October 13 Ella

Start of the 300 steps

We were walking up “little Adam's Peak by 6:15AM.  The uphill was gentle enough but then we hit the steps, about 300 of them. Joan breezed up the steps with no problem. Then a little steep path and we were at the top. Being early in the morning, the air was clear and there were no clouds at all. Great for pictures. Much to my surprise we were back in our hotel before 10 am for breakfast.

In the afternoon we boarded a rickety old train that took us 30km to the provincial capital. It was a 1 hour trip through the mountains. We went third class because there was no first class. It cost $0.40 for both us. All the windows were open, so I often had my head out the window taking pictures. So did everyone else. On the way back we bought 2^nd class tickets at a cost of $0.80 for both. But the attendant insisted that Joan and I sit in first class. The first class was empty so he probably wanted company. He told us he made $150 per month in his job. I didn't want to tell him what I made – and I don't even work!

Ella Rock

Ella Gap

9 Arches Bridge

October 12th Arugam bay to Ella

In my early morning walk I went to the beach to watch the fish come in. There were 50 fishing boats all landing at the same time and emptying their nets of fish. The fish were only 10 inches long and three people would unroll the nets and shake the fish onto a mat on the sand. It seemed everyone from the village was there to help drag the boats up the beach, and then buy the fish. At the same times hundreds of dogs hung around and thousands of bird were looking for their share. It was loud and crowded.

Fishermen

Fish in the nets

We have left the seaside and we climbed into the hills to Ella. At 1040 feet it was a hill station for the English during the hot summer months. We are here to look at the tea plantations and hike in the countryside. At this time of the year it rains every afternoon. Today was no exception. We sat on the balcony and watched the building across the street disappear in the mists. Tomorrow we start the day with a hike.

Ravana Falls near Ella

October 11th Arugam Bay

We are in Arugam Bay which is the surfing capital of the east coast. The town is full of surfers and pizza shops, submarine sandwiches, and heath food shops. I was out at 5:30 this morning to photograph the sunrise and the first surfer walked by 5 min later. The sun rose at 6:00 am and by 6:15 there were 15 surfers chasing the waves in the bay. Most of these surfers spend all year chasing waves in Sri Lanka. In November surf season moves to the south coast.

In the afternoon we took a lagoon tour with a local fisherman. The lagoon is so shallow that he poles the boat rather than paddle. We saw 2 elephants in the lagoon, but we never got very close. The locals have a great respect for the elephants and give them a wide berth. Elephants kill about 70 people a year in Sri Lanka.

Lagoon Elephant

Surfer in Arugum Bay

October 10th Tissa to Arugam Bay

I had arranged a taxi for the drive from Tissa to Arugam Bay at the local taxi stand. I wanted to find out what the bottom line price was, since I reckon I have been overpaying for Taxis. They wanted $80, I offered $50. They didn't budge so I left. Two blocks down the street a driver approached and offered $65. I took his phone number and didn't commit. Three blocks down the street I got an offer for $75 from another driver. Back at the hotel I told the houseboy I had an offer for $65 and he agreed it was a very good price. I phoned and booked. When the taxi showed up it was old, with no air conditioning. It was comfortable but we drove with the windows open all the way. Joan thinks I should have paid $10 more for air-conditioning.

Before I tossed him some bananas

After I tossed him some Bananas

The local bat tree in Tissa

The drive was interesting, After an hour the driver stopped and bought a kilo of bananas. He said it was for elephants. Sure enough 50km down the road there is an elephant standing by the side of the road accepting donations. The driver threw him a bunch and he posed for pictures, then on we went. Ten km later another elephant was by the road. I threw him some bananas but he didn't like my style and he backed away. But I did get a picture. These were wild elephants at the edge of a national park. They can be dangerous but Sri Lankans love their elephants and whenever they see an elephant (wild or tame) they get excited. It's the local beaver.

October 9th – Kataragama

We went into Tissa in the morning so that Tim could arrange a driver for tomorrow to the coast and surfing town of Arugam Bay. In the afternoon, we went by tuk-tuk to the town of Kataragama (½ hour drive) so that we could go to evening devotions at the temple complex, which is one of the 3 most venerated religious sites in Sri Lanka.

