The continuation...
The end of my story from yesterday, and whatever cliffhanger may have existed, is definitely nullified by the mere fact that I am alive and blogging right now. The timestamp on this post will take any suspense out of my story, but well, maybe it gives one a slight bit of hope it humanity. Maybe.
Anyway, where did I leave off?
I'd just met Shan, who took me over to the carpark. There was his beat-up white Toyota (which had just been in an accident--I sense a common theme--but was driveable). Inside was his friend who sold me the cell phone charger and two girls. We stood talking a bit by the car after he introduced me to everyone. When I showed him the card of the place where I was going to buy my pants (Columbia lightweight pants, though maybe it should be written out as "Columbia"...I have my doubts), he called up the store, Kik Fashion and spoke with the owner. It was a decent price he told me. I'd done some comparison shopping of my own, walking into random stores and gazing at the fixed prices on items. Still, you can never be too sure, but I'd wanted a feel for stuff. As we were chatting, one of the girls said something to Shan in Sinhalese. He made a dramatic pause and then pointed to the girl: "This is my girlfriend," he pronounced. I looked over my shoulder at her and said, "hey, nice to meet you." By then I was feeling a bit awkward, as she and the others were just staring at us as we talked. He asked me about my plans over the next few days. When I mentioned I might be headed to Dambulla, where there are quite famous cave paintings, he told me he might have to go there too in two days for his work to check on a hospital there. Hmm, curious.
After a few more minutes of chatter, I told Shan the store was expecting me, so I should get going. Off I went to make my purchase. Then I stopped by the mall he showed me and bought an umbrella for 290 rupees. There was a supermarket there and I walked the aisles happily staring at the normalcy of rows of foodstuff and other items. By then my feet were absolutely aching, and I still had another hour to burn before heading over to the temple for the 6:30 p.m. puja (prayer ceremony). I saw some guys sitting on the shoe try-on area at Reebock. I walked in the store and they stood up, ready to start their sales. I asked them if I could just sit down. They acquiesed, and I happily sat myself down. The two guys seemed happy to have someone else to casually chat with and pass time. Everything in the store was a fixed, expensive price, seemingly set by headquarters, and so there was no business. They offered me anything I wanted for 15% off, but I had no real need for the athletic gear or shoes. They exclaimed at how quickly I spoke English (on most of my travels, though, people say I enunciate and speak more clearly than many other English speakers). I tried to slow down for them. They taught me a bunch of Sinhalese words, and I wrote them down. One of the guys, Madusanka gave me his phone number, and then asked me for mine. I gave him my number, then he asked for my regular American number. I told him I was in Iraq usually and gave him that number. He said he'd call me. We'll see how that goes. Meanwhile, Shan called me to check up on me and make sure everything was okay. He told me earlier that he believed Sri Lankans should help tourists and be welcoming. I guess he was living up to his part. He sent me not only his email via text, but a seeming chain message that read: "IN YOUR LIFE: The ugliest personality trait is SELFISHNESS. The most crippling disease is FEAR and hte most beauitful attire, is a SMILE - Take care...God bless u..."
By then it was about 6 p.m., and I started the walk to the "Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic," which Buddhists believe contains the most important Sri Lankan relic -- the tooth of Buddha. The temple was bombed in 1998 by the LTTE, and so there are three checkpoints and search areas along the walkway into the temple. Toursts in Sri Lankan must pay separate prices for most entrance fees; usually these are about 10 times the local fee. It's maddening, but there's no way around it. (On a related note, my entrance fee today at the Peredinya Botanic Gardens was 10 times the local fee, only because I used my student ID, which made it half/kids price for me. Otherwise, it would have been 20 times the regular fee!)
