15 April 2013

Charles and I are leaving Jaffna today. Our driver comes to pick us up at about 12:30pm. We are packed and ready to go. We will be parting company with the rest of the team today. My cousins Lakshmi and Vijaya will be returning to Colombo at about 3pm. After a day, Lakshmi is heading back to Malaysia and Vijaya to Canada. Our driver was early. He arrived at 11:30am. So we invited him to have some lunch with us. We left Jaffna at 1:15pm. We were heading for Anuradhapura.

The ancient city of Anuradhapura is more than 2000 years old. It was the epicentre of Sri Lankan civilisation until it came to an end in 993 AD when it was overtaken by Indian invaders. To explore the whole city, our driver informs us that it will take about 6 hours. We did not have the time so we only explored the important sites. Anuradhapura is divided into 3 sites, Abhayagiri, Jetavana and Mahavihara. We first visited the largest dagoba in Sri Lanka which is the Jetavana dagoba. It is an impressive structure. It was constructed around 274-301 AD.

The we went around to visit the tallest dagoba, Ruvanvalisaya which is in the Mahavihara area. This dagoba is also known as the great stupa.

The walls are adorned with sculptures of elephants and the whole structure is quite magnificent.

It is still a public holiday here after the New Year. There are plenty of people here who are attending the various monasteries for prayers for the New Year. We tried to visit the Sri Maha Bodhi (Sacred Bo Tree). It is rumoured to have been grown from a cutting of the original Bo Tree in Bodhgaya, India. Unfortunately we had our shorts on and we were considered improperly dressed. The path to this place had huge open grounds on either site. These grounds were full of monkeys who were very friendly and tame. They were simply adorable.

The last dagoba we visited was Thuparama. It is small compared to the other dagobas but it was the first dagoba ever built in Sri Lanka.

The ancient kings, including Mahasena (274-301) recognised the importance of water for irrigation as farming played a huge part. Within the old city of Anuradhapura, there are 3 large manmade lakes to collect rain water. Farm land is irrigated by channels connected to the lakes.

The lakes were constructed by first digging the soil out. This soil was used to build the various stupas and structures within the city. Elephants were used extensively for the construction. The lakes are huge and looks like some inland sea.

We hit the road again for Sigiriya. We checked into the Sigiriya Rest House which has been running since 1910 or earlier. It is comfortable and nothing flashy but all we needed was somewhere to sleep.

Tomorrow we climb the Sigiriya rock at 7am. That’s when the gates open. Our hotel faces the rock.

14 April 2013

Today is the Hindu and Buddhist New Year. We follow a different calendar system to the Gregorian or Western calendar. The Hindu calendar is a lunisolar calendar that has been used since ancient times. It has gone through several changes over time and regionalised. The Buddhist calendar is based on an ancient version of the Hindu calendar. Thus, in all Buddhist countries, this day marks a New Year.

We got up early for our traditional bath and headed for the temple at 8am. Today is going to be a long day. The New Year ceremony at the the temple is elaborate and long. Just to throw something else into the mix, is going to be a hot day. We arrived early at the temple. Troop elder Bala, suggested that we head down the road to see my grandaunt, Mrs Thevarajah. I was keen to meet her. She is my maternal grandfather’s (Ponniah’s) sister-in-law. She lives in a village called Karangali, which is where my maternal grandfather came from. They were farmers too. The bush telegraph (phones are rare in dwellings here although mobiles are popular) had already sent word that we were in town. My grandaunt was overjoyed to see us. It was like as if she was expecting us that day.

My grandaunt had done quite a bit of travelling in the past. She had come to Singapore and Malaysia previously and met all our relatives there including my parents. She reckons I look exactly like my father, which everybody says because we are tall and slim. Grandaunt can certainly rattle on. I don’t know if it is the excitement of seeing us or she is normally like that. We took a couple of photos for keepsake. As I have never seen my granduncle, I was shown a photo of him which I took a photograph of too. I hope it will turn out alright. Might need a bit of photoshopping. We then bid our farewells, hugged my grandaunt and left to return to the temple.

The temple ceremony today is going to be long one. In the end it went for some 8 hours straight. We managed to slip into a shop across the street for a quick meal. People were streaming in. Even the local ‘Mr Whippy’ and other street vendors had set up shop. It was almost like a carnival atmosphere. Roads in these parts are narrow, single lane, so buses and other vehicles tend to have a difficult time getting past. Still they go by with a minimum of fuss. Road rage is unheard of in Sri Lanka. I strongly believe that road rage is a by-product of an orderly society. If you break an accepted order on the road in Australia, you are more than like to wear a crowbar on your head for the rest of your journey.

Today’s ceremony revolves around Lord Ganesha, the main deity of this temple. After the priests had conducted the morning ceremony, the deity was hoisted on the shoulders of men and taken around the inside of the temple. This was a sight to be seen. It was not just a straight walk. The deity was rocked to and fro by about 20 men, in a fully synchronised fashion.

