leisurely stroll across hot coals

The city of Kandy is the gateway to the Hill country, known for the famous Ceylon Tea.
The city personified the resilience of the Singalese people, resisting repeated attempts by the colonial powers for subjugation... respectively kicking the assess of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English, before finally being betrayed by internal court strife and succumbing to the English.

Not to fret dear Kandyans... most of us were finally brought under the yoke of the damn English, but live to tell our tale.

The city is also home to one of the most revered relic in Buddhism... the tooth of Buddha himself, spirited away from his funeral pyre just before he was set ablaze.
The tooth was carried away to Sri Lanka, where it was entrusted to the King.
It has remained in the care of the Singalese people for over 2000 years.

Even Heather "I am so freakin over Buddhas and temples" Bacchus, had to concede, pretty sweet story and worthy of checking out...

This iteration of the temple is ~500 yrs old.

Unfortunately, they do not allow any random clown to view the tooth... it is allegedly behind the curtain, under a golden podoga... but the curtain was very impressive... perhaps I could use it to make some play clothes for the children.

I always wondered what exactly was the advice of all Buddhas???

With an extorted promise of no more temples, we headed off to another museum BUT not just any museum, the Ceylon tea museum.
So those of you who regularly dine with me, know I am a fan of hot tea, and over the years, I have developed a rather discerning palate for delicious, high end artisinal teas.
And just as Scotland is to Scotch or France is to Wine or Belgium is to Beer.... Ceylon (colonial name for Sri Lanka) is to Tea.
I have been giddy with excitement on the prospect to visit and immerse myself into the world of right sourced tea.
Does the fact that I get giddy over tea, or even use the word giddy in a sentence make me less of a man?

So this is a thing... had literally no idea that there is an entire branch of academia devoted to tea research... kinda in heaven right now.

And end with a cuppa perfectly steeped young bud, Dimbulla region, mellow black tea... it was everything I could hope for and more...

Ended the day with Kandyan dance show, where we were treated to traditional Kanyan drummers, masked dancers and fire walkers...

I have seen firewalkers before but these guys turned it to an 11... seriously crazy.

must have been a Sherpa in his previous life

The wild elephants marked the start of the transition from "ancient ruins / museums" to our "adventure / putting our lives in bodily harm / freak out my mom", portion of the trip.

The town of Sigiriya is unremarkable, save a giant rock outcropping in the jungle, aptly named... wait for it.. Sigiriya Rock.

The top o the Rock, offers stunning views of the surrounding jungle canopy, but to actually get there, one must deal with a long winding staircase, filled with tourists, slogging their way up... not a picture of serenity.

And this is where a little planning comes in... Heather learned about ANOTHER lesser known, Pidurangala rock, literally across the way... same stunning view, sans throngs of tourists due to a barely discernible trail, and a fair chance of plummeting to one's death, scrambling up unsteady rock faces... sounded perfect.

We were greeted at the start of the "trail" by a little furry four legged guide. 

Both Heather and I are pretty severely directionally challenged... we get into fights with Google Maps all the time (score currently stands at 1561-0, Google vs. us).

There is no chance we would have found our way to the top without his help.

The view did not disappoint... looking across at the real Sigiriya rock, with our new buddy.

The last stop on the ancient city tour, Dambulla cave temple is a stunner... built in the 1st century, the temple is embedded in a series of caves, containing over a 150 Buddhas.

Heather finding her own enlightenment...

So travelling in Sri Lanka can be interesting... the public transportation is designed for practical day to day Sri Lankans to work, live, etc... not really for Western backpackers hitting the highlights.
The train was great from Colombo to the first ancient city... but inter-ancient city travel, not so much.
The buses are decent, but stop every 10 feet for a drop off or pick up, stretching a 20 mile trip to 6 hours.
The solution is hire a car, and we hit the jackpot with Upali and Sarath.
We met them at the train station and seemed pretty cool and charming... we ended up spending the next 3 days together.
If anyone plans a little "walk in the footsteps of H&R", cannot recommend these boys enough.

Wild Elephants

We live in a relative world... even when it comes to ancient.
The first "ancient" city (Anuradhapura) visited, has been actively lived in since the 10th century BCE... that is a 1000 yrs before Christ.
Ancient is so yesterday... we decided to mix it up and visit just a plain ole old city, one that had ONLY been around since the 8th century AD.... Poḷonnaruwa.

Native Sri Lankan are called Sinhalese, or people of the Lion... there are stone lions guarding just about every ancient... err old temple, palace or building.

We all have our fetishes... I like to wear women's shoes (my feet are so narrow, it just makes sense), the ancient Sinhalese loved dancing dwarfs... no judgement here.

Families of gray langur monkeys have been living in the city, first with the original inhabitants, and now, chillin with the tourists.
This little guy saw me coming, and literally sat up, hands comfortably rested on his knees... ready to take a picture... crazy cool monkeys.

Heather is nearing her... How many stone Buddhas can I continue to visit before tapping out? threshold... ME, I have learned that there is no threshold when it comes to stone Buddhas... just keep'um comin man...
Love them sitting cross legged.
Love them standing, palms out.
Love then reclining, head gently resting on hand.

So those of you who have followed us on our adventures, know that our trip plans are more guidelines than hard & fast rules... there is a day we fly in and a day we fly out... everything in the middle, completly subject to change.
Whilst tooling around the old city, we caught wind of nearby Kadualla National Park, where, if one were to time it right, one might catch a glimpse of a herd of wild elephants...
A difficult decision surely... more stone Buddhas or wild elephants in the wild, doing wild things...

Heather and I, shadows of our former selves (likely due to blowing off Buddha), on the back of a Jeep, cruising into the park.