Hindu Temlpe

Stupa and Offerings of Candles

Throngs of worshipers of all ages arrived to present offerings , either lotus blossoms or food to the god Kataramagan .

The Stupa (burial monument) at the site is pretty impressive

October 8 Tissa – Yala National Park

Mongoose

Baby Elephant

Spotter Deer

Eagle

We had a day long safari in Yala National Park. It was a 5 AM start with a retired F1 driver! The roads in Sri Lanka are quite good and the drive to the park was on paved roads. The “jeep” we were in was high and narrow and Iwas nervous of some of the tight corners. As we neared the park we joined the convoy of safari jeeps and we were not out of place. After we entered the park the roads were sand/ gravel, but there was a speed bump every 500 meters. They don't fool around with speed bumps here – we crawled over every bump at 5kph. This is why there was no road kill in the park. Our driver, Jagath. had promised we would see all the animals in the park. We didn't see the leopards but we did see the rest. I was surprised by the variety and the accessibility. We were not allowed out of the truck, but the animals seemed quite comfortable being watched by a truckload of tourists. Some were shyer than others but we saw plenty of animals. When we stopped for lunch the driver served us rice and curry followed by a siesta in the heat of the day. We napped for about 2 hours and than back on the road again. Riding along bumpy roads hanging on for dear life was more tiring that I expected and by 3 pm both Joan and I were tired, so we did one last sweep for the leopard and headed home. Just before the gates we came across a water hole with over 30 animals of various kinds having their afternoon water break. It was an impressive goodbye.

October 7 Matara to Tissa

We rented a car (which turned out to be a van) with driver to take us to our next destination. We drove along the coast for the first half and stopped at a major town to visit the harbour.

Hambantota Harbour

Iguana in Bird Sanctuary

The second half was inland. but when we asked the driver he detoured through a bird sanctuary. Although it was midday the birds were plentiful and the stops were often. The road was bad, but the driver must have enjoyed it because he was taking pictures on his iPad. When we arrived at the hotel we jumped into the pool. The weather in Sri Lanka is hot and humid, 30 C and 85% every day.

October 6 Blow Hole and Mulkirigala Rock Temple

Joan on the way up

Reclining Buddha Cave

Today we visited 2 attractions in the area. The blow hole was nice but not impressive. The ocean waves are crashing all along the coast and the blow hole just didn't have the volume. Then we drove to the Rock temple. The temple consists of several caves with reclining Buddha's in them The walls and ceilings are decorated with paintings but the rooms look all the same after the third cave. But the temple is ascended by multiple staircases. In some cases the stairs are carved out of the rock itself. We went up 654 steps and at the top we received a blessing from the resident monk. Then he showed us the path to the lookout. The view was incredible, It was made more impressive due to the lack of signage or safety features and a strong wind. The closer you got to the edge the more you saw. We enjoyed the view from a safe distance.

At the top of the Rock Temple

October 5 Matara

Buddha

We had engaged a Tuk-Tuk for the whole day. We did some shopping in the morning and then visited our first temple. The temple had the history of Buddha's 550 previous lives in paintings on the walls of several tunnels. Our guide was smart enough to condense his narrative down to 3 lives, the last one being the one we know. The temple is famous for it's 34 meter high Buddha.

Matara beach and temple

The area we are in is a hot surfing spot during November to March. In October it is empty because the waves are too choppy. After lunch we walked the beach in Matara and then took a small bridge to an island temple. The waves were fierce and the sound of the surf is like airplanes going over all day long. I took a lot of wave pictures. We wanted to watch the sunset from the most southerly point in Sri Lanka so we got there at five and climbed the 220 steps of the lighthouse to the top. We could walk all around the lighthouse on the outside. The sun set at 5:58 but the clouds were too thick for good pictures. The climb down was an experience. The lighthouse wasn't closed but there were no lights on the stairs. I just happened to have 2 flashlights in my photo kit.

