Whale-watching in Sri Lanka

On 11 March, bright and early (again) at 7am, we went the the seaside in Marissa to catch our speedboat out to sea. There were other options: we could book a ferry (like most foreigners there), but we wanted to be able to catch whales.

(Also, I hoped the speed of the boats would stop me from being seasick). Alas, even after downing 2 tablets, I couldn't keep it down.

The experience was fantastic.

30 minutes out to sea (about 4 miles from the coast), we saw our first whale.

After 2 hours, and 8 whales later, things got a bit boring though. The tour operator sounded a bit too excited now whenever he shouts, "whale, whale, whale, whale....then tail, tail, tail, tail!"

Well, the tails were all we could see!

But he assured us that we saw Beluga and Sperm whale (tails).

Sorry, the big creatures were too fast for us. Especially since the whale will dive under whenever the whole contingent of speedboats and ferries round up on it. I respect that it wants it's privacy too.

We didn't see any dolphins though

A fishing vessel on the high seas. Fishing alongside real whales!


                                     
 Later in the evening, we took another bus in the opposite direction and came to another small fishing village at the seaside. Here (above), I'm posing with one of their fishing boats. I can't even sit in it. It was too narrow!

I wonder if the fishermen just walk on top of it on the seas.

We saw this tiny islet on the same beach. You can actually walk right up to the white front door and ring the doorbell.  It is a high class resort/hotel. (read: out of our budget!)

The waves reach up to your ankles.

Fort Galle, Sri Lanka

Here's the last look of the place called Ella, in the Hill Country. And Yes, we had to take pictures of Buffaloes walking down the road just before the 7.30a bus arrives. It is the only bus we want to catch to go down South to the coastal area.

After another 4 hours in the public bus (no air-conditioning), we arrived at the beach in Marissa. In the picture (above), you can see the coastal line, and the tuk-tuks that we sometimes travel around in.

For a 30-km distance, the tuk-tuk drivers will charge us like 1,500 SLRupees (equivalent to RM45).
Almost like KL prices, no?

The heat here is terrible. Reminds me of the open skies in Jordan.
Anyway, after putting down our backpacks in Marissa (a small village/township), we took a public bus to Fort Galle. It took us about 30-45minutes to get there. The picture (above) shows the entrance to the historic World Heritage site itself.

It's amazing. It's the only 400 year old fully complete Dutch/Portuguese/English fort in the world.
Let me explain: it was started by the Dutch, continued by the Portuguese and the English completed it 200 years ago. You can actually walk all around the fort on the walls itself. It is 3.1km long.

Excruciatingly neverending, on my aching feet. I was happily limping all over it.

 Here's me at the entrance, trying to be 20 years younger...

 The picture (above) is of Mr. Walter De Silva. He claimed to be a Security Guard there and of the original Portuguese descent. He was very informative though and the stories he told were unbelievable. I actually recorded the whole 1-hour that he was with us.

We didn't invite him to be our tour guide. But he was anyway.
After that, he asked if we could "help him" i.e. asking for money for his services and MC gave him 500SLRupees.

I felt almost "cheated" and thought that he could be a professional con-man after all.

 Lovely clock tower at Fort Galle.

 The beautiful light house.

In the middle of the fort, is actually the grounds where currently 118 families currently live-mostly bought over by foreigners. There are 2 secondary schools, post office, 3 old churches, the Court house of Fort Galle (the place). It is a living heritage!

It makes me feel that the piece of fort wall in Melaka is like a big joke.

At the time when we were there, the roads were being paved with grey bricks. We were told that the Dutch government is looking after the Fort, not the Sri Lankan government really.

 Here's me again. I made MC take a tourist-sy picture of me.

The first entrance earlier is the newer one. Here's the original entrance to the fort dating back 400 years ago. The best part are the thick doors, which have never been replaced! Strong wood indeed.

Bread Magic

Here's the first thing I made last night using my new toy a.k.a the CN stand mixer!

I made the bread using the recipe found in this book (below). You can also order the books from Y3K from this website http://www.y3k.com.my/y3kcookbooks.htm

They ship worldwide.

