TinyDonkey

2009-09-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

It was obvious as soon as i landed in Bangkok that i was no longer in sri lanka. I had more of a culture shock this time then i did when leaving London for Colombo. The airport is beautiful and the coach ride into central showed just how developed the city was, as i was taken over massive by-passes and through streets lined with skyscrapers.

There was almost an, anything you can do we can do better atmosphere, especially when it came to Buddhism. Above is only part of what makes the incredibly beautiful, Wat Po. The reclining Buddha lays at a massive forty-six metres long and fifteen metres high, decorated with gold plating on his body and mother of pearl on his eyes and the soles of his feet. Making it one of the biggest in the world. There is no way of describing the presence of this huge monument and how overpowering the whole venue is. Everywhere you look is another, intricately decorated building, covered with gold, mirrors and other precious gems.

I believe i saw the real Bangkok along the riverside. Here you can see just how far Bangkok has has come and how very quickly. Never have i seen such a juxtaposition in architecture. The river is lined with skyscrapers, massive hotels and beautiful restaurants, but in between all of that magnificence are small run down, battered river huts, and people washing their clothes in the river (which is heavily polluted by the amount of traffic that passes through).

Thai puppetry was at the edge of extinction numerous times, but since 2002 has found residency in Bangkok and is now a thriving tourist attraction. This is all down to one man, Joe Louis, of which the company is now named after. The show is powered by traditional Thai dance and often tells the story of Buddhist religion.

The floating market. Should be named, 'hoards of tourist float down congested canal looking at hundreds of stalls with the same tourist shit'.

Bangkok art and design scene is incredible. I visited perhaps the best painting exhibition i have ever seen at the national gallery, where a competition was sponsored by Panasonic. Above, is the house of Jim Thompson. An infamous architect who fused the east with west and revolutionised design in Thailand forever. He disappeared in the 60's whilst trekking and has never been seen since. his house is still as it was and now used as a museum to his genius.

It was whilst trekking in Chang Mai, that i really got to learn about the people of Thailand. Our guides talked about their daily lives with such passion it was inspiring. We asked if they got bored of doing the same thing everyday, knowing, they were never going to leave Thailand. They looked confused and said, 'why would i ever want to leave this place?' and its true. They have everything they want around them. i think this is the first time i had come across such content and it felt amazing.

This a Buddhist residency when people come to school with the aim of becoming a monk. I met a guy the same age as me who had already devoted his life to the religion. he spoke 3 different languages and urged us to speak with him to better his English. he was so happy and totally believed in everything he was doing. As Buddhist cannot ask for money, the whole school and accommodation was built purely on donation, showing once again the country's attitude to the religion.

...the results of 'hip-photography'

The most random night of my life. I learnt to say yes. Because when you say yes, there are no limits. Saying no means everything stops there and then. This night i said yes to complete strangers and ended up in a penthouse suit overlooking the whole of Bangkok. Dj Playing. Swimming in the pool. Bongos. Spliffs. Open Bar. It truly was one of the best nights of my life.

Full Moon. A monthly phenomenon on the night of full moon where it seems, everyone in the world goes to a beach and gets off their face. But when taking a step back, even for just a second, you see how absolutely amazing, creative and beautiful it really is. This is no ordinary party! there are fire throwers, fire limbo and fire skipping ropes. Fireworks. Neon Paint. Neon Everything. You drink out of buckets. Everybody is wearing flowers, and hardly anything else. It really is unlike anything else in the world. At one point i turned and said, 'i totally get what alice in wonderland is now!'

FANTASEA. Apparently Thailands number one attraction, (its certainly its most expensive!) Like Full Moon, i felt like i was majorly tripping out. Everything was so bright, weird children like character with obscure dancing green creatures and neon lights greeted you on route to the actual show which was even worse. Giant elephants in the most ridiculous costumes, standing on each other, mixed with thai dance and acrobats. Beautiful but weird!

Maya Bay. The perfect setting. And the back drop for much of the film, The Beach. A days boat trip took us close to the beach, where we then had to swim to shore and climb through a cave to get to main part of the island. It is completely untouched. Though the mass of tourists makes it hard to picture what Danny Boyle once saw. Nevertheless a breathtaking experience.