October 4

We took the train from Columbo to Matara. The train runs along the Indian ocean coast the whole way. It is a 4 hour journey that started off with us standing in the aisle for the first hour. It was a old train with no air-conditioning so the windows were wide open. But I couldn't take pictures while I was bouncing around. Then the commuters started getting off and we could sit down. Unfortunately I fell asleep immediately,

2nd and 3rd October 2015 

  

Having arrived at our hotel room about 6 a.m and having gone straight to bed., we only woke up at 3 in the afternoon. We walked into the town of Negumbo and went to the ocean beach. That is where we first saw the type of fishing boat in the above picture.We were told about a fish market nearby where we might see a lot of these boats, So, the next morning we got up at 5a,m, to go to the market to see the boats and the market in action. The market was really busy with half of it for big fish (marlin,tuna etc.) and the other for prawns ,squid and countless others unknown to us. It was very interesting. We later saw many of the unique fishing boats coming in with their catch.

We also watched the fish processing later that day. Some of the smaller fish are unloaded and cleaned on the beach where they land. Then they are packed in brine for 2 – 4 days. Then they are washed and laid out to dry in the sun for three days. After that they can be kept unrefrigerated for up to 6 months.

2 October, 2015

Day 1 and we have survived multiple crises already.  We flew from Montreal on September 30^th and arrived in Doha Oct 1^st at 5:00 PM. As we prepared to leave the plane Joan discovered her wallet was missing. She had used it in Montreal airport to buy a newspaper. Sure enough it was not in either of our bags or her purse. Before we left the plane we waited till everyone had left and did a thorough search of the area. Joan found it wedged between the seat and airplane sidewall – thank goodness. One disaster averted! The second leg was from Doha to Columbo – the capital of Sri Lanka, We got off the plane in Columbo after traveling for 20 hours. We needed to get Sri Lankan rupees, so I left Joan with the luggage and found an ATM machine. I got my money and then we arranged a taxi ride to our lodging. I should have know that I was experiencing jet lag when the taxi driver told me I had negotiated a 30 dollar taxi ride up to 100 dollars (not 10 like I was thinking) I got the ride for $20 in the end, but when we arrived at our hotel I was missing my packsack witch had all my camera gear in it, We checked the car twice over and the driver phoned back to the airport - but no trace of my bag. The driver drove me back to the airport and I found my backpack sitting on the chair where I had left it.

Thank God Sri Lankans are honest!

I had the window seat when we flew over the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza and Saudi Arabia. I was amazed by the vastness of desert we flew over – hours and hours of flying, seeing no trees,no water, no towns.

It was fascinating .

Joan

Joan and I are traveling to Asia on Oct 30, 2015.  We fly to Sri Lanka via Doha on Qatar airways.   This is the first time we have bee in the middle east but we have only 3 hours in the airport before we  continue on to Sri Lanka.  We will arrive in Columbo, Sri Lanka on Oct 2 at 3:00 AM.  This is the first time we have traveled to Asia via Europe and the trip is shorter with only one stop.
  We will be spending 3 weeks in Sri Lanka before we head to Singapore. In Singapore we will be staying with Caroline and Alister  After a few days in Singapore we will off to Indonesia for a week. Then in November we will travel to Burma with Caroline and Alistair.  We return to Montreal on November 18.

Sunday November 17

Sunday November 17

 This is the last blog entry.  I have had an enjoyable 4 days with Caroline and Ali.  I have photographed the night skyline and the shop houses.  I have dined well and drunk good coffee every morning.  Tomorrow I fly back to Canada.  

November 11 to 13

I have broken off the ride and I am BACK IN SINGAPORE.   On day 2 I found the riding to be a little too dangerous.  I was off the road about 6 times.  I found accommodation at the end of the day but it was rough and dirty.  The road is dangerous and the air pollution bothered me.

The next day I put the bike on a bus and rode the bus to Banda Aceh.  The express bus ride took almost 12 hours and when I got to Banda Aceh I went to 7 hotels before I found a room.  After a quick tour of the grand mosque I packed up and headed for the Airport and back to Singapore.

  I changed my return flight and will fly back to Canada on Monday November 18.

Sunday November 10

Day 1 on the road and all went well.  The bike and bike rack held together; my bag fastened onto the bike rack and it didn’t fall off; and I did not get lost.  My hotel was right near the main street, so I went 1 block and I was on Highway 1 for the whole day.  I wanted to stop early so at the biggest town of the day I asked a cabbie where the hotels were.  He told me there were none in town and none all the way to Banda Aceh (600km down the road).  When I questioned him more he said I could sleep at the Police Station.  It was 1 pm so I rode for another 2 hours until a big town.  I went to the police station and they told me there was a hotel 1km down the road.  There was and I am in the VIP deluxe room with A/C and running water.  All for only $17. 

