An Angel Somewhere Else.

Sri Lanka - a little piece of heaven in the Indian Ocean.

In the cold, tear-filled halls of the ICU, I looked through the window at our beautiful Shani and told her how much we loved her.  I told her that she didn't have to look after anybody anymore.  That it was time to look after herself - even if that meant letting go.....

This afternoon she did just that.  She let go.  And she became, I'm certain, the most beautiful angel to ever grace heaven.

Shani, we love you so very much.  Please take time for a cup of tea up there.  There's plenty of time for sweeping the clouds and polishing halos.....

You are forever in our hearts.
XOXO  

Rain, rain, go AWAY!

I've been watching the news while puttering around the house this afternoon and I can't say I've enjoyed a single minute of it. I'm not even sure why the television is still on. It must be the shock of never-ending violence, disaster, and sadness that has prevented me from hitting the "off" button.

One thing that really struck me is the flooding in Sri Lanka. We just spent two WONDERFUL weeks in the country, during which time we fell in love with both the landscape and the people. How could something like this happen only a couple of weeks later? We hope that Lal and his family are safe in their own home because we know that many others are not.

Click here to learn more.

I Count this Murder ACCEPTABLE.

In the hotel room, just outside of the bathroom door....

Lindsay: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Phil: What?!!!

Lindsay: A cockroach just fell from the sky!!!

Phil: The sky? You mean...the ceiling?

Lindsay: Whatever! It sounded like a dinosaur. It was horrifying. LOOK AT IT!!!! IT IS HUGE!!!!!! (jumps onto bed) EWWWWW! PHIL, KILL IT!!!

Phil: Calm down. (Smacks cockroach with sandal). Got it. (Cockroach starts to move again)

Lindsay: PHIL!!!!!!!!!!

Phil: (Smacks it again) Settle down! (Two seconds later) He's dead now.

Lindsay: I am waking you up every time I have to go to the bathroom tonight.

And a sleepless night it was....

"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 28-30

Boo - the last few days of the trip. Lal had left us and we were now on an "itinerary-free" vacation. So - what to do? Here's what we got up to in the absence of "a plan":

* With TWO sickies now (yes, Emily caught whatever Colleen had!), there was a lot of gingerale, bed rest, and sleeping! I was worried of catching it too, but Phil told me it was all psychological and to "suck it up". So I did.

* Why stop at 10 postcards when you can stop at 20? Yes! We returned to the shop across the street to purchase MORE postcards for those at home! I love writing postcards - mostly because I LOVE getting mail myself :)

* Wine. We drank some.



* The hotel varied from its usual buffet dinner and held a romantic barbecue under the stars. The food was delicious and the band played some catchy music!

* The invention of LATOYA by the pool. Ah - that was a nice afternoon with Em. It felt like old times. I remember thinking "NO! I don't want the 30th to come!!!". The dread of saying goodbye was starting to set in.

* What's a trip without souvenirs?! We had a list of peeps to purchase for and trekked out more days than one to find the perfect gift for each! Of course, we bought a thing or two for ourselves along the way....like the beautiful Buddhist paintings that will be going above our bed!

* The brownie. Yes, it makes the blog. It only lasted for ten minutes, but it was the most delicious brownie I've ever had. And I shared it with Gemily! Em - seriously! How good was that brownie?! DE-LISH!



* Phil learned to surf! The first day he went without a cheering squad, but the second day I came as the activity photographer! It looked really hard, but he managed to get up with little trouble at all! Well, there were those few times when the waves pulled him under and didn't let him up for many seconds later (I almost ran in...), but overall, it wasn't so scary for a wife to watch! WAY TO GO PHIL!

* Ah - the farewell. ICK. Why do all good things have to come to an end? And it wasn't like we had to say goodbye to one friend, we now had to say goodbye to THREE - Emily, Colleen, and Lal. We also had to say "ayubowan" to the country itself that had welcomed us with TEA, SUNSHINE, and GREENERY for our Christmas holidays.



Thank you SRI LANKS, you were very good to us!