DICK TEMPLE. Actually the home of the goddess of fertility, the caved is filled with massive wodden penis'. Apparently if women enter the cave, they are to become pregnant. Im not so sure, but the array of cock was certainly worth seeing ;-)

Going Solo

2009-09-04T01:44:00.000-07:00

I had the perfect tour guides for the first two weeks of my trip to Sri Lanka, but i decided it was time for me to head out on my own. Ten minutes out of the front door and I'm confronted by a solider. I had seen them everywhere whilst in the car, but it feels so different when greeted face to face. Sri Lanka is still patrolled by the army to carry out random checks on vechiles. All Sri Lankan citizens have to carry an identity card, this aids the control of who is in the country and to follow their journey. We spoke for a while, and like many other Sri Lankans i had met, he was incredibly happy i had visited his country. He told of how the country was a better place since the end of the war, and his optimism for the future, something he, I'm sure, is to thank for.

Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka is unbelievably beautiful. and not in the typical sense. Though the photographs above show quite a 'perfect' image, the rest of he city is quite different. The two images above show two different buddhist temples. This illustrates the countries devotion to the religion. The country has very little, as i hope to show you soon, and yet, they find the money, materials and time to create such beautiful temples.

Whilst walking the streets of Colombo, I practiced the art from of 'hip photography' a term coined by the master, Andy Warhol. A technique of taking photos at random, from the position of the hip. The results were amazing, capturing the most delicate of scenarios, which i wouldn't have got had i thrust a huge camera at it. For instance, the most simple of activities such as buying fruit, all of a sudden gained an importance. A man sitting at the side of the street, thinking to himself, was no longer on his own, because i now share that moment in time with him. These photos show the real Colombo, the hustle and bustle of a rough and developing city.

After a successful solo trip to Colombo, i ventured further afield to visit the tea plantations. I travelled first class in a 1930's steam train to the center of the island, which, i was soon to discover is unlike any other part, especially the weather. I arrived in my shorts and vest to find, it was called 'little Britain' because of how cold and temperamental it is. I was freezing. Normally i would be requesting air con in the room, this time i needed thermal blankets. Anyway. Tea, is one of Sri Lanka's biggest exports and is perhaps one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen. Tea bushes run for miles to create patterns in the greenland. I managed to photograph some of pickers, Though they made sure i paid them for their 'services'. It certainly made me realise how much work goes into that 'cuppa'

In all the solo ventures were a success and a great 'practice' run for what was to come...

You remind me of Mark. Mark. You remind me of MARK!

2009-07-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

Week 2 and Warna has fixed the jeep, so the three of us, along with Uncle Ilex and Lally, (Warna's cousin) we set off on a mission to conquer as much of Sri Lanka as possible. None of us knew when we would be coming back, and that was the beauty of it, none of us had any ties, we carried on until we wanted to stop!

This is me attempting to drink from a King Coconut. You slice the top and make a tiny square in the middle of the fruit to drink out of. It is so refreshing and just what we needed as we drove down the dusty roads. After, the slice the fruit open, and you can eat the rest of the inside which is just as tasty. Ive posted this because i made a mess of it, at first spilling it down me, now, im a pro!

From Home, we travelled to Anuradhapura, the land of (what felt like) a million dagobas. Dagobas are huge enclosed temples which hold relics of the lord buddah. They come in 6 different shapes, the bell and the bowl to the "heap of rice paddy" shape?!? Looking back, Uncle Ilex was right when he said, "once you've seen one, you've seen them all" but each does have its own qualities.

The tiny piece of cloth are a 'giving' to lord buddah. Everywhere you go in Sri Lanka, there are trees and statues covered in these 'donations' they are really quite beautiful. In a developing country such as Sri Lanka, the vibrancy of the brighly coloured cloths is nice change to the all to often run down corrugated iron shacks. Along side the dagobas, is usually a small temple, where statues and murals telling the story of lord buddah are kept. Here, the bright colours continue, at times, making you feel like you're in a huge comic book.

Lord Buddha reached his point of enlightenment under a tree. We visited this certain tree, and im sure it looks very different now to what it did then. It is now surrounded by gold plated gates, statues, and huge white walls. It gets to a point when you think, this is too much. A religion which promotes the wanting of nothing, does so with such, in my opinion, over the top gestures. You cant imagine what the moment for lord Buddha was like because there is so much "gold" in the way. You cant experience what he did

Uncle Ilex and Lally. My fellow companions in the back of the jeep. I dont think they said one word to each other without laughing in between, and every night it would become worst once they had A drink. They were hilarious and i loved being in back with them. As soon as i got in the jeep, they would say "what time do you want me to wake you up?"because they knew full well i was going to sleep. I couldnt help it, it was so comfortable...

