country. From here we had to catch another bus to Dalhousie... the smallest town in the hill country (not really, but it seemed like it). Dalhousie is home to many tea pickers and due to its proximity to Sri Pada, has a handful of hotels and guesthouses. We stayed at a lovely place called River View Inn for much less than the advertised price (the perks of traveling in the off season).
I had left my house at 5am to begin the journey to Galle and we arrived in Dalhousie at 8pm (ahh the efficiency of third world public transportation). At the time we arrived, it was raining quite heavily. We were planning on starting the hike at 2am in order to see the sunrise from the summit... rain or shine.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Kandy Esala Perahera
I just arrived back in Galle from spending a weekend in Kandy (Sri Lanka's second largest city). Besides being an enormous town situated in the Hill Country, the city is also home to Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist relic... A tooth from Lord Buddha himself. The legend tells of Arahat Khema (one of two female disciples of Buddha) grabbing the tooth from Buddha's cremation in the 4th century BCE. The tooth then past between hand for hundreds of years until eventually a princess smuggled it into Sri Lanka. It moved around Sri Lanka quite a bit, changes hands of various kings. Finally a temple was constructed (the temple of the sacred tooth relic) and the tooth was placed inside.
This weekend was a unique experience as it was the Esala Perahera. This is Sri Lanka's (and one of Buddhisms) largest festivals in which the tooth relic leaves the temple (one night a year) and is paraded down the main street in a massive ceremony. The festival is actually 10 days long, but the final night is the largest and the only night in which the tooth is paraded around (technically... the tooth is never seen, only the gold casket containing the tooth).
Thousands of devote Buddhists flock to the streets to try and gain a glimpse of the procession. Free spots on the sidewalks are occupied 12 hours before the procession starts and reserved seats can be purchased for around $25.00 (which is what most tourist do). The procession starts at 8pm and last for 3 hours. The entire time there is steady stream of whip crackers, fire twirlers, elephants, drummers and dancers. Thousands of people participate, but the highlight of the festival is the elephant carrying the tooth relic.
Here is shot of what the procession generally looked like:
Here is the tooth relic (stupa containg it...) - taken from Wikipedia
We spent the rest of the weekend walking around Kandy. I visited the sacred tooth relic temple which was quite impressive. The building is a World Heritage Site and fell victim to a Tamil Tiger bombing in 1988. The scars from which have been completely repaired, but the museum in the temple had some graphic images of the event.
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
Jack and I outside the temple... just blending in with the locals
Elephant high-five
On Sunday, we stopped off the the Pinnawella Elephant Orphanage. It is a government funded organization for abandoned elephants and has turned into one of the biggest tourist attractions on the island. At the time we arrived, the elephants were being taken to a nearby river to bathe.
The elephants are all extremely obedient and harmless. They splash around in the water and then walk over to the tourists, give them a good sniff and head back to the water. Afterwards, the elephants are herded back to the orphanage (see video).
This weekend was a unique experience as it was the Esala Perahera. This is Sri Lanka's (and one of Buddhisms) largest festivals in which the tooth relic leaves the temple (one night a year) and is paraded down the main street in a massive ceremony. The festival is actually 10 days long, but the final night is the largest and the only night in which the tooth is paraded around (technically... the tooth is never seen, only the gold casket containing the tooth).
Thousands of devote Buddhists flock to the streets to try and gain a glimpse of the procession. Free spots on the sidewalks are occupied 12 hours before the procession starts and reserved seats can be purchased for around $25.00 (which is what most tourist do). The procession starts at 8pm and last for 3 hours. The entire time there is steady stream of whip crackers, fire twirlers, elephants, drummers and dancers. Thousands of people participate, but the highlight of the festival is the elephant carrying the tooth relic.
Here is shot of what the procession generally looked like:
Here is the tooth relic (stupa containg it...) - taken from Wikipedia
We spent the rest of the weekend walking around Kandy. I visited the sacred tooth relic temple which was quite impressive. The building is a World Heritage Site and fell victim to a Tamil Tiger bombing in 1988. The scars from which have been completely repaired, but the museum in the temple had some graphic images of the event.
