Neptune Beruwela

... a tuktuk to Tissamaharama as the constant military checkpoints meant it would take a ridiculous amount of time to travel a short way. We arrived at Tissa and found a place to stay, and arranged our safari for the next day with a tout who had a sob story about his 9 month old child and no tourists because of the troubles in the north etc etc ...

... brown on the outside and soft on the inside - ah - custurd apples! And mangos and more papya and I even tried some curd - which was not a fruit but severed alone with - and is perhaps an aquired taste - Im not sure if i liked it or not - but its in between yogurt - cheese and milk - and interesting taste for sure. My short stay here has not been long enough and hopefully I will come back again! Now I jet of for a strong contrast to life here - Tokyo!

... to feed it a bit of my fish... We sorted out our bill and hit bed -- its pretty warm down here so we took the mozzie net down so we would be able to feel the fan more -- in the process of taking it down we hit the fan! Then we moved the beds a little further apart and all the slats started to fall out from underneath mine -- trying to put it all back together again was tough work after 1/2 litre wine!

... at all today when finally the doctor came and told me that there was a fracture in my foot, there was nothing to be done about it and I should relax and stay there for the night. Those in the ward who spoke English agreed heartily with this. I explained to them that I would probably be better off at my guest house but they were adamant (NB they were not Adam Ant... the difference is small but important). Was I being stupid? Why would I possibly want ...

... in Sri Lankan, who has a TV, that wasn't watching the match or knows who won! I came here with no cricket knowledge, now I know that there are 1day matches or ones with 20 or 50 overs (although I don't know what an over is!). Also there was some event in the last cricket match about a 6 for 6 or something! It's strange how the kids can communicate in English very well when it comes to cricket. I really should start to take an interest as we're going to watch England v ...

... Sri Lanka has its treacle and curd. Treacle is a rich brown. Poured on fresh curd and inserted into your mouth, it slides over your sweet taste glands with ease. Treacle is harvested in and around the park from the kithul palm, which is cut below its flower to produce the sap. Soon you might see this in your local supermarket. Four. Honey: Forest bees have nests high in the trees. Villagers pound bamboo posts into the trees to climb the immense trees ...

... I need to keep this bit short Ive got to pick up my visa in a short while. We found the Kingfisher Guesthouse in Tangalle (Ten gol) at about 1 pm I think. I was travelling here at Brins request to meet spend time with and generally support the struggling tiown and business. I had a marvelous time here. Hard to do justice to Nirosh's infectious and lovely character, Jalias unbeleivably tasty food. Herbert the German owner is a great bloke to chat to too. Problem is ...

Monday was a holiday, so I took advantage and went to Mirissa, about 10 kilometers from Matara (which means 30 minutes if you make the mistake of taking the really slow bus). In Mirissa I discovered yet another breathtaking beach. Though unbeknownst to me the big excitement that day was in Matara: a LTTE guy and policeman were arrested at a hotel 100 meters from my work. Apparently the tiger was paying off the police guy for information regarding a ...

... as the fruit are seasonal. But have no fear! Papaya is available year round and is part of 90% of my breakfasts. So is curd - a local product made from the milk of the water buffalo (I see them chillin' in paddy fields everywhere around Matara). It's served with trickle, a sweet, smoky syrup (reminiscent of maple syrup) made of the sap of palm trees. In Sri Lanka there is no such thing as a meal without rice. A couple that was ...

... to get a ride home with another guest. This 'driver' ends up being the owner of the largest fly-fish tackle (?lures? bait? Dad, help me out here) manufacturing company in the world (he is also the only fly-fisherman in Sri Lanka...). He also looked just like Uncle Will from Fresh Prince. Sri Lanka is a beautiful, wonderful place. Everyday (every hour!) I look forward to the next dose of random events, meetings and coincidences!