It was their drunken antics which gave the title of this post. All they kept saying was, "you remind me of mark, mark mark mark". Mark was Warna's friend who had come to Sri Lanka previously. It would seem Mark was quite popular, everybody loved him, so i didnt mind so much being compared to him! :-)

This is the only time they weren't laughing...

After a morning of ruins we went for a swim in the towns river. Can u imagine swimming in a river in the middle of a down? It is bizarre but amazing! There were loads of tiny fish and all the locals came for a swim during their lunch. I had my first 'rice packet' here, which is a curry wrapped in newspaper, a lil bit like fish n chips. It was SO HOT. There was so much. Sri Lankans LOVE rice. Too much rice!

Later we went on an elephant safari. These elephants are wild! I cannot believe how different they are when wild. They're so calm when wild. We were in the jeep, and there were lots of us, and yet they were totally oblivious to it all. Though, one jeep got to close and the whole heard charged towards it. Fun to see the sheer horror on the tourists faces! There were literally hundreds of them all in large packs and just a few stragglers.

After, we decided no more Elephants and no more ruins. But, as we drove back to the hotel, there, on the side of the road, was one of those 'straggling' elephants. Literally on the side of the road. Yet, nobody stopped but us. Perhaps its a common thing?!?! i dont know, but i thought it was amazing! Lally and I visited a Hindu temple. A.K.A the toy store... I've never been to a Hindu temple before but i couldnt help compare it to a toy store. It is made up of tons of little colourful figures, all lined up. I mean no disrespect by saying this, nor saying its a good or bad thing, I just found it extremely interesting as many other religious venues are incredibly serious and often dull. This particular temple was at the edge of a cliff, and the views were incredible. No photo could justify how beautiful the actually were. You pretty much have panoramic views.

These four images were taken on the same stretch of road, minutes from after one another. Its incredibly daunting when you are constantly stopped by the army, having your veichle and id checked. But then you come across some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet and you completely forget. At the end of this one road is Nilaveli beach. Probably the most perfect, unspoilt beach on the planet. It is beautiful. It is so hard to imagine the turmoil which took place here in the past months when sitting in the warm shallow waters of the indian ocean. Though, heading back on the road, you are quickly reminded. It is a constant juxtaposition along the same road. One this which is certain however, is everyone i have met seems to have a new hope since the end of the recent work. It has cost them so much. Not only emotionally but also financially. Everywhere has had to ass an extra 10% government tax to items and services, which goes direct to the war. Many new developments have shut down or put on standstill all because of this war.

Sigria. One of Sri Lankas most fascinating and historical landmarks. It is essentially a huge rock on which a kingdom was built. It is over 500ft high and the views once at the top are amazing. But getting to the top is the most terrifying thing ever. You literally climb at the side of the rock all the way to the top. But what is more amazing is the water system they have in place. Somehow, there is a fully filled pool at the top. No one knows how it is filled. There is no explanation. It stays filled no matter what season, wet or dry, it is always filled. This just shows how advanced the Sri Lankans were at this time. Mystery. All i know is, i was very happy once i had reached the 1202nd step. Though going down was just as terrifying.

Fresh Milk

2009-07-06T00:22:00.000-07:00

I have been in Sri Lanka for a week now and have already seen so much. This country has such a vivid culture, each day continually brings new levels to the experience...I just wished it hadnt taken 14 hours to get here from Heathrow. Though, it is on the flight i had my first encounter with how friendly the people of Sri Lanka really are. I was surrounded by several Sri Lankan women, all of whom had emmigrated to Canada. I thought they all knew each other the way they were talking but I soon found out they had just met. I also discovered I'm rapidly becoming like my grandfather in being able to talk to complete strangers. The lady next to me (whos name i have forgotten) happily talked me through the Sri Lankan history, giving me all her words of wisdom. When stopped in Male, another, named Anoma Samaranayake said I reminded her of her son, and for that reason she must look after me, so, she offered me her two condos to stay in. One in the hills, and the other on the beach. Thank you very much, i will happily take your condos of your hands for a while. :-) All of the women had moved to Canada for a number of reasons, education being one of them as there arent many places in Sri Lanka, another is because of the war, which has hopefully now ended. All said they wanted to eventually move back to Sri Lanka, and this seems to be a common feeling amongst many who have moved away. It is a passionately patriotic country, which is aware of its flaws yet still loyal.