SRI LANKS?! YES THANKS!!!!!!!! I wish you all the opportunity to visit this incredible place :)

"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 27

Today was a sad day. Colleen woke up feeling really sick and had to stay at the hotel. Dear Colleen, if you're reading this.....we had NO FUN AT ALL today. It was REALLY BORING and LAME. And if we could do it all over again, we WOULD NOT!

After breakfast, we sent the sicky to her room and headed out with Lal for a day of ADVENTURE! First stop was at a Coral Sanctuary, where we got into an itty bitty glass bottom boat (without life jackets) and motored out towards the colourful underworld :) It started with a cry (I fell into the boat and banged my knee), but ended with laughs, as we fed bread to "we haven't eaten in years" fishies! The trip was cut short due to Phil's motion sickness, but nonetheless, it was still a cool experience! (Dear Colleen: What I mean is - it was NO FUN AT ALL!)





Next stop was the turtle hatchery and MY OH MY - was this ever NEAT!!! We got to see turtles of all sorts, including turtles that had just hatched that very morning! We all got the chance to hold some turtles and Phil even got to hold a giant albino turtle! Emily and I were encouraged to pet some of the bigger turtles, including the albino one. Our tour guide told us, "You must pet him. He likes white people." We were also instructed NOT to touch another turtle because "he doesn't like white fingers". Who knew that turtles could be so discriminatory?! (See Colleen - better that you weren't with us!)





The adventure continued on a river safari, which consisted of monkey and crocodile holding, ducking under bridges (ugh, ya.....what happened to "safety first"?), cruising through mangroves, spotting monitor lizards, chilling on Cinnamon Island, and getting "friendship bracelets" at a Buddhist temple on one of the islands! Unfortunately, we also had boo-boo number two of the day, with Emily bashing up her heel while stepping out of the boat. This became a happy injury later, as her bruise was shaped like an elephant!!!!! I SWEAR!!!!!! (Dear Colleen: you would have hated every minute of it....)

After the boat trip it was back to Colleen, who was eager to see us and go for lunch! We grabbed a bite to eat, purchased some postcards, and spent the afternoon writing friends and family with tea in the hotel lobby. We also made a trip (or two! or three!) to a tailor who made us lots of pretty pants (Phil included!).

That night, Emily may have had the best day of her life when she discovered a GIANT SNAIL, who she decided to call "SNAILY". It became a fun game to find Snaily before bed every night. And on the final night....we saw him with his WHOLE FAMILY!!!!!!! Oh Snaily....we MISS YOU!

Fun Word. Fun to Play With.

During a discussion about Em's extravagant purchase in Australia...



Lindsay: I can't believe you spent that much on a digi-doo-hicki, but hesitated when purchasing your ring at the Gemmmmm factory!

Emily: It's called a didgeridoo!!!

Phil: Well, you should have didgeri-didn't!

Emily: Too bad - I didgeri-did!!!!

"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 26

Ah - what a lovely way to spend "Boxing Day" - lounging on one beach, having lunch, and then heading to another! I LIKE IT!



Today we drove from Mirissa Beach to Hikkaduwa, stopping to observe the stick fishermen and to explore the old fort in Galle. The stick fishermen were pretty neat and took quite the liking to the man holding the wallet (a.k.a. PHIL!). For a couple hundred rupees, Phil was able to pretend he was one of them and enhance is already great game of "Survivor". (I doubt many other contestants would be familiar with catching fish from a giant stick in the ocean). As for Galle, it was a quaint wee town on the coast that would have been nice to stay at. Inside the city walls, we got to see a snazzy hotel, an old church, a lighthouse, a look-out point, and part of a cricket match! Both spots served as good stretching points for our still-sore Adam's Peak muscles!



The drive along the coast was also an eye-opening one. I mean - CNN did a good job with the tsunami coverage (and I remember watching it on tv with my Mom and Nan), but I don't think any disaster really comes to life until you're at the source of it all. Evidence of the tsunami was very much there - with crumbling buildings and unexpected tombstones dotted along the drive to Hikkaduwa. You could tell that even our guide was in awe - and drove slower out of respect for the tsunami victims in the area.



