2015 March 12-13: Kandy: Part 1

On March 12 we left the blazing sun of Negombo for an overnight trip to the cool hill country of Kandy. 

Found in the very centre of the island, it is the second largest city in Sri Lanka. It is a beautiful city with a rich cultural and religious heritage, and is surrounded by tea plantations, hills, and spectacular views. 

Kandy has been - and still is - known by many names since its founding in the mid-1300s, It is an old city - the Kandyan Kingdom was founded in the late 1400s. After the Portuguese conquered all the coastal kingdoms in the 1500s, Kandy was the last remaining kingdom on the island, and repelled all attempts by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British to overthrow it until a treaty called the Kandyan Convention was signed between the Colonial British and the Kandyan aristocrats in 1815; the last king of Kandy was captured by the British and, along with all other claimants to the thrown, was taken to Tamil Nadu in southern India, where the area where they were incarcerated is still referred to as the Place of the Kandyan Kings.

The treaty did not lead to peace. As stated here, "The story of English rule in the Kandyan country during the rebellion of 1818 cannot be related without shame...Hardly a member of the leading families remained alive...Those whom the sword and the gun had spared, cholera and small pox and privations had slain by the hundreds...Others became ignorant and apathetic. Any subsequent development efforts of the government for many years were only attempts begun and abandoned."

The tea and rubber plantations that one passes on the way to Kandy are beautiful agricultural marvels that hide a troubled past. During the 32 years of British rule following the signing of the treaty, many tea and rubber plantations were established in and around the city and villages of the surrounding hills through the expropriation of land owned by the people, who were then forced to abandon their traditional way of life to become waged workers for the British. The Kandyans refused to accept this, resulting in the British bringing hundreds of thousands of unskilled Tamils from southern India to work in the appalling conditions found on the plantations. The Kandyans revolted, and with their leaders dead, their land gone, their way of life destroyed, they rebelled by electing for the first time non-aristocrats to lead them.

Of course, we knew little of this as we traveled by bus to get there. We were taken in by the beautiful views, especially as we slowly climbed the winding mountain roads that lead to Kandy. The view of Bathalegala Rock, a 1688 foot tall volcanic mountain surrounded by lush rain forest, was breathtaking. 

Kandy is also home to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. This is one of the most holy places in the world for Buddhists. They believe that one of the Buddha's teeth was rescued from his funeral pyre, and eventually made its way here to Kandy. It - or a replica so that the original remains safely tucked away - is found in one of the shrines in the complex, encased in seven boxes reminiscent of Russian nesting dolls. The temple is situated in the former Kandyan royal complex, and includes this island which is reportedly where the king kept his favourite concubine.

After finding a hotel we went for a walk around the lake. Kandy Lake is completely artificial, constructed so that the royal family would have a place to go boating and bathing. The city surrounds the lake, and a well-maintained walkway makes a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

The next morning we went to a natural area found in the hills behind the temple.

Lush and serene, it seems a different world from the hustle and bustle of the city. We spent several hours here, walking the pathways. 

We saw over 130 toque macaques in three family groups as we walked along the sun-dappled roads. One group of 63 individuals passed in front of us. Steve and Elanor sat on the ground in the midst of another large troupe as the monkeys crossed all around them. Several large black millipedes were entertaining to watch and for Steve and Elanor to hold. A Buddhist monk in his orange robes passed us on his way to some nearby caves to meditate. A barking deer - the size of a dog, sounds like a dog - startled us just as much as we startled him. Elanor was bitten by her first leech, and bled her white sock red. 

After a passing light rain, common in the higher elevations in the hill country, we headed back to busy Kandy. Numerous websites and travel guides talk of the seedy underside of Kandy - warnings against lone female travelers, staying inside at night, avoiding the alleyways that contain seedy gambling dens, and the ever present touts trying to encourage you to spend your money at one or another establishment...for a small fee, of course.

The coolness of Kandy was a welcome respite, and while we will probably visit there again before we leave, I am glad that we decided to stay in Negombo for our five months in Sri Lanka.  Negombo is home, with its sizzling heat and blood red skies that signal more hot weather to come.

2015 March 5: River Baths

On March 5 Elanor and I went on a road trip with the Relief Society, the women's group in my church, to a place called Kithulgala, a small town in the heart of the wet zone rain forest in western Sri Lanka. 

It is where the movie ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’ was filmed. 

It is also famous for its white water rafting...

...and is a popular place for Sri Lankans to take a bath.