Though Ishara and I had spent some time together in London, we knew nothing about one another, and yet she was still willing to let me stay in her home, welcome me into her families life as well as her own and show me the real Sri Lanka. Along with her boyfriend Warna, Ishara picked me up from the airport. They were delayed because upon entry to the airport, every vechile is checked. Security measures are still high all over the capital despite the recent news regarding the end of the civil war.

They took me Warna's home where I would be staying for the next three weeks. This is certainly a luxury which i will not be getting for the rest of the trip and so I am very thankfull. Warna then took Ishara and I for dinner on Negombo beach. We talked, drunk, and ate whilst watching the sunset.

I was curious as to whether arranged marriages still occured in Sri Lanka, and it seems it is very much a dying trend and seems to go hand in hand with the development in womens independence. Ishara is Sri Lankan though born and living in London. She is extremely independant in regards to any culture and for that reason is often looked and starred at in the same way as I in for being a foreigner. Warna's mother, Elizabeth is also very independent: owning her own properties, running her own business and partnering another hugely successful business with her husband. She has her name printed across her shop, in London, this is nothing special, but in Sri Lanka this is a huge statment and says a lot about Elizabeth's character. She is standing her ground as a women, providing for her family whilst still abiding to many of the Sri Lankan cultures. Women are still expected to cover their shoulders and legs, though are allowed their stomach to be on show.

On Wednesday and Thursday the church opposite, which projects mass through speakers on the street at 5AM (NICE), is holding a festival, so all of the properties in that area have to decorate their fronts. Members of the church parade around 3miles from 3pm till 8pm, with the parade growing as people join, ending back at the church. By this time, the parade was huge, it was dark and raining (which only added to the drama of the night) and the neon lights blurred through the street, highlighting the crowds.

The night was so lively. The buzz was electrifying. There were little food, toy and jewellery stalls. The music and singing was beautiful. I really cant describe how beautiful the whole night was. And when we returned home it was even better. Warna's parents came back for drinks which then led on to Uncle Ilex1 telling ghost stories. So Ishara and I being the fine artist we are, grabbed our cameras and filmed! :-)

The next day we woke at 5am, and headed to the Elephant Orphanage. This was the main purpose for my trip to Sri Lanka, in memory of my Aunt Rachel. It was a spectacular sight to see so many of the huge animal all at one time. Feeding time was hilarious, with hundreads of elephants all fighting to get to the food first. They were then all walked down, across the road to the river for bath time. Here, it seemed the elephants had tripled. They stretched as far down the river as we could see.

Some grouped and travelled across to the other side, whilst some lay low and rested. The baby elephants were washed by the bigger and some just stood on the side being fed by tourists.

The orphanage is one of Sri Lankas most popular tourist attractions and for that reason many smaller 'tourist' buisness' had resided here. One, was a 'spices garden' where they used plants, trees, flowers and seed to produce 'natural remedies' for headaches, back papin etc. We checked it out and at the end they gave examples of how the products worked. I was happy to recieve a massage and facial! :-)

Near to the orphanage is Sri Lankas 2nd biggest city and former capital Kandy, Home to the Temple of the Tooth, head temple of the Bhuddist religion. Its is a calm, equisit building holding the tooth of the founder of the religion.

Bhuddism promotes the moto 'live and let live'. It is very similar to that of hinduism but promotes zero violence, even when one has done bad to you. The buddhist flag consists of five colours each representing a different factor: Blue: Universal Compasion, Yellow: Avoiding Extremes, Red: Dignity and Achievement, White: Purity, Orange: Purity. The religion also believes in Karma.

In 2004 Sri Lanka was hit by a devastating tsunami. We visited the site which was worst hit and the re-development is great. I was fortunate to meet a gentleman who lost his entire family. His house was completely wiped away. In its place he has now built a turtle sanctuary he breeds and nurses turtles. Turtle eggs are very popular amongst local people for food, so every day, he goes to the local dealer and buys all of the eggs, hatches them and then returns them to the sea. Out of a 1000 babies, only 2 or 3 will ever survive.

Galle, is an old fort which was built by the dutch to defend against the British, though proved pointless because the Dutch handed over the land without much of a fight. It is now home to the a set of daredevils who think it is fun to jump into a part of the sea which is surrounded by rocks, if they get the angle wrong, THEY WILL DIE! It cost me 500 ruppes to get this guy to do it for me. So, this guy was happy to risk his life for £2.50!!! He jumped from three different points and each time climbed up the next rock, he was literally like a monkey.