In Hikkaduwa, we pulled up to the best hotel of the trip! See ya later bloody bandaids, massive spiders, and mosquito nets! We showed up to fresh juice, freezing cold towels, and necklaces made of flowers! We had graduated to 5 star treatment and it felt NICE :)

At dinner, we branched away from rice and curry (although it was still available!) and enjoyed the delicious buffet at the hotel restaurant. A live band was there to entertain and we left in the mood for some drinks! On Em and Colleen's balcony we sat, laughing, relaxing, and planning our next few days of relaxation!

"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 25

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

We woke up early to find stockings sitting on the chairs outside of our rooms! SANTA FOUND US! YIPPEE!!!!! He really does know how to find every child (haha) around the globe and he REALLY does know what each child (baha) likes!!!! Phil got a Spiderman pencil case in his stocking and I got an elephant pen! For all of you who don't believe in this jolly old fellow - think AGAIN!

Sadly, the best part of our morning AND early afternoon was the brief one I just described. It went down hill from there. And I wish I was kidding.



Early morning whale watching was another reason for the early rise. We put our Santa hats on and headed out to the harbour where a crew was waiting to take us out on a magical adventure (or so we thought). We were excited and eager, as the company bragged about its 90% success rates! One lady on board said she met a person who saw 4 blue whales the morning before! JACKPOT! This is going to be the best Christmas morning EVER!



Notta. I am going to give you the short version, so as not to re-live the really horrible "first Christmas away from home". We were out for 7 hours. The only whales we saw were on Emily's underpants. The two little girls behind us were puking. Emily was sleeping on her lap to avoid any nervousness the little boat created. Phil was over the side of the boat, in the ready position for Christmas vomit. The woman in front of us was being sick off the front of the boat. And all we got was a dry jam sandwich. For $60 a person, your family could have been there too. Aren't you sad you missed it?

At one point I was actually crying. It was the part when they said "2.5 hours to shore". WHAT?!!!! We had been out there forever, half of the guests were sick, and everyone else was starving! It was clear that the whales were either opening their presents or didn't celebrate Christmas at all. Either way, we'd had enough and wanted to get the hek out of that boat!

Okay - so maybe we saw a couple dolphins and a turtle on the way back to the harbour. But, as C-TOTES says, "that wasn't the porpoise!". She was right. We disembarked the boat, disappointed, grouchy, and plain old sad.

Back at the beach, we were able to cheer up a little as we ordered lunch and exchanged gifts. Phil and I got a really nice table runner from Miss Colleen, as well as a donation to Team Diabetes (THANK YOU COLLEEN)!!!! Emily also spoiled us with all sorts of things from her travels and each one was coupled with MONEY for TEAM DIABETES (THANK YOU EMILY)!!!!! The four of us were also happy to give our gift to Lal, which consisted of $100 for his daughter's education (she wants to be a doctor!). He was quite happy and our smiles came back as the spirit of giving shone through.



The rest of Christmas day was spent playing at the beach (where I injured Phil's toe) and building our gingerbread house in the restaurant! You really had to be a skilled arts and crafts person to participate in the building of the house. We were working with materials that were foreign to gingerbread houses and had to borrow equipment from the restaurant kitchen to get the job done. I think it turned out beautifully, even if we did have to force the waiters to compliment us. The hotel manager seemed quite pleased to receive the final product as a gift!



After playing Martha Stewart, we emailed home and the brave ones (ah-hem - NOT ME) called home on Skype. I knew I would cry, so I avoided the situation all together with a quick facebook message to all.



At dinner we continued to spread the love by sharing our ice cream leftovers with the stray dogs, then it was off to bed. 90% of people would have stayed awake to enjoy the ocean breeze. But, as proven that morning, we were part of the other 10%. So off to sleep it was!

P.S. The whale story STILL isn't THAT funny. Maybe by next Christmas we will derive some sort of humour from it?

"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 24

Ah - GOOD MORNING! And HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE! Today we said farewell to Adventure Camp and set off for Mirissa Beach!