Most houses here, the ones in larger towns and cities anyway, have a shower in the bathroom. But in the smaller villages, especially in very rural and traditional areas, there is no indoor plumbing. It's common to see wells and the Sri Lankan form of outhouse. It's also common to see semi-circular enclosures in yards, about five feet high, where people clean themselves using a large tub of water. Instead of getting into the water, you dip some out, get yourself wet, lather up, then use more water to rinse off. This keeps the water in the tub clean for the next person to use.

Which is why river baths are so popular.

We met at the church as the sun rose...

and over the next hour as we waited for some late comers and our bus, I was able to snap some great bird pics of a red-wattled lapwing who was confusedly fishing in a rainy puddle in the paved church parking lot,...

a white throated kingfisher sitting in one of the oldest trees in Negombo - at over 150 years old, it was saved when our church was built on the lot just a few years ago,...

 and this pond heron sitting on some wires.

I also saw house crows, koels, common mynas, cattle egrets, cormorants, barn swallows, great egrets, pale bellied flowerpeckers, purple rumped sunbirds and rock doves as we waited.

Finally, at about 7:20 we were ready to go, with breakfast, lunch, and an overfull bus load of women, children, and three men. With members spread from outside Negombo all the way to Chilaw, we also stopped along the way to pick up a few more people. As we passed by the airport, I saw a hawk circling overhead, and lesser whistling ducks swimming in the airport pond.

After we passed through Nittambuwa, we stopped at a little roadside pull-off for breakfast - spicy onions and fresh bread. Most women had brought their own recipe of the onions, so there was a lot of comparing of notes as each was sampled. We had a wonderful view of cattle and water buffalo in the fields below, and could see the branches of the trees swinging as monkeys hopped about.

A white-breasted drongo watched as we ate. 

After a few more hours, we arrived at Kithulgala.

We had a great time splashing about in the water, especially Elanor.

Then, time to relax as we listened to groups of men and boys playing instruments and singing in the middle of the river, on little islands, and on the shore.

After everyone had finished playing in the water and soaping up from head to toe before rinsing off, we headed back to our bus for some lunch, a pot luck of all sorts of Sri Lankan food. As it was a holiday, we ate in the shade on the steps of some nearby stores.

Completely refreshed, we began the long ride back to Negombo. Things were going wonderfully, and after about two hours we stopped to stretch our legs. I watched a little cricket being played. 

Then joined everyone in the shade of some trees, where we played a trivia game and had some snacks. Pretty soon, we saw this purple leaf monkey watching us from the nearby roof. 

And then it started to rain. When I say rain, I mean downpour. The skies opened and everything was drenched. I'm told it was a pre-rainy season rain. (You can see what I mean if you click on the coloured letters here.) We scrambled back into the bus and headed west again. Pretty soon, the rain had stopped and the roads had dried, so we were making good time despite the many road construction projects we passed.

That is, until we got a flat tire.

And like many things here, we discovered some problems - our bus had a spare tire, but no tools to remove the original tire and replace it with the new one, or a jack to lift the bus so that the tire could be replaced in the first place.

Thankfully, there was another bus stopped nearby, so our driver went to borrow their tools.

They didn't have any either.

Nor did the bus or the motorcycle or the car that stopped.

Finally, after several trips to houses we had passed and many conversations with passersby, the correct tools were found, and the flat could be changed.

In the meantime, the children had some fun playing in the nearby sandpit. 

And the women enjoyed the spectacular sunset. 

Until it started to pour again.

With only one home nearby, the owner generously allowed an entire over-packed bus load of women and children to take shelter under his carport and the eaves of his house. Lightening flashed and thunder boomed directly overhead, as rain fell in sheets so thick you could not see the field just beyond the modest home.

As soon as our driver had finished changing the tire - the poor man changed the tire in the middle of this storm - we ran in small groups back to the bus, between flashes of lightening, and quickly boarded, eager to be on our way. A few more hours, and we arrived back in Negombo.

Exhausted. Hungry. Sun burnt.

And feeling completely satisfied with such a wonderful day.

2015 February 26: DEAD SLOW

DEAD
SLOW

Nothing quite brings dread to one's heart like seeing these words on the road sign directly in front of you.

We were about to enter Wilpattu National Park, located in the Northwestern part of Sri Lanka. It is the largest and one of the oldest national parks in the country, having been declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1905, and is world-renowned for its leopard population. The park has close to sixty willa (lakes), giving it the name of Willa-pattu, or Wilpattu. It is also famous due its long cultural history.