   The riding is hard.  After the first 30km I was on a 2-lane highway.  Traffic is heavy, mostly motor scooters, but also minibuses and trucks.  I need to keep close to the edge without falling off; the edge can drop 25cm in places.  Rich people drive SUV’s, I have seen only 1 sedan all day.  I was run off the road once or twice by a big black SUV, but they sure let me know in advance.  They was passing everything in sight and I wasn’t going to get in the way.  I do seem to be a bit of an oddity here.  Every guy that sees me go past says hello mister!  I smile and answer, but very few people speak English here.  I am going to learn some Indonesian.   

My Bike and Luggage

Mosque entrance

Roadside Mosque

Saturday November 9

Joan and Barb flew back to Singapore this morning and I stayed in Medan to start a 3 week bike trip.  I spent the day shopping; what an exhausting experience.  I bought a brand new bike for $150 after 2 false starts.  Used bikes were not available, but new bikes start at $100.  Unfortunately the first bikes I tried didn’t have all the gears working and the shop didn’t want to fix them before I bought.  The third shop was much better and I got a mountain bike with all 21 gears working.  I just about finished everything on my shopping list, but I’m still missing a helmet and a decent map.  I was too tired to shop any more but the last purchase I made was a positive experience.  I bought a fanny pack for riding and as I left the shop 6 sales girls and the manger were lined up to say thank you and make a little bow.  I did feel special!

.Friday November 8

Today was a transit day.  We were to move from Bukit Lawang in the mountains to Medan near the coast for the flight to Singapore.  We booked the driver for all day and asked him to drive into the mountains to Beristagi where we could see active volcanoes.  He was a good driver and we stopped along the way to see a palm oil plantation and the local market.  Driving in Sumatra is very slow. The roads have potholes and the traffic is very erratic – people never look behind, only in front.  Added to that, everybody stops on the road to pick up passengers and drop off goods.  As we were climbing into the mountains we were driving switchback roads and we did see 2 accidents. 

We got to Beristagi and we saw 2 smoking volcanos – one of which had erupted in September.  Joan was happy and we continued on the way to Medan.  Joan and Barb fly to Singapore tomorrow and I start a 3-week bike trip soon.                    

Mount Cinabung

Mount Sibayak

Thursday November 7

Male Orang-utan

Sandra with baby

Our second day of trekking started with steep uphill but we were ready and so were the guides.  They split up immediately and the young one went looking for Orang-utans and the head guide lead us uphill slowly.  They kept in touch via cell phones and we soon had a destination.  Even the guides get excited about an Orang-utan viewing.  Because I’m chief photographer I had to run after the young guide and we went way past our destination.  Then we had to turn around and run back.  Spotting an Orang-utan in a tree is not easy.  Unless they move, they are very well camouflaged.  Eventually we caught up with a male Orang-utan and tracked him for about 30 minutes. He never came down so I have no good portraits.   We continued our trek and came across a mother and baby.  Sandra the mother is 20 years old and the baby was 2 months old.  The mothers stay with the babies for 6 years.  Sandra was carrying her baby under her arm so we saw him but he was so small we could only see limbs sticking out.  I was taking pictures and checking the results when I notice spots on the pictures.  When I checked the lens it was dripping with sweat.  I tried to wipe it clean but that made it worse.   All the clothing I wore was soaked with sweat.   I had to pull a dry sweatshirt out of my bag to dry my lens.  Sandra put on quite a good show so we followed her for 30 minutes and then called it a day.  Our guides certainly listened to us.  We had a lunch we had requested and a descent from the mountaintop that Tarzan would have been proud of. 

    Later in the afternoon I was lazing in the hammock on our balcony when two monkeys visited me.  The male put on quite a show.  He humped the female 4 times in 15 minutes and then rested.  The female was a bitch.  She was very aggressive and charged me 5 times.  Since I was still lying in the hammock with my camera, I flashed her close-up right in the face.  After a truce was declared she left me alone and I eventually went inside.                 
           