The drive down South was an interesting one - with three sore Adam's Peaker's, a van load of Santa-hat bearing Canadians, and a weather man with a sense of humour (cool and damp, rainy and humid, sunny and hot, etc.). Along the way, we checked out some rubber trees (so COOL!), stopped for a lunch of rice and curry (hahahahahahahahahahaha), and went on a mission for chocolate and roadside pineapple. We lucked out with the pineapple, but had to wait until the grocery store in Mirissa to find the chocolate! At this stop, we also purchased some holiday wine and gingerbread-house-making materials (a.k.a. plain cookies, icing sugar, smartie-like candies, cinnamon swirls, etc.). Fifteen minutes later, we were at our Christmas Eve celebration point - where the weather man gave us some SUNSHINE!

After we settled into our beachfront rooms, Emily and I went out to play in the BIG, Indian Ocean waves! We're talking BIG - like ones that make you shrill and run in the opposite direction! The waves were so powerful that we had to develop a "keeping bottoms on" technique, as well as a system of remaining over-water as opposed to being pulled underwater. I'd say we had it down to a science and by the time we had learned to combat the ocean, I declared this activity more fun than tobogganing! Soon Phil came to join in on the fun, although C-TOTES remained quite cozy with her feet in the sand!



Christmas Eve dinner was spent finishing our Asian craft - which we had to sew together to complete! Other guests were quite intrigued by our craftsmanship and the staff stopped by often to check up on our progress! In the end, we had a string of garland to decorate the outside of each room. If I'm not mistaken, this is how Santa found the four of us during the night!



We were all pretty tired this evening (and still SORE!), so we went to bed early to make Santa Clause come sooner! In theory, the plan was a good one, but with the loud New-Year's-Eve-like music playing throughout the night, we didn't get the restful sleep that we had been hoping for. I had to leave the room twice to ask the restaurant staff to calm down their party (yep, it was a party of WORKERS not GUESTS!). Of course, my nice approach didn't work so well and Phil eventually stormed out of the room to cause a ruckus! If I didn't go out there and settle him down, I'm sure something bad would have resulted with the eight Sri Lankan men who were surrounding him. And then Santa DEFINITELY would NOT have come!!!!

Finally, the manager came to holler at his staff and after one last display of fireworks, all went quiet for a Christmas Eve sleep!

"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 23

Two in the morning came quickly. We rushed to put all our warm gear on and headed for a tea party in the kitchen before departing with our guide!



To us, the trail began quite close to our hotel. However, it wasn't until about 45 minutes in that the guide said "Okay - now we start!". Our thoughts were "WAIT A MINUTE!!!!" Haha.

The trail was surprisingly steeper than we thought and the weather was much warmer than we anticipated. Phil was sweating after 5 minutes and even I had to strip down half way up the hill!



With our guide, we were able to have a true "pilgrimage" experience, as he showed us the rituals that take place as pilgrims climb to the top. We got to ring bells for good luck, sing songs to encourage (and hear others chant back!), and complete our karma (with white string and incense!) mid-way. At the top (where there happened to be NO sunrise that day - haha), our guide led us through a routine that a Buddhist may do once he or she has summited the peak. It was amazing. So was the view. We were so glad we did it!





The way down was quite the tale - and the part that I wish Emily had been there for. I could have used some sister support when our random pet dog named "Callou" decided to pick a battle with a family of monkeys. The monkeys were trying to scare him with sharp teeth, quick movements, and (so weird) urine. Callou was laughing at their attempt to be "scary", while pilgrims were laughing at my response of "being scared". I hate monkeys. They are so unpredictable.



On the way down we also witnessed a child smash head-first into the wall (not nice) and had to make use of really stinky public washrooms due to land-jumping leeches that catch ya otherwise.

Back at the hotel, Gemily was excited to see us. We went for breakfast in the restaurant and miraculously got our meals before any other guest because Lal is a big deal. Plus, we had to move on to ADVENTURE CAMP so Phil could go white water rafting, Colleen could sleep, and Emily and I could have "sister time" (a.k.a. christmas music, christmas crafts, photography, and wine).



"Masterchef" and dinner put this long day to an early end. Exhausted, we went to bed (or tried to). The massive spiders and other weird insects had Gemily and I stirring all evening long.