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
Jack and I outside the temple... just blending in with the locals
Elephant high-five
On Sunday, we stopped off the the Pinnawella Elephant Orphanage. It is a government funded organization for abandoned elephants and has turned into one of the biggest tourist attractions on the island. At the time we arrived, the elephants were being taken to a nearby river to bathe.
The elephants are all extremely obedient and harmless. They splash around in the water and then walk over to the tourists, give them a good sniff and head back to the water. Afterwards, the elephants are herded back to the orphanage (see video).
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
David vs. Goliath
Forget Arnold Palmer vs. Jack Nicklaus, forget North Carolina vs. Duke and forget Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier. These rivalries don't match up to arguably the world's greatest battle... yes that's right, I'm talking about India vs. Sri Lanka in a 3-day Cricket test match. In case you are not familiar with the game of cricket, take a moment to ponder over this page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket
The sport has many similarities to American baseball. A hitter is trying to hit a ball and score runs. The pitcher (called a bowler) is trying to hit the wooden pegs directly behind the batter and therefore get him out. If the batter hits the ball in the air and it is caught by a fielder, he is out. Each match lasts 4 days and in this case there were 3 matches. So technically, one game last 12 days.... yah... it's white knuckle. Each match was played in a different Sri Lankan city with one match being in Galle (where I am located).
The Galle International Cricket Stadium is located directly in front of a 16th century dutch fort and right next to the ocean. The scenery is breath taking and before the tsunami, this was considered one of the most picturesque stadiums in Asia. Unfortunately the tsunami came and wiped out the stadium. Due to lack of funds, the replacement stadium seats far less spectators than the original, but still packs the same breath taking scenery.
Here is a view of the stadium from the wall of the Fort:
I went to two of the four days for which the match was being played in Galle. On the first day, I went with a group of other volunteers and we sat in the upper part of the left set of seats (in reference to the above photo). The tickets were some of the more expensive ones at 300 rupees ($3.00).
Here is a picture from the seats, facing the fort:
On the second day, I went with my host family. The father happens to know the owner of the stadium and we sat in an over air conditioned suite located on the right side of the central building. They served us tea and snacks, but i was freezing the entire time. The game itself is really boring, but worth the experience.
Some sweet action shots:
And one last one of me with Abadu (Ab-ah-do), my host father's son.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket
The sport has many similarities to American baseball. A hitter is trying to hit a ball and score runs. The pitcher (called a bowler) is trying to hit the wooden pegs directly behind the batter and therefore get him out. If the batter hits the ball in the air and it is caught by a fielder, he is out. Each match lasts 4 days and in this case there were 3 matches. So technically, one game last 12 days.... yah... it's white knuckle. Each match was played in a different Sri Lankan city with one match being in Galle (where I am located).
The Galle International Cricket Stadium is located directly in front of a 16th century dutch fort and right next to the ocean. The scenery is breath taking and before the tsunami, this was considered one of the most picturesque stadiums in Asia. Unfortunately the tsunami came and wiped out the stadium. Due to lack of funds, the replacement stadium seats far less spectators than the original, but still packs the same breath taking scenery.
Here is a view of the stadium from the wall of the Fort:
I went to two of the four days for which the match was being played in Galle. On the first day, I went with a group of other volunteers and we sat in the upper part of the left set of seats (in reference to the above photo). The tickets were some of the more expensive ones at 300 rupees ($3.00).
Here is a picture from the seats, facing the fort:
On the second day, I went with my host family. The father happens to know the owner of the stadium and we sat in an over air conditioned suite located on the right side of the central building. They served us tea and snacks, but i was freezing the entire time. The game itself is really boring, but worth the experience.
Some sweet action shots:
And one last one of me with Abadu (Ab-ah-do), my host father's son.
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