The Bitch

                                        

Wednesday November 6

Mama Orang-utan (Julia)

Thomas Leaf Monkey

Long Tailed Macaque

We started our jungle trek with a serious uphill climb.  The guides (we had two for the three of us) quickly realized we were not mountain  climbers and learned to go slow and take frequent breaks.  The young one helped us over the rough spots with a hand and carried Joan’s purse because she had a load on water in it.  We ascended about 1000m in 1 km and were only halfway up. (Well maybe 100 m in 1 km but it seemed worse).  The guides then split up to track down the Orangutans and soon enough they led to a mother and baby (their cell phones work in the jungle).  We spent about an hour watching the mother.  She parked her baby in the nest and descended the trees to feed.  The guides can recognise each Orangutan and they told me the mother was 17 and the baby was 1 year old.  The mother will stay with the baby until 6 or 7 and then mate again.  We the had a jungle lunch of bread and jam and lots of fruits and headed back.  We encountered a troop of Monkeys on the way back, but the baby was too quick for me to get a picture.  The older monkeys were quite photogenic.  We came across a single Long tailed Macaque who stayed with us for 2 km.  When I asked the guide why he was hanging around us - he told me the long tails are very social.  The monkey had lost his troop and was hanging around us for company.  At least he co-operated for pictures.                                                                                                            

Tuesday November 5

Our Residence - The Jungle Inn

                                 

We arrived late last night in Medan and we left early this morning for Bukit Lawang.  This is a small village, based on tourism that sits at the edge of a national park.  The park is the home of the orang-utan rehabilitation centre and we are here to see Orang-utans in the wild.  We went for a half hour walk by ourselves and then we attended a Orang-utan  feeding session but there were no orang-utans.  We will do a jungle trek tomorrow and according to our guide we will be 99% sure to see an Orang-utan in the wild. 

    In order to get to the park we must take a ferry.  It’s a hop on, hop off ferry because you scramble to hop in and scramble to hop off.                                     
                 

They took a picture of me first

Crossing the River

Monday November 4

Hindu Temple Roof

Sleeping Buddha

     With a few hours to spare in Georgetown, I visited 3 Temples this morning.   First the Hindu temple at 7 AM.  Joan and I had walked through the grounds the night before and they had been very welcoming.  Joan was invited to meet the head Brahma and I talked to one of the priests about Canada.  The priest told me they opened at 7 so I was the first tourist there.  They held a very noisy ceremony with lots of bells and lots of fire.  I was allowed to wander anywhere but I was hesitant to take pictures of the worshippers,  so I left after 40 minutes.

                   

       After breakfast I went to the Sleeping Buddha temple.  It is a Thai temple with a 130 foot reclining Buddha.  All the tourist maps call it the Sleeping Buddha, but his eyes were definitely open.  Across the street was a Burmese temple with a Standing Buddha.  He seemed to be 60 feet tall but it’s hard to tell when you’re looking at his kneecaps. 

        Since we first started touring in Asia I have been practising the opposite of a Photo Bomb.  When I see somebody lining up a picture I sneak up behind the photographer and take a picture too.  I have lots of photos of people I don’t know.  A very pleasant girl from India posed for me after the couple asked me to take their picture with his camera.

Girl from Southern India

   Late in the afternoon we flew to the island of Sumatra.   Tomorrow the jungle!                 

                                 

Standing Buddha

Sunday November 3

                                                        

Caroline in the clouds

    Barb and Caroline wanted to try Parasailing so they signed up for a flight.  Because of low winds they had to be transported to an small island offshore.  I went along as the official photographer.   Because the winds were tricky the crew would not let them fly together and the instructor insisted on going with each of the girls.  While we were on the island another group was there for parasailing as well.  I watched the other couple.  He was first and I didn’t see him take off, but his landing was a solid face plant into the sand.   The girl’s takeoff was pretty ugly as she got dragged 10meters on the beach and then 20 meters through the water.  Her landing was face first in the sand.  Then came Caroline, a quick 3-step takeoff and a graceful 2-step landing.  This was Barb’s second time at parasailing and her experience showed.  A one-step takeoff and a perfect one-step landing.  She aced it.                                                                                                                       

Barb's quick take off

Barb coming in

Barb Landing

  This was our last day in Langkawi so we caught the 2:30 ferry to Penang and we are overnighting in Georgetown.  We fly to Sumatra tomorrow.