"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 22

This was my favourite breakfast ever. Listening to a monk tell Emily that even old people who can't walk (<---read that again) climb Adam's Peak.........was HILARIOUS. All three of us were on her case about climbing it with us, so when the monk joined in on the fun it was so exciting! "Ya, EM! Even OLD PEOPLE WHO CANNOT WALK DO IT!". Haha, in the end we backed off because hiking is not Gemily's forte.

The morning continued to make us laugh as one of the hotel staff told Colleen that she was "beautiful like the Mona Lisa". What a good pick-up line! Have you ever heard that one before?!



The tour day began with the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy (which is kinda like what the Vatican is to Catholic's). It holds the tooth of the Buddha, although some rumours suggest it may just be a replica. Either way, it was nice to be somewhere of such importance to the Buddhist community and to witness the rituals that were taking place inside. We had to avoid some areas due to claustrophobia (told ya - that spa-coffin really did it to us!) and eventually headed back to the car, as it was pouring rain and we were the extreme opposite of "prepared for the weather".



In our damp clothes we took a car-sick-invoking ride to a Tea Factory in Nuwara Eliya. A TEA FACTORY! At this point, the trip REALLY became my dream come true. My favourite colour, my favourite animal, and now my favourite beverage?! Was I dreaming? Sri Lanks must be my "country-soulmate"! Anyways, back to the tea factory story - where a cute girl showed us how tea is made and then shipped to companies like Lipton! No wonder why tea tastes so good - so much work goes into preparing it! After the tour, we were given some free samples in the restaurant to enjoy while we ordered our lunch. There was also shopping to be done here. My purchase was elephant-tea-stic!



The tea was a good ease-in to the winding roads that led to Adam's Peak. If you are ever looking for one-way roads that host two-way traffic on the edge of cliffs - you can find them HERE. Talk about a heart attack! I was in a state of constant panic and feared every turn we took - dreading a "smash" with a tuk-tuk, transport truck or local bus (hello!! can't you gauge SIZE?!). Lal was constantly beeping his horn to make our presence around the tight curves known, and we soon awarded him the name "Road Runner" because of all his "beep-beeping"!

The tea and cookies on arrival calmed our nerves and we turned nervous laughs into real ones as we watched the movie "Ladybugs" in the restaurant at our hotel. We also found joy in shopping for "Grinch" mitts and fleece at the booths outside.



An intense match of Catchphrase took us until dinner time, where Gemily was thrilled to have curry and rice once more (BAHA. Okay - at this point, everyone but Phil was sick of it!).

Early to bed. Adam's Peak wake-up call came at 2 a.m.

"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 21

Today was another "action"-packed day (baha - you will understand this reference later on). Just you wait.



We began the way all days should - looking at elephants! This time, our elephant-time took place at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, just outside of Kandy. The excitement was the same as it always is pre-elephants, but unfortunately, the buzz was a wee bit killed when we showed up and checked the place out. It wasn't anything like what I had experienced in Kenya - where stories were told of individual elephants and donations could be made to "adopt" the ones you fell in love with most. Nope. This one was a big tourist trap - that cost us $20 each!!! For $20, we could enter a place where you could order drinks, food, shop and stare at elephants while you are doing so. The elephants were adhered to random areas of a river by metal chains and men with big sticks were wandering about to ensure the orphans remained at a safe distance away. Which didn't really make any sense - because we got right up there - in touching distance - and they weren't poked then. I don't know! Anyways, there was a really wonderful part of the experience - and that was seeing the tiniest elephant we have ever seen before! He must have been a newborn, because he was falling all over the place - showing little ability to balance and coordinate his legs!



After a quick stop for fresh fruit (YUM!!!!!!!) and a look at red bananas (bizarre!), we hurried over to the GEMMMMMMMM Factory to pick up our rings, that had been re-sized. My turned out to be three sizes too small, which turned out okay since they provided us with a lovely tea party as it poured rain outside! My ring was re-sized once more and came back PERFECT :)



Our lunch this day was spent on the river, where we watched the rain turn from spitting to pouring to down-pouring and back to spitting. There was a glimpse of hope that it would hold off at the Botanical Gardens, but the rain continued and so we headed to the FREAKY part of this day - to the Spa, where they practice a traditional style of medicine called "Ayurveda". Now, in order to keep things "PG" here....let me just say that we now know the meaning of "violated" in a way that bonded Emily and I for life! Ah, ya. There was us.....side by side....naked....Then there was them....not naked....making us feel really awkward about being naked. Then there was the oil that drenched us from head to toe (LITERALLY) and made the meter-high table (that we were laying on!) a "what about safety?" slip 'n slide. Or how about that oil-dripping apparatus that spilled boiling hot (like third degree burn hot) oil on your forehead for 20 minutes? Or that too-freakin'-hot coffin they locked us in? The one that may have made me claustrophobic for the rest of my existence. Um...ya....never again. THE END.