After a circuit inside the temple, the main deity was taken through the main door of the temple to the outside of the temple. The deity was going to have a ride on a ‘ratham’, which is like a chariot.

This entire process was long and slow. The day was hot but not as bad as a few days ago. I am sure if there was a bed in the temple chamber, Bala and Jeeva would have hopped on it for a nap in no time. It was already about 2pm at this stage and everybody was still going strong even though they had not had lunch (except for the weaklings like us who had a quick snack earlier).

The deity was lifted into the ratham for a ride around the temple. The ratham was pulled by rope by 2 teams of men lined up in front of it. The ratham was huge and very elaborate.

All through the whole process the deity was accompanied by traditional drummers and trumpeters. Today there was a full team of about 5 drummers and 5 trumpeters. It might seem like a cacophony of sounds but it was actually quite mesmerising.

After the proceedings, we headed to the home of Mr. Ganeson, who sponsored the day at the temple today. According to Bala, he is our oldest blood relation. I am still coming to terms with the various terminology they use. We had a meal at Mr. Ganeson’s place and a bit of rest. To the dismay of Bala and Jeeva, there wasn’t quite a bed in the living room. All of us being tired, we headed back to the hotel for shower and a good rest.

10 April 2013

We had an early start at 5:30am to witness the sunrise at Trinco. Unfortunately, our cameras fogged up when it was taken out of the air-conditioned room. So we don’t have great pictures. The sunrise here is truly striking. We left at 7:30am for a temple called Thirukoneswaram. This temple dates back 2500 years. It was patronised by the great South Indian kingdoms over the years. It is one of the pre-eminent Hindu shrine in Sri Lanka. The entire ancient temple was carved out of solid rock. Unfortunately, the Portuguese destroyed the original temple in 1624 during their rampage through the north. The rock from the temple was used to build a fort and the rest of the rock was shoved over the edge. In the 1960s, Arthur C Clarke found the ruins of the temple underwater and recovered some significant pieces.

In 1950, the local Municipal Council was digging for a well nearby in Trincomalee and found a stash of ancient statues buried in the ground. It was suggested that probably some concerned devotees buried these statues from the ancient temple before the Portuguese destroyed the temple. The statues were enshrined in the modern temple in 1952. The temple is located high above a rocky hill overlooking Trinco.

In the temple ground, I chanced upon a very friendly cow that seemed quite young. It came up to me to greet me.

Monkeys abound on the trees above and in other places.

One of the features of the temple is for women to tie tiny cradles made of wood onto trees in the hope that they will have a baby.

We needed a group shot here. So hell why not!

We got back to the hotel after that to have breakfast and hit the road to Habarana which is almost in the centre of the island. We stopped for some fresh coconut drink that Charles immensely enjoyed.

One of the things you will notice while driving on the roads here is that there are cows everywhere. The cows are let out of the farm and there is always a leader in the pack. All the cows follow the leader to a grazing ground and return later in the afternoon back to the owners house. We actually chanced upon a cow waiting at the front gate of a house to be let in.

Some of these cows actually lie down in the middle of the highway like as if they are playing ‘chicken’. You soon notice that the cows command a right of way. All vehicle traffic take pains to go past them in a safe manner. We stopped by at a guest house for some afternoon tea. The scenario at this place overlooking a huge ancient manmade lake is quite idyllic.

The road to Habarana passes through several national parks. While passing through one of these parks, we spotted a young elephant having a feed by the side of the road.

After a short drive, we reached Chaaya Lodge, which is a sister hotel to where we stayed at Trinco. Again, it had typically the same sort of open feel about it.

 9 April 2013

Trincomalee or Trinco as it is popularly known is on the north-east of the island. We left Jaffna today around 7:30am hoping to get to Trinco by 1pm. We had a consensus that we will take the coastal road through Mullaittivu. We came through Kilinochchi (which used to be a Tamil Tiger stronghold) before branching towards the coast.

Unfortunately, the coastal road through Mullaittivu is not the best. Mullaittivu is where the Tamil Tigers had their last stand and succumbed to superior numbers of the Sri Lankan Army. Most of the road here is dirt road or road that is rough and bumpy. It took us a while with a few handy hints from passersby before got to the road proper for Trinco. We were booked into a hotel called Chaaya blu. It is a beautiful hotel with a fantastic setting.

The hotel has a very open setting with view looking out to the ocean. There always seem to be a gentle breeze blowing in. The sea has a beautiful blue colour.

Our rooms are comfortable too.

We had a lazy day, by the pool or beach. Dinner was a buffet which had an incredible variety of food. I really ‘pigged out’. The others have refrained from calling me ‘porky’. Charles had a very healthy vege meal. He was very controlled with his meat intake at dinner. I checked, he is not running a fever.