You need to shed your shoes before entering the temple, and because of all the rain, the walkways were all wet. I could only imagine the fungal experiences my feet were now being treated to...lovely! The temple itself has beautiful paintings along the walls, drummers in the entrance, and hordes of people bearing beautiful orchids and lilies (I think)...A man outside the temple helped me take a photo, then walked along with me inside. I quickly realized that he was a tout. As he showed me a couple locations, and prepared to describe them, I stopped him. I told him that since the ceremony would start in 15 minutes he shouldn't waste his time with me, but find other people who could afford to pay him properly. I thanked him for walking along with me, but as I had little money to spare, I explaiend I was probably not a wise use of his time. He thanked me and left. It was probably the most civil, non-guilt-ridden experience I have ever had with a tout.
At 6:30 p.m. we were allowed to begin filing by a small window into the inner sanctum of the temple to look at the relic, which you can't really see at all since it is within multiple gold-covered cases that close one upon the other. All I saw was a flash of gold, as military officials file you by quickly. The atmosphere and ambience was lovely though. I suppose it's the concept of monotheism versus animism/paganism, and all those other -isms. But in both Thailand and here I've felt that it is hard to truly appreciate these temples as I cannot really relate. Even so, I did appreciate the beauty of the place and the reverence of the worshippers there. It was a great experience.
From there I walked back by the lake (damn mosquitos) to the main road where I got a tuktuk and got back to my guesthouse with 15 minutes to spare until dinner. Ah, I forgot to mention, Shan called multiple times to check on me again. He told me had Tuesday off, and asked me what I was up to. I told him I was probably going to the Peredinya Botanic Gardens. He said if I wanted he could join me, and he would pick me up from my guesthouse in the morning. I told him I'd give him a call the next morning once I figured out my plans. And that is where yesterday left off. By now you know that whatever happened, I am alive and well (swollen with mosquito bites, but still alive).
I barely slept last night because of all the itching. The covers would hit a bit, and send me into near itching convulsions. Two Benadryl did not help, and I woke up with one portion of my arm quite swollen. I don't think I'd ever travel into real malarial lands because I am nearly certain I would be eaten alive.
I'll cover today in my next post. This typing is good though, because I am ignoring the burning itching sensations up and down my arms as I tap away.
Over 'n out.
IJW
Anyway, where did I leave off?
I'd just met Shan, who took me over to the carpark. There was his beat-up white Toyota (which had just been in an accident--I sense a common theme--but was driveable). Inside was his friend who sold me the cell phone charger and two girls. We stood talking a bit by the car after he introduced me to everyone. When I showed him the card of the place where I was going to buy my pants (Columbia lightweight pants, though maybe it should be written out as "Columbia"...I have my doubts), he called up the store, Kik Fashion and spoke with the owner. It was a decent price he told me. I'd done some comparison shopping of my own, walking into random stores and gazing at the fixed prices on items. Still, you can never be too sure, but I'd wanted a feel for stuff. As we were chatting, one of the girls said something to Shan in Sinhalese. He made a dramatic pause and then pointed to the girl: "This is my girlfriend," he pronounced. I looked over my shoulder at her and said, "hey, nice to meet you." By then I was feeling a bit awkward, as she and the others were just staring at us as we talked. He asked me about my plans over the next few days. When I mentioned I might be headed to Dambulla, where there are quite famous cave paintings, he told me he might have to go there too in two days for his work to check on a hospital there. Hmm, curious.