Before we could re-shower (because one shower was NOT enough to rid us of the oil), we went to see a cultural show - with VIP seats! Yep - we sat in the very front row and absorbed Sri Lankan culture in the most colourful way! The costumes, the music, the dancing, the FLIPPING!, the comedy....it was SUPERB! And thanks to Lal, we were up front and center!

At the hotel, we showered immediately (3 shampoos later - and still - NOTHING!). Dinner was characterized by greasy-haired girls, which was funny enough on its own. But then Emily ranted about being sick of rice and curry. And then Phil said pineapple was his new favourite fruit. And then there were bats flying into the restaurant. And I felt like we had entered the twilight zone.

Catchphrase ended the night, as did the creation of Colleen's trip nickname - "C-TOTES". Don't ask. Just enjoy it.

"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 20

You know those stray cows in the sketchy field that I was referring to earlier? Well, one of them chased me this morning. It was horrifying...and Colleen and Emily saw it from a distance and LAUGHED! I didn't find it that funny, until a worker witnessed the incident and chased the cow in revenge! That made me feel better. As did Lal's birthday present of three miniature elephants at breakfast!



Today was a busy day. We visited Nalanda temple (where we met a dog named "dog"), Dambulla Cave Temple (famous in Sri Lanka), a spice garden in Matale (where Phil - I mean SPIDERMAN- climbed a coconut tree), and Aluvihara temple (where we got our names written in Sinhalese on palm leaves!). But the attraction we had all been waiting for was the "GEMMMMMMM" factory (which must be pronounced with an exaggeration on the "em" part of the word!).





Let's talk about GEMMMMMMMMS. Sri Lanka is known for its many precious and semi-precious stones. Sapphires are among the most popular, but the "land of gemmmmmms" also bears rubies, pearls, garnets, opals, moonstones, amethysts, and so on. At the factory, you get to learn about the process of making those shiny stones that jazz-up our finest jewellery. (Side note: the ladies on the trip may have been too excited to see the final product and failed to appreciate the hard work of the factory's beautifiers).



The part that comes after the making of the "gemmmmmmmms" is the BEST part (well...maybe not for Phil). We were taken to an older, but lovely, building where we were seated in those fancy office chairs at a fancy conference-like table. There were various other tables with tourists engaging in the same thing as us - "gemmmmmm" shopping! One by one, large boxes of jewellery were revealed - earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings - both silver and gold. The lighting in the room was bright and there was no mistaking the exquisite "gemmmmmmms" before us. We tried on ring after ring, held up earring after earring, and awed over the selection of charms. While Colleen and "Gemily" (her trip nickname, dictated by her knowledge of gemmmmmmmms) browsed their own rings and necklaces, Phil told me to pick out a "6 month-iversary" ring! And so....I did! My newest ring (which I couple up with my silver wedding band) is also silver and has 30 blue sapphires placed in two long rows on the front of the ring. It is absolutely beautiful (and Leafs colours, Dad!). I also was spoiled with an elephant charm that has sapphire eyes and pearl toes! I will try to post photos of these soon...

Going back to the hotel, called the "Majestic Tourist Hotel", was a MUST after this shopping spree. And so we settled in to our rooms and Emily surprised us with an Asian craft while we waited for our meal of rice and curry! The craft was origami stars that would eventually be sewn together to make Christmas garland! It was tricky to learn at first (Phil had to order a few beers to survive the learning process), but in the end we were all quite good! In fact, Phil went from hating the activity to being a team leader when it came to star problem-solving and repair! (WAY TO GO, PHIL!!!)