So I went through a couple of drafts of this post, playing with different clever things to say about the wild elephants.. I realized that my crappy writing did a terrible disservice to the beauty and majesty that are these animals... amazing, breathtaking, stunning up close.
Honestly friends, if you take nothing else away from my musings on travel, please please please, get thee to a place to view these creatures before they are not of this world any more.

As we drove out of the park, caught this lasting image... a lone young bull, surveying his Kingdom, frame by a late afternoon sunset.

Swayze is all aorund us

Sri Lanka is an island, separated into different distinct regions.
Like all of our trips, there is always WAY more to see than there is time to see it, so tough choices and compromises have to be made.
Riad is a little bit ancient history and museums and Heather is a little bit rest, and relaxation,
We meet in the middle with adventure outside, so in planning the trip, we incorporate a splash of Riad, Heather and middle.

First up, the ancient cities portion of the itinerary, with that most ancient of cities, Anuradhapura.
It was founded in 431 BC and was famed in the world of Antiquities, as a bridge between East (China) and West (Greece & Rome)
It was the seat of Sri Lankan power until the 11th century (almost 1500 yrs), home to some of the most important relics in Buddhism, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and quite frankly, a super lovely place to spend an afternoon.

When I hear the word Bohdi, I think "Bohdi, this is your wake up call. I am an F.. B... I.. agent!!!"
When a Sri Lankan hears Bohdi, they think one of the oldest trees in the world, grown from a branch from the original tree in India, under which Buddha gained enlightenment.

I so desperately want to share with you my Doctoral thesis, "Point Break & Bohdi: a study in parallels of enlightenment through surfing and bank robbery", but now is not the time.

Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, aforementioned scared tree, the walled shrine which protects it.

The remainder of the ancient city is a collection of Stupas (or Dagabas), a semi spherical structure, housing a venerated Buddhist relic, and used as a place of worship and meditation.

Heather, respectfully covering her legs and shoulders, walking among pilgrims seeking enlightenment.

A quiet moment in prayer ...

Isurumuniya temple, home of a stunning reclining Buddha (which represents Buddha, having achieved enlightenment, ready to enter Nirvana.

Pilgrims, worshipers, and visitors alike, leave offerings. Offering is an act of generosity to something greater than ourselves, so that one day we too, can be greater.

Ruwanwelisaya stupa, shimmering white in the late afternoon, framed in the distance from the Moonstone temple

This is my Bohdi, which I guess makes me Johnny Utah???

An interesting sign near one of the temples... truer words could not be written.

girl on a train

I suppose a key part of "an exotic land far far away" is the concept of FAR, but damn, 22 hrs, seriously??
We landed punch drunk not quite sure the day, or even right time... it was dark so I think it was night?... but again, with lands far far away, who can be sure?

We snagged a room to brush the airplane film off our teeth and baby powder the moist, sticky unmentionable parts and hit the road again.

Still a little dopey from travel, I thought the drapes in the room would make excellent play clothes for the children.

Trains on the sub continent are an interesting animal... a gift from the British colonial time, is the primary way people travel, and it ain't no Amtrak....
Seat assignments, Please!
Personal space, HA! I laugh at (and will invade) your personal space.
It is like asking "How many hairs does Riad have to lose, before he realizes going to a stylist is futile?"
I guess there is a theoretical number, but no one really knows.
Literally, they cannot sell out a train, just keep packing them in.

Breakfast was a bag of sliced mango with chili lime dressing... Mango makes everything better.

With all the chaos, a serene moment of tranquility... a little girl watching her beautiful country side from the comfort of a seat.

We are still debating which was worse, sitting for 22 hrs hours on a flight OR standing for 5 hrs on a train?

tea, curry and a dollop of peanut butter

so where the hell are we actually going???
And this year, the winner is...
*famed for it's bountiful bouquet of exotic and tasty teas
*favorite dish is spicy curry with a side of vegetables
*the highest and most scared mountain is revered by some of the worlds great religions for where Buddha, Shiva and Adam all once walked.

The pearl of the Indian Ocean... Sri Lanka.
And just in case the above didn't place it...

We've packed the essentials ...
Pooping is hard in 3rd world countries... it is especially hard in the dark... head lamps help immensely.

Spicy curry is delicious but sometimes the ole tummy just needs to relax... and nothing rubs your tummy's ears like a little baby food.

and when the head lamp fails, the baby food mixes with the spicy curry... sometimes a good pair of boots will keep ya from stepping in it.

And of course, cuz I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride, I'm wanted, wannnnnted, dead or alive, dead or alive...

like a fine wine

A little over 9 years ago, my relationship with furry, four legged creates fundamentally changed when this little monkey entered my life...

Just can't in good conscience proceed with any adventure without a small commentary on the magical cuteness that is my dog.
Ok I get it, everyone thinks their dog is the cutest dog in all the land, but seriously...
Can you deny THIS...

and THIS...

and of course THIS... her new bestest friend...

do anything fun lately?

Outside of the Galapagos Islands and my brother's nuptials, pretty standard Bacchus year o Fun Fun Fun.
so in no particular order ...

1. I traded in my Black Cherry Pearl (aka purple) Toyota Prius hatchback grocery getter, for an even less cool, smaller, metallic grey Pruis C hatchback, which carries even less damn groceries.

2. Heather got those long beautiful tresses chopped for "I'm bringing sexy back"

3. Apparently SoCal water is hard so inevitably... slab leak... complete and utter SUCK

4. painted the front door Orange

5. visited NYC... view of Central Park from the top o Rockefeller plaza

6. got the band back together again... oh the stories of the hijinx these 4 troublemakers got into.

Like any year, there were ups and downs. It is easy to lose perspective sometimes.
All it really takes is one short walk down on the beach to remind ourselves... this does not suck.