After a few more minutes of chatter, I told Shan the store was expecting me, so I should get going. Off I went to make my purchase. Then I stopped by the mall he showed me and bought an umbrella for 290 rupees. There was a supermarket there and I walked the aisles happily staring at the normalcy of rows of foodstuff and other items. By then my feet were absolutely aching, and I still had another hour to burn before heading over to the temple for the 6:30 p.m. puja (prayer ceremony). I saw some guys sitting on the shoe try-on area at Reebock. I walked in the store and they stood up, ready to start their sales. I asked them if I could just sit down. They acquiesed, and I happily sat myself down. The two guys seemed happy to have someone else to casually chat with and pass time. Everything in the store was a fixed, expensive price, seemingly set by headquarters, and so there was no business. They offered me anything I wanted for 15% off, but I had no real need for the athletic gear or shoes. They exclaimed at how quickly I spoke English (on most of my travels, though, people say I enunciate and speak more clearly than many other English speakers). I tried to slow down for them. They taught me a bunch of Sinhalese words, and I wrote them down. One of the guys, Madusanka gave me his phone number, and then asked me for mine. I gave him my number, then he asked for my regular American number. I told him I was in Iraq usually and gave him that number. He said he'd call me. We'll see how that goes. Meanwhile, Shan called me to check up on me and make sure everything was okay. He told me earlier that he believed Sri Lankans should help tourists and be welcoming. I guess he was living up to his part. He sent me not only his email via text, but a seeming chain message that read: "IN YOUR LIFE: The ugliest personality trait is SELFISHNESS. The most crippling disease is FEAR and hte most beauitful attire, is a SMILE - Take care...God bless u..."
By then it was about 6 p.m., and I started the walk to the "Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic," which Buddhists believe contains the most important Sri Lankan relic -- the tooth of Buddha. The temple was bombed in 1998 by the LTTE, and so there are three checkpoints and search areas along the walkway into the temple. Toursts in Sri Lankan must pay separate prices for most entrance fees; usually these are about 10 times the local fee. It's maddening, but there's no way around it. (On a related note, my entrance fee today at the Peredinya Botanic Gardens was 10 times the local fee, only because I used my student ID, which made it half/kids price for me. Otherwise, it would have been 20 times the regular fee!)
You need to shed your shoes before entering the temple, and because of all the rain, the walkways were all wet. I could only imagine the fungal experiences my feet were now being treated to...lovely! The temple itself has beautiful paintings along the walls, drummers in the entrance, and hordes of people bearing beautiful orchids and lilies (I think)...A man outside the temple helped me take a photo, then walked along with me inside. I quickly realized that he was a tout. As he showed me a couple locations, and prepared to describe them, I stopped him. I told him that since the ceremony would start in 15 minutes he shouldn't waste his time with me, but find other people who could afford to pay him properly. I thanked him for walking along with me, but as I had little money to spare, I explaiend I was probably not a wise use of his time. He thanked me and left. It was probably the most civil, non-guilt-ridden experience I have ever had with a tout.
At 6:30 p.m. we were allowed to begin filing by a small window into the inner sanctum of the temple to look at the relic, which you can't really see at all since it is within multiple gold-covered cases that close one upon the other. All I saw was a flash of gold, as military officials file you by quickly. The atmosphere and ambience was lovely though. I suppose it's the concept of monotheism versus animism/paganism, and all those other -isms. But in both Thailand and here I've felt that it is hard to truly appreciate these temples as I cannot really relate. Even so, I did appreciate the beauty of the place and the reverence of the worshippers there. It was a great experience.
From there I walked back by the lake (damn mosquitos) to the main road where I got a tuktuk and got back to my guesthouse with 15 minutes to spare until dinner. Ah, I forgot to mention, Shan called multiple times to check on me again. He told me had Tuesday off, and asked me what I was up to. I told him I was probably going to the Peredinya Botanic Gardens. He said if I wanted he could join me, and he would pick me up from my guesthouse in the morning. I told him I'd give him a call the next morning once I figured out my plans. And that is where yesterday left off. By now you know that whatever happened, I am alive and well (swollen with mosquito bites, but still alive).
I barely slept last night because of all the itching. The covers would hit a bit, and send me into near itching convulsions. Two Benadryl did not help, and I woke up with one portion of my arm quite swollen. I don't think I'd ever travel into real malarial lands because I am nearly certain I would be eaten alive.
I'll cover today in my next post. This typing is good though, because I am ignoring the burning itching sensations up and down my arms as I tap away.
Over 'n out.
IJW
posted by IJW at 3:56 PM
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