By the way, the bread turned out quite nice. But got to prepare myself mentally, as it takes 4-5 hours from weighing the ingredients to finally getting the bread out of the oven to cool.

I think I should start the process at 6p to finish by just before midnight when I sleep. So, the girls get freshly baked bread in the morning. What do you think?

My stand mixer!

This is it! I bought this stand mixer yesterday after gnawing at my fist for the past few months.

You can view the actual product from http://www.cnunited.com.my/
I'm RM1500.00 poorer. But happy to have this work horse.

The company imports it directly from Taiwan. By any other name, it is called the Spar mixer too.
Here's what the product lists:

The Gear Transmission Type Mixer
 - 5.0 Liters
 - 1 HP DC Carbon Brush Motor
 - 10 Variable Speed Control
 - Ideal for Bakery School, Bakery Workroom & Hotel
 - Standard Package
***One Stainless Steel Bowl / One Flat Beater / One Wire Type / Dough Hook

Adam's Peak, Sri Lanka

We were in Sri Lanka from 12-17th March 2012.

This was the first picture taken of me in Sri Lanka. As you can see, I was still excited. Still uninitiated about the the true nature of backpacking!

We arrived at the Negombo International Airport at about 8am (local time). Then took a 4-5 hour trip up straighaway to the Hill Country. The place (above) is Kandy. In the background you can the see famous site, Buddha Tooth Relic temple. Well, we didn't go in. We just took a stroll around the Kandy lake and went back to our family-run place called the Majestic Hotel.

The hotel was decent enough. In comparison, (after staying 6 nights in 6 different places), the Majestic was the only place that provided us soap (!), towels and toilet paper.

We left Majestic Hotel in Kandy, and took 2-3 buses to our second destination--the starting point to climb Adam's Peak. This picture (above) was taken in the middle of the night at about 2 p.m. The lights (as we were about to discover) are actually tea-stalls and street lights that lit the whole way to the top.

 I think it's called the Wathsala Inn. The cost was US$15/night. The downside was the hot water is actually boiling HOT, or non-existent!

The biggest joke was that The Wathsala inn was only 2 doors away from another place called Slightly Chilled (which wanted to charge US$60 per night).

Well, we walked and walked. We stopped 2 times for me to catch my breath and to order a cuppa tea along the way up.

The most amazing thing was as we go UP, pilgrims/devotees were coming DOWN! They were probably part of the convoy of cars, vans and trucks that were streaming past when we were having dinner.
You can see all sorts of pilgrims, the young, the old, but all smiling and satisfied that they've made the pilgrimage.

Oh, and I found out that Adam's Peak is only "open" to devotees, from December to May every year. It is closed for 6 months every year in turn.

Here I am at the peak. It's amazingly cold. But lots of people were milling around. Locals and tourists.
Did you know that Adam's Peak is famous because there is an imprint of someone's footprint there?

Update: the Hindu and Buddhist devotees believed it was Buddha's.
I heard Christians claim it was Adam's (from the Bible).

(The footprint is housed in a tiny temple, and covered with a gold/silver cloth. In the picture, on the right). There are temple officers there. So, no looking and no taking photos of the sacred footprint either.

Ok, I'm now going to draw your attention to that polka-dot headpiece which I sewed myself. (grin)

 At about 6:30a, the temple officers took the altar items from the temple, and walked around the grounds. Lots of pilgrims touched and blesesd the items. Many of the ladies bought pink/white lotus blooms as offerings.

Mine and his shoes just before starting the descend at about 7am. Lots of people so got some time to catch a breather.

 About 30 minutes away from the temple. Still looking fresh...

 About half-wy down, still feeling cocky. Notice, I've undressed as it was getting too hot. Legs starting to cramp.

Darn it. His head is in the way.

 This is me. Exhausted. Tired out. Hungry. But feeling rather heroic. Satisfied that I made it and back albeit limping in the second leg of the journey
.
It was 9am. We have walked for nearly the past 7 hours.

The details of the climb as stated on the walls of Wathsala Inn.

Kellie's Castle

We went to Kellie's Castle last holiday. We were there for only an hour before closing time. So, just enough time to take take a quick tour of this historic site near Batu Gajah, Perak.

I like the second picture best. You?