According to the park's website:

Wilpattu National Park and its surroundings are of history that runs as far as back to the arrival of Prince Vijaya in Lanka from East India in 543 BC. The landing beach of prince Vijaya is believed to be the area today known as Kudriamali. Kali Villu is said to be location of the palace of Kuveni, a princess of a native tribe in the island.

Wirandagoda and Galbendi Niyara located north-east of Maradanmaduwa at Wilpattu are believed to be two of the locations where prince Saliya, who forfeited his right to the crown of Lanka, lived with his low caste wife called Asoka Mala a couple of millenniums ago.

At Pomparippu of Wilpattu, several urns containing human remains have been found. The urns are believed to belong to period prior to the recorded history of Sri Lanka, i. e. prior to the arrival of Prince Vijaya in Lanka.

In the eastern part of Wilpattu are remnants of breached tanks left over from agricultural systems of ancient Sinhalese civilizations. Also between Palangaturai and Kollankanatte are the remains of an old harbour.

But back to our adventure....

It was February 26th. We decided to go to Puttalam for the day, a mere four hour bus ride up the coast north of Negombo, another thirty kms beyond Chilaw.

On the way we saw all sorts of wildlife. Our bird list can be found at my eBird site, but we were also glad to see lots of cows on the road, goats, and Steve even saw wild macaques as we passed by. 

We finally arrived. Elanor was just happy to be off the bus. Wanting a window seat so she could keep cool during the long hot ride, she sat near the front by herself. At one stop an old woman sat behind her, and, fascinated with Elanor's light brown hair, began stroking Elanor's head. The colour is a novelty here, as most Sri Lankans, even the very old, have rich ebony locks. When it dawned on Elanor that someone who was not me or her dad was rubbing her head, she slowly turned around to see who it was. The woman began smiling and talking to her in Sinhalese, and Elanor began talking back to her in English. The conversation continued for a good ten minutes or so, with neither speaking the other's language, but it seemed as though they were having a good chat from where we sat!

Arriving around 2 pm, we quickly found a place to grab some lunch. After some traditional Sri Lankan food at a Muslim restaurant - Steve had seafood fried rice and sambol; Elanor and I had some unknown but delicious vegetarian dishes - we decided to walk to a little seaside park with benches for viewing the 327 square km (126 square miles) of Puttalam lagoon. We were hoping to see some shorebirds and waterfowl, to add to our growing list of Sri Lankan bird species on eBird.org.

But, we got sidetracked. And went an additional 35 km or so further north to Wilpattu National Park. 

And the sign that read:

DEAD

SLOW

We soon found out why.... About a hundred yards beyond the sign was a security check point. And about a hundred yards beyond that was the entrance to the park.

Picture this:

A river.

With a dam.

With water flowing over it.

On one side, the road leads into the river on top of the dam.

On the other side, the road leads out of the river on top of the dam.

In between.... river. On top of the dam.

This is what we had to drive through to enter the park. Go too fast, and the water sprays into the engine of the vehicle and it stalls. On top of the dam in the river. Go too slow, and the river pushes you over the edge of the dam in the river. Go at just the right speed, and maybe the river will not be deep enough to cover your feet with water.

We were lucky - the water came to the very brink of soaking us. (And we didn't get swept over the dam.)

We spent some time driving slowly through the park, careful to watch for critters of all kinds, and mindful that we did not want to become leopard food or upset a pack of elephants into rampaging us or get eaten by a crocodile.

We saw all sorts of wildlife. And lots of poopy. Lots and lots of poopy. Mostly of the elephantine variety, but also Sri Lankan hare buttons.

Our critter list included:

Painted storks flying overhead 

Bluetailed bee eaters

Peacocks 

Brown headed barbets calling in the trees

Grey herons

Toque macaques playing near a stream 

Eurasion collared doves roosting on the roadway

Bush larks flitting through the air and sitting in the bushes

White bellied sea eagles soaring overhead

Elephants browsing in the meadows in the late afternoon sun 

Several herds of spotted deer, including a buck with huge majestic antlers 

Jungle fowl calling in the forest

Two mongooses - mongeese? - walking on the road

Leopard tracks - we went a little faster through that section!

Palm squirrels

Termite mounds 

Indian monitor lizards 

Weaver finch nests 

Wild boar 

Coucal

Malabar pied hornbills - a bird that Steve has always wanted to see 

Flocks of small green bee eaters taking their evening dust baths 

Grey langur monkeys

and the best of the day, Asian paradise flycatchers. 