The night concluded with some hilarious matches of Catchphrase. I think Emily and Phil were particularly "bad" at the game this evening (sorry, pals!). But really....Colleen and I were leading the series 6-0!!! (Phil - had you have been the one to blog this, you could have expressed it differently).

Then it was off to bed to dream of "gemmmmmmmmmmmms".

"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 19

Introducing my BEST BIRTHDAY YET! Wow - where to begin? The day was one awesome thing after another, just as Phil had requested when we booked with Lal!

I woke up to a special birthday delivery from Lal - Sri Lankan wedding flowers! They were so beautiful and he had adhered them to a styrofoam board with red ribbon. So cute.



At breakfast, Emily spoiled me with a "heart-themed" birthday gift! As you know, I have this thing with finding hearts, and let me tell you, I found heart after heart during the unwrapping of my birthday presents! Heart shaped magnets, post-its with hearts, heart shaped ornaments, paper bags with hearts, lip smackers with hearts, craft paper with hearts on it, a green heart rock, a purple heart rock, and a silver heart charm! I WAS SPOILED! Colleen and Emily even had a toenail decorated with a heart (from their most recent pedicure)! It was awesome. Oh I LOVE hearts!!! (And love).



To begin our tour for the day, we went to Habarana for an elephant ride! Now I wish you were all there, too, because it is one of those things that leaves you with a constant smile throughout! All four of us climbed onto one elephant (named Manika) and we were taken on an hour long walk by a mahout (or elephant caretaker) and a photographer (yippee! photos ON elephants!). The walk included a highway portion (a little scary, but people enjoyed our birthday enthusiasm), a jungle portion (monkeys freak me right out), and a water portion (dear crocs, stay put please!). Along the way, a young girl gave us necklaces made of flowers and we purchased two bunches of bananas to feed Manika. Phil and I got the opportunity to sit in the "pilot seat" and both had the chance to feed her! It was a wee bit frightening, as she swung her trunk back and gobbled them up! Several times she would blow in my face with her stinky breath and make my hair go all over the place. Very funny to watch. Not so funny to be the person people are watching. Ah well - the ride was AWESOME and we received official-looking certificates when we got back to the starting point!




Before the next elephant adventure (yes, there were two in ONE day!), we visited another ancient city called Polonnaruwa. Here, we fought with hot pavement and sand as we toured the temples in barefoot. The king coconut Phil and Colleen had served as a refreshing break for the two of them, although Emily and I gagged as we watched them drink and then eat the insides. If you have ever seen one, you may understand. The texture is FREAKY.



Woo hoo! The day continued at Kaudulla National Park where we went on a big search for elephants! I was overly excited in the beginning (well - the whole time, really) and decided to stand up with Phil and be the first to spot my favourite creature! Baha - my first "I SEE ONE!" turned out to be a man having a bath in the river.....so I settled myself a wee bit and did a double take on following sightings so as not to embarrass myself! Fortunately, there was no mistaking the KA-ZILLIONS of elephants we saw that afternoon! The park is known for its elephants, and MAN OH MAN, that reputation holds true! There were more elephants than any of us had ever seen before and we snacked over pineapple and mango as we watched them play, bathe, and eat! The experience was unforgettable.



Well, a long day of touring calls for an evening of relaxation! We returned to the Grand Tourist and my travel mates teamed up with Lal and the guest house staff to throw a surprise party for me!!! There were balloons and a banner and a personalized CHOCOLATE CAKE and candles and noisemakers and OH it was so thoughtful and FUN! We shared the cake with others at the restaurant and enjoyed sporting the party hats and "high school musical" masks that Emily so luckily found in Vietnam!

Even with a bed time of 8:30, this party was one of my favourite parties yet! THANK YOU LAL, EMILY, COLLEEN, and PHIL! You made a special day an EXTRA-SPECIAL ONE! xoxo

"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 18

I haven't been THIS happy to wake up in a very long time...but Emily and Colleen were arriving today and I couldn't be wishing the time away any sooner! They showed up half way through breakfast and I made a running leap into Em's arms! Ah - it had been a year and a half since we saw each other last and we reunited with our "perfect hug" (yes, Em and I have this theory that we are two people that form a perfect hug).

