I went to Deniyaya (down South) for a hike in Sinharaja Forest Reserve last weekend. The bus ride to get there was 6 hr long one way, a really bumpy, packed bus ride. I mentally prepared myself for this, but the journey was not as horrid as I anticipated. Many vendors came on to sell things like magazines, toys, handkerchiefs, apples, posters of Buddha, etc etc. At one point, we had a guy singing with tambourines. Just watching people was entertaining. We also made a stop at a service station to replace one of the tires too. I wanted them to check on the break too, but apparently they weren't worried about it as much as I did.
I managed to sleep some until we got to Galle which is about 3 hrs into our trip. In Galle, we passed the town where the train was derailed by Tsunami in 2004. 1500 people are killed by this incident. Reminded me that the country is still in recovery.
Sinharaja Forest Reserve was very dense and lush. Did I think it was worth taking a six hour bus ride? Not sure, to be honest. I didn't get to see any animals (I see more in Moratuwa where I live), but it was interesting to learn about the ayurvedic use of different plants.
The forest was full of leeches, and they are aggressive! They climbed up my shoes and tried to get into my pants(!), really. I actually had one on my back at one point. (in the pic, the tiny black thing on my shirt is a leech)I was lucky that it didn't bite me though, phew.
Wow, you are finally in Sri lanka!! I just came back from Tokyo on Sunday. We spent 6 hours at SeaTac wating for maintenece of our airplane when we left for Tokyo. But I'm sure our 6 hours was much easer on our butt than your 6 hour busride. I'll continue reading your blog. I just love it. Thanks for letting me know about your blog. Please continue having a safe and fun trip!
ReplyDeleteOhhh..sorry to hear that you were stuck on the plane for 6 hrs. It happened to me on the way to Sri Lanka, but it was only two hrs or so in Thailand. The plane got a crack on the front windshield, so we needed to turn around and make an emergency stop there. Will you be in Japan in August? It will be great to see you if you are there.
ReplyDeleteIt's a long story, but Kenric and I deceided to stay in Seattle. In fact, we'll be moving back to Seattle (Ballard) in the next few weeks. I will see you when you get back to Seattle! Have a fun time in Japan! Oh, the ramen was so GOOD! Harukiya and Wakaba in Kichijoji are in my top list!
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