A terrible picture, out of focus and too far away - but that white line in the middle of the picture? That is the long trailing tail feathers of a paradise flycatcher!

I also saw an Oriental magpie robin, and Steve saw a grey wood shrike, ioras, terns, and a crested hawk eagle. 

We arrived back in Puttalam shortly after dark, and quickly jumped on a bus headed back to Negombo.

Our driver was crazy.

He was in a rush to get to wherever he needed to go, and he made sure that everyone knew it. Driving down the middle of the road, forcing vehicles in both directions to pull over, speeding over bumps as though they did not exist, not stopping completely for people to get on or off.... I was actually surprised that he pulled over and came to a complete stop to let an elderly blind man off the bus!

I am sure you think I am exaggerating, but it took over four hours to get to Puttalam in the morning, and less than two hours to get back to Negombo!

The return journey was anything but DEAD SLOW.

2015 March 20: It's Finally That Time of Year!

It's finally that time of year! No, not springtime, although I am sure that our family and friends back in North America are fervently wishing and praying for signs of spring after the mountains of snowfall that they have received.

It's jackfruit season.

Steve is in heaven. He loves jackfruit, although it is an acquired taste. The first time he tried it many years ago he thought it tasted strange. But now he is a true jackfruit connoisseur, and has been eagerly anticipating the beginning of jackfruit season. Every time we pass a jackfruit tree he comments on how the the fruit is coming along.

Jackfruit season is so anticipated here in Sri Lanka that when I asked our tuktuk driver - a different one than we usually use, as 'ours' was away yesterday - to take us to get some samosas for supper, he said, "No! No samosa! You need jackfruit!" Then he drove us to the fruit market in central Negombo, and personally chose the jackfruit he thought was at the perfect stage of ripeness. After looking through them, feeling them, and smelling them, he chose three. "This one you must eat today. This one you must eat tomorrow. This one, just eat later."

Okay!

So, we returned home with our fresh jackfruit, as well as green jackfruit and chopped jackfruit for cooking. Unfortunately, in all the commotion, I ended up with three bags of the goodness, rather than the two that I paid for. All night I dreamed that I was on a Wanted Poster at the post office, for theft of jackfruit! Today our regular driver took me back to the vegetable stand where I bought them, and somehow between four market sellers, my driver, myself and lots of pantomime, I was able to make it know to the owner that I owed him money! 30 rupees (22 cents) is not a lot to pay for peace of mind and sweet dreams.

Jackfruit is a strange fruit. It grows directly from the trunk of the tree instead of from the branches because the fruit is so heavy - one fruit can weigh up to 80 pounds!

By Shahnoor Habib Munmun (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Huge soft yellow kernels with a texture reminiscent of mango slices or peaches that are just a little too soft cover edible seeds the size of macadamia nuts.

"Jackfruit Flesh" by Mullookkaaran - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jackfruit_Flesh.jpg#/media/File:Jackfruit_Flesh.jpg

Delicious raw, it is also good cooked into savoury dishes. Here are some recipes that look like the ones I like in different restaurants we have eaten, but I confess to completely ripping them off...er...borrowing the recipes...from other sites!


Green Jackfruit Curry - eat this as a cold side dish with rice
Recipe and photo courtesy http://www.srilankanrecipes.info/recipes/Sambols/GreenJackFruit.aspx

Ingredients
1 Green jackfruit (2 cans of green jack fruit)
Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
(a)Ingredients
2 tspn Mustard powder
1 tspn black powder
chopped 1 clove garlic
1 tbsn curry powder
shredded coconut(1/2 cup)
(b)Ingredients
1 tspn mustard seeds
Sliced onion
Curry leaves
Rampe(pandan leaves)
2 or 3 dried whole red chillies

Peel the outer skin of the Green jackfruit and chop it into very small pieces.Now add salt and turmeric powder and a little bit of water and cook for awhile.Chop all the (a)Ingredients together with shredded coconut and add a little salt and add to the boiled green jack fruit mix.When the coconut mix is well heated take it out of the stove.

Heat a pan with a little cooking oil and temper the (b)ingredients and add it to the cooked dish and mix well.