After a big chuckle over Emily leaving her bathing suit at home (the last five days were on the beach!), we set out for "Sigiriya". The car ride there was a lot of fun and we had lots to share and laugh about. We made a stop for the sweetest tea along the way (now known as "Lal" tea - pure sugar) and of course I made my usual request for washroom breaks every 45 minutes or so (BAHA).

Our guest house in Sigiriya was called "The Grand Holiday Tourist Resort" and our rooms were placed at the very back of the premises, near a spooky field with stray cows. Our room had an ongoing ant parade between the door and the bathroom and smelled of moth balls with an intensity you've never smelled before. Their room was even better - with a bloody bandaid on the mosquito net, a non-flushing toilet, a family of geckos on the walls outside, and a nest for party animal mongooses on the roof. But - this is what traveling is all about - STORIES! And we got them.



Following lunch, we went to the ancient city of Sigiriya - which was accessible only after a big climb to the top of the rock fortress. Now, if you know Emily, you know she is hiking's worst fan - and in this circumstance - she was on NO sleep! However, the miraculous part is that she toughed it out and made it to the top with ease (WAY TO GO, EM!). On the climb up, we had to combat grabbers of inappropriate body parts, dancing cobras, tree-jumping monkeys, and aggressive sales people. But, WE DID IT! And the view from the top inspired our trip-long phrase "Sri Lanks?! YES, THANKS!" (and also, "Sri Lanks?! NO, THANKS!" - used only when we didn't like something).





Back at the guest house, we enjoyed more curry and rice and Lal MAY have assumed Emily was an American based on her "choice of words". We also engaged in an action-packed game of "Catchphrase" and fought our fear of "Children of the Corn" music that was blaring form the sketchy field beside us. (We soon found out the music was actually a prayer for safety...which made it that much funnier the next day!).

Ah - shower, then bed. The next day was my birthday!

"SRI LANKS" - DEC. 17

Phil and I arrived in Sri Lanka very early on the 17th after a TERRIBLE turbulence-filled flight. We were greeted at the airport by our guide, Lal, who drove us to the Silver Sands hotel in Negombo for a much-needed "morning nap"!

Breakfast was an interesting one. The guest house served us fresh pineapple juice (YUM!), fried eggs with white eggs yokes (weird, right?!) and "banana pancakes" (which are actually deep fried pieces of banana...eek!).



Lal came shortly after to retrieve us and we began our tour of Sri Lanka - visiting the local fish market, a prison (well the outside of it), the market (where I purchased my first elephant item - a t-shirt!), and a Buddhist temple (oh - it was SO BEAUTIFUL!). After these stops, we made our way to Lal's house to have dinner with his family. Now this is where we fell in love with Lal.



Lal's family - including his wife, daughter, son, grandson, and nieces - met us with big smiles as the van pulled up outside. You could tell they were excited to meet us and it wasn't long before the little girl was showing us her certificates from school, singing us Christmas songs, and teaching us how to speak "Sinhalese". The son was happy to tell us about the job he was applying for and to show us photo albums of his older sister's wedding. While waiting for dinner to be ready, we enjoyed a cup of tea and some chocolate cake and watched the movie "Home Alone 3" on the television. It was a HILARIOUS experience watching this with Lal and his family. They were laughing so hard that we couldn't help but roar with them. It was adorable.

Dinner consisted of rice and curry (both dal and chicken), papadums, and spicey dishes of eggplant, beans, and potatoes. It was DELICIOUS! Lal's daughter responded quickly to Phil's "spicey response" and brought him bottles of water and tissues as they ran out! Dessert was fresh pineapple, mango from the mango tree in the yard, and bananas! The meal was a perfect representation of the meals to come and we give the chef an A+ for having the best curry out of all the ones we sampled (and believe us, we sampled A LOT!).

After an enjoyable welcoming to Sri Lankan culture and cuisine, Lal drove us back to the hotel to catch the sunset on the beach! We were excited to be on the Indian Ocean for the first time and to have a few legal drinks to celebrate the holidays! It was a great day. And it was made even better by the excitement of Emily and Colleen's arrival the next day!