In 2009, I told dad that I'd be going to Sri Lanka. Being the
ever-protective father that he is, he argued that there's political unrest in
the country and it might not be safe for me to travel alone.
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| military presence in Sri Lanka |
In a letter, I reasoned that I have always traveled by myself and that
nothing bad ever happened. Besides, if it's already my time, it does not
matter how safe I try to be, God will take me anyway. Jokingly, I said,
"I'm sure God will let me marry first before He takes my life." Haha.
It was a nervous laugh.
So last minute, I booked my mom a ticket to Sri Lanka, which is
triple the amount of the cheap fare I got for myself. "Uhm, Christmas gift
mom." Our trip was first week of November.
As it turned out, there is a strong military presence in the
entire country. Everywhere we went, there were uniformed men.
Because I was with mom in this trip, I didn't really rough it.
So instead of taking public transportation, we rented a car, and our CS host
drove us around for several days around the country. After our visit to
Polonnaruwa, we were hailed by military. Our host immediately said that he's
showing around "guests" from the Philippines. After hearing the magic
word "guests", they instantly let us off. They didn't want to give an
impression that Sri Lanka is oppressing travelers or tourists.
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| check point |
As our drive led on to the evening, I noticed that our host
blinked the car lights to the motorists heading our way. "To warn the
drivers that there's check point ahead," he informed us.
On the lighter side of things, Lankan food must be the hottest
cuisine I ever tasted. I was not prepared for it, and during meal times, all I
could think of are the words "hot" and "spicy". Oh boy, how
my tongue burnt. Bring in the pitcher of milk! or yogurt!
A typical meal is a "hopper" (which could be string
noodles or like a very thin curved crepe) served with the spicy stuff: beans or
veggies.
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| Sri Lankan food that burns your tongue! |
You know that Sri Lanka used to be Ceylon right? And what comes
to mind when you hear that word?
Tea.
So
a trip there would not be complete without a visit to the tea plantations.
Coincidentally, we saw some tea pickers walking barefoot along the highway,
carrying sacks of a day’s worth of work. These women are paid by weight. I
wonder how much they are paid for a sack of tea leaves.
We
drove by slowly so I could capture snaps. One woman excitedly ran towards the
car shouting, “Money? Money?”
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| local tea pickers in Nuwara Eliya |
Finally,
the icing on the cake. As mom and I were lounging about reading the local
papers, the classified ads caught my attention. Marriage Proposals are
published in the newspaper. They charge SriLankan Rupees 500 (roughly US$4 as of this writing) for the first 15 words
(exclusive of VAT).
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| marriage proposals in classified ads |
Here’s
a sample:
BRIDEColombo Govi Buddhist established business family, brother seeks a partner for sister, accomplished 37. Very fair, slim, beautiful, steady monthly income 25,000/= dowry 40 lakhs cash, legally divorced after few months plaintiff innocent party. No encumbrances. Similar partner preferred, others also considered. Caste religion immaterial.
Hmm. Would you put your ad in there?
Other than that, our Lankan vacation is another story to tell. More about that in the coming posts. Stay tuned.
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| with our Sri Lankan host : Ganegoda family |
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| mom posed with some locals |
