The morning started with a final and joyful nature moment: spotting a Sea Eagle and another bird whose name I don’t know (as well as a gecko roommate I discovered during the night!). We checked out of paradise and headed to our third location: Polonnaruwa, the second capital of ancient of Sri Lanka although our hotel was located in Habanara.

We stopped outside of town to visit the WW2 cemetery. It is immaculately maintained and the caretaker knows exactly how many young boys are buried from each country.  He even knew there were two boys who died together and at the same time, so they buried them together.  A moving stop.

While driving we learned the most popular language spoken in Sri Lanka is Sinhalese, then Tamil, and then English. We also drove through Kantale which is famous for buffalo curd, and the road side sellers also had dried fish.

In the 11th century a king built this dam which they released to fill the rice paddy fields.  It is still used today.

This is a good time to talk about all the rice paddies we passed while in Sri Lanka. While driving by these is not new for me, what was a first for me was seeing the fields in various stages of harvesting: from newly planted fields and those ready to be picked, to bare fields just cleared AND families working on their fields. There are two harvesting seasons per year: around November and then approximately 6 months from now. Here are my favorite photos from throughout my time in Sri Lanka.

We arrived in Habarana, a central transit spot for the major locations in Sri Lanka.  As we waited to start our village tour, we saw a rice mill at work. First, they dry the rice in the sun and then they process it.  The machine shakes out the dirt which separates the seed casing.   When done right, the rice comes out white and it was warm to the touch.  You can bring your own rice to be processed or buy someone else’s, which is what Asayla did!

Kevin and I were worried the village tour was going to be kitschy but it turned out to be a wonderful experience.  The village was real, the houses were modern but set in the woods. The oxen-pulled cart ride started the experience (the only questionable part, but still fun).  We passed sugar cane and early mangoes growing in people’s gardens.  I was able to spend some time taking photos of the oxen.

Next up was a catamaran canoe ride, on a stunning and quiet tank.

My camera acted up from the heat again (not as bad as before the new battery but I will still need to get it repaired) so I missed some great wildlife shots: a crocodile, ducks up close, purple heron, pelicans, cormorant, and a few other birds.  I did manage to capture this land monitor lizard who clearly loves being photographed because he didn’t dart away (we was posing before we got on the boat).  Then there was the Snake Neck Bird, water hyacinth, and the stunning lily pads where the water danced on top of them.  We saw the famous Sigiriya rock in the distance.

Oh and of course, the requisite monkeys (Toque macaque):

We also had some touristy fun. The canoe guide made hats from the lily pads (they are impressively cool under the sun…I ended up keeping mine on – Kevin politely declined to look ridiculous, but he had a hat!). He made a necklace with the plant as well, along with showing how you can get the flower to open up whenever you want! Kaveen enjoyed joining in on the rowing (he was spending the day with us) and overall it was a very relaxing and enjoyable ride.

As we rowed to shore, we saw this large group of water plants. During World War II people would hide in these and helicopters would try to land on them thinking it was solid ground!

Our last experience was lunch in a traditional hut.  We cooked a lot of the food ourselves, and I even got to pick the eggplant for our meal.  We were greeted with delicious custard-apple flower tea in a coconut mug.  We learned how to choose the right coconut to drink: you listen to the sound of the water inside to know which one to buy;  you want a rich, thicker sound. Our group consisted of a French mother and daughter, a Portuguese couple (although the man spoke only Afrikaans, so maybe he is South African) and us. 

The meal was DELICIOUS and I am getting a Sri Lankan cookbook when I return to India.  It is so flavorful without burning, the best food I have tasted while traveling by far.  We had: rice, pumpkin curry, white mango curry, cucumber, melon as a semolina type dish, and then the two veggies we cooked (okra and eggplant) as well as dried river fish.  We ate on water lily leaves and used our hands, traditional style.  Dessert was small Sri Lankan bananas and papaya.  The event ended with the hostess showing us the traditional way to separate rice.

Heading back to the boat and in the hut, there were a few more opportunities to take wildlife photos!

After a canoe ride back to the shore, we took a tuk tuk ride back (telling the driver we didn’t want a photo…this was not a unique experience for us!).  Then we headed to Kadulla National Park for the experience of a life time…yet again.  We saw elephants….the majesty of these creatures cannot be adequately described.  Watching them eat with their trunks, and use the foot to hold down the grass for a better pull was amazing.  Seeing a baby elephant cuddle his mama and try to nurse, spectacular.  I saw my first elephant breasts!  In the distance, a large herd of animals eating by the late.  Two young males were ‘fighting’ with their trunks, clearly a foreshadow of what will happen when they grow up.  There was one elephant we saw who looked pregnant. We also saw a long male eating away from the herd.

There was one small family group that was close to the road. The rest were far away. I couldn’t help but think that they have a rotational system of taking turns: one family group is by the road to keep the people happy while the rest of the herd eats in peace and quiet.  I can just hear the leaders say “OK family group A, it’s your turn today’.

Here are my favorite photos of the elephants:

 There were other animals we saw as well: peacock, green bee eater, Painted Stork, possibly a gray heron, and a Serpent eagle. Since we spent most of the time looking at the elephants, the light was getting low.

Hard to believe but everything we saw and did during the day was not the highlight. That was while we were driving to the park’s exit Kevin noticed a lone elephant finishing his bath and walking up to the road and away from us.

We arrived at our last hotel, also amazing.  While not quite the opulence of Uga, the employees here were quite natural and interacted with an honest friendliness.  The highlight was all the elephant themed artwork throughout the hotel. Like a museum.

The fun-est part was meeting an employee.  How did we meet this young man?  Suddenly, a flash of white zips by us, like in a cartoon.  Honestly, he was so fast (walking not running, it is a hotel after all) I wasn’t sure I saw him!  When I asked if it was him at the desk he said yes.  In school he ran the 400m and was usually first! When checking out, the ladies at the registration counter knowingly giggled when I mentioned this to them.

We had a quick drink and dinner and went to bed, ready for our next adventure, our last day of sightseeing