Green Jackfruit Curry - if it looks like tuna, tastes like tuna, but is vegetarian...it's jack fruit.
Recipe and photo courtesy http://www.infolanka.com/recipes/mess3/148.html

Ingredients

3 cans of Young Green Jackfruit
1 onion, chopped
1-2 green chillies
2 tsp garlic, chopped
2 tsp ginger, chopped
1 sprig of curry leaves (optional)
1-2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 tsp curry powder
3-4 cardamoms
3-4 cloves
1 inch piece of cinnamon
2-3 pieces of goraka
1 can of coconut milk
salt to taste

Fry the onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic and curry leaves in about 1 tbsp of oil, till golden brown. Next add all the spices, fry for a minute for so till fragrant.
Now add the rest of ingredients, except coconut milk, stir to coat. Add salt.
* Transfer the mixture to a slow cooker, add coconut milk. Stir and cook on low heat for at least 6 hours. The curry would turn a dark brown color when done. (I usually let it cook over night)
Serve hot.
* You can cook this also in a pressure cooker. Cook for about 20-25 minutes at steady pressure (Since cooking times, vary depending on the type of cooker you have, use your judgment here)
** If you want to cook on the stove, cook under low heat in a heavy bottom pan.

Deep-Fried Jackfruit Seeds
Recipe adapted from and photo courtesy http://www.inside.lk/food/recipe/deep-fried-jackfruit-seeds/

Ingredients

1 cup jackfruit seeds

oil for deep-frying plus oil for frying

1 sliced onion

1 tsp red chili flakes

1/4 cup fresh or dried unsweetened coconut flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Boil the jackfruit seeds until the shells soften. Let cool. Cut in half and remove shell. Heat the oil and deep fry the seeds until golden brown. Drain. Deep fry the onion slices until golden brown. Drain. Roast the coconut in a dry pan for a few minutes. Put everything into one bowl and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

And of course, our favourite, just plain jack fruit, fresh from the tree! (You can buy these canned in the International section of grocery stores, and they are almost as good as fresh.) Monkeys love the fruit as well. When we were in Kandi last week, Steve and Elanor watched a troupe of about thirty toque macaques happily sharing some with each other. Three were breaking apart the fruit and then passing it to the others.

All this talk of jackfruit is making my mouth water. I think it's time to go have some right now!

2015 Feb 19-25: The Weekly Wednesday Wildlife Report Vol 2

We have kids who follow our blog. Once a week we will be posting the wildlife that we have seen, just for them!

A coucal A grey heron flying by  The neighbour's dog And a dog catching a ride!  A myna A rock pigeon   A big yellow crab A cat in the leaves A heron An egret A boa constrictor! (and a cobra!) A pet monkey named Michael A tern This crow really liked me - I could have reached out and touched him! A baby crocodile Several cows A water monitor A ghost crab One dead fish - this is the fish mentioned in my post about crows. We also had one of these guys try to move in to our house - I chased him out of the spare bedroom where I found him busily making a nest out of the curtains. Boy, was he mad to have his new home taken from him! A black winged butterfly spent several hours in our house, but I didn't get a picture of it. Two dead cockroaches - thank goodness! Tonight we discovered that we have a new house guest - a gecko! This is good news - it means there won't be any bugs in our home! Finally, at the beach this afternoon, we were surrounded by thousands of tiny little fish, all scurrying to get away from the dozens of beautiful white and teal jellyfish. http://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g940979-d2639890-i87859090-Madu_River-Balapitiya_Southern_Province.html My birds this week: Lesser Whistling-Duck

Asian Openbill

Indian Cormorant

Little Cormorant

Oriental Darter

Yellow Bittern

Gray Heron

Purple Heron

Great Egret

Intermediate Egret

Little Egret

Cattle Egret

Indian Pond-Heron

Striated Heron

Eurasian Spoonbill

Shikra

Brahminy Kite

White-bellied Sea-Eagle

White-breasted Waterhen

Purple Swamphen

Eurasian Moorhen

Red-wattled Lapwing

Whiskered Tern

Rock Pigeon

Spotted Dove

Asian Koel

Greater Coucal

Indian Swiftlet

Stork-billed Kingfisher

White-throated Kingfisher

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

Indian Roller

Brown-headed Barbet

Crimson-backed Flameback

Rose-ringed Parakeet

White-bellied Drongo

House Crow

Large-billed Crow

Barn Swallow

Red-vented Bulbul

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Indian Robin

Oriental Magpie-Robin

Common Myna

Pale-billed Flowerpecker

Purple-rumped Sunbird

Long-billed Sunbird

Forest Wagtail

Steve and I are currently #10 on ebird.org for Sri Lanka 2015, and am #76 Sri Lanka All Time with a total of 53 species.