Adventures around Mulgirigala
Time with Sandun
Sandun (pronounced SAHN-doon) is one of my friends that lives in the village behind Amanwella. I met him during my first week at Aman through one of the butlers, Sampath. Sandun first invited me to go octopus hunting with him and his father, but that time we were unsuccessful. Fortunately there ARE really other fish in the sea and we ventured through rock and coral as Sandun pointed out interesting creatures or showing me which ones where dangerous. He picks creatures up out of the water and shows them to me while giving me a detailed explanation on their living situation, eating habits, and detail about their body parts etc. He showed me how to pick up star fish without breaking their limbs and how to gently pull one of the many spikes of the sea urchen to watch them flinch.
I found myself snorkeling with Sandun everyday, finding new kinds of fish, venturing further and further off the coast and being able to swim deeper below the sea’s surface. Recently I was able to realise that in addition to enjoying our under the sea adventures, I enjoy Sandun’s company. One day I vocalised my slight frusturation with the fact that I hadn’t explored much of the area yet and that I finally was going to see the Rock Temple. I told him my driver Lalith was going to charge me 1,000 SLR’s, and asked if that was a good deal.
“You are going by yourself? I can come with you and my friend can drive us for free!”
I accepted his offer and rode with him and Dinush to the Rock Temple in Mulgirigala 25 kms away. It felt so nice to be in the tuk tuk, driving through villages and seeing people and places. I had always wondered what it would be like to drive a tuk tuk so you can imagine how pleased I was when Dinush offered to show me how to drive it. It was obviously manuel, and I do not have much experience with a clutch, but somehow I did it. I drove us the entire way through crazy Sri Lankan traffic (with the lovely addition of vehiches honking due to my slow speed) to the Rock Temple.
The Rock Temple is a beautiful monestary build around a sacred rock. There are several mural covered caves throughout the rock containing giant sleeping Buddhas, and one of the dead Buddha. You can climb over 500 steps to the top of the rock where you will find a breathtaking view of the jungle (monkeys included!)
Moments i LIVE for
We could see rain clouds in the distance so I made Sandun wait till they were right over our heads so we could sit on the top in the pouring rain. Sure enough only moments later the monsoon shower began!! Large warm raindrops danced on my face, drenching my clothes and hair! I played in the rain the entire way down and the others took refuge underneath the trees and hid under their umbrellas. I muddied up my feed and jumped in puddles. Sandun bought us some tea from a street vendor to warm us up for the ride home.
Back in the Village
Before arriving back at Amanwella, I went to Sandun’s house to meet his family. I met his little sister (8 years old), mother, aunt (who lives next door), and his two cousins (8 years old and 16 years old). I enjoyed another cup of Ceylon tea while I watched his aunt cut stacks of cloth into pieces which would soon develop into a t-shirt. Sandun’s aunt sews plain t-shirts (and there are other designs that are more complicated) and she recieved around 300 SLR’s for each one from the stores. No one else in his family speaks English, but the children non-the-less hung around us curiously watching Sandun and I speak foreign talk. His family insists that I come back soon for dinner. I happily oblige.
Tags: 1, Sri Lanka, Travel
missacs
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