It has been nice to have Sandy here. He is a seasoned and independent traveller so is quite happy to go off on his own. We went together to the the Temple of the Dental Shakedown (Temple of the Tooth Relic or Maligawa) as well as the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens. I have not seen either for 25 years. The Temple was fine but not as interesting as when I saw it last. They have removed the giant rock bee hives that used to hang from the eaves in the main building. The Gardens, on the other hand, are magnificent. Sadly, the giant fig tree that sits on the Great Lawn is dying. It has lost about half its height and some major branches have also been cut below the canopy.
The only fly in the ointment is the manner in which tourists are being ripped off. At the Maligawa a resident gets in for free. A foreigner has to pay Rs.1,000. At the Gardens, a resident pays Rs.50 while a foreigner pays Rs.1100. The amounts are not huge, but the differential is gigantic. I am sure no-one minds paying 10% or even 15% more, but no-one wants to be ripped off to the tune of 1000%. Add to that the fact that the government has put hotel prices up out of sight and Sri Lanka becomes a more and more unattractive tourist destination.
Went to Film Club on October 27. Unfortunately, this is the last one for a while as the place where we have it is coming into their busy season. It was great. The movie was Blue Jasmine. Very Woody Allen, but Cate Blanchett was fabulous. The venu is a boutique hotel out at the gold course called Bougainvillea. Beautifully kept place with a lovely infinity pool dropping off to the lake in the middle of the course. A private theatre room and many other amenities. The hostess is a lovely woman. Coffee before the film, lunch after that was great and then the discussion. All for Rs.1300. All together a lovely idea. Hope we can find an alternative venue so we don't have to wait until March or April to get back to it.
Book club continues on however. This was the view of the river the other day. An old man slowly paddling his outrigger filled with cattle grass. I love these scenes of life that has not changed in centuries.
Ferdinand continues to reek havoc. The other day he pooped in the middle of the sofa. Luckily, I had been meaning to wash those cushion covers anyway. Then last night he disappeared. I found that he was trapped between our house and the neighbouring house. He was pinned down by Patches who I think he had been trying to mate with. There was a lot of growling going on. I tried to get Patches to move, but no luck. Then I called my landlady who shooed Patches away. In the end, Patches ended up on top of a wall at the end of a ledge with Ferdinand pinned below her. I had to climb out on to the ledge, walk over to the wall and scare Patches away. At that point, Ferdinand jumped up on to the wall. It was just a little bit too high so all I could reach were his paws. In the end, I got hold and managed to drag him down. He was scared and tried to grab any toe hold, but to his credit, he never tried to claw or bite me. He knew I was trying to help. Of course, when he came back in the house it was as if nothing happened. Here he is being the furry supervisor this morning.
Skyped with my friend Rod Germaine the other day. He is in Oaxaca, Mexico while I am here in Kandy. It was like being in the same room together. This technology is amazing.
Sandy and I are both off to Colombo on Monday. I need to do the visa thing again and he will look around the city before he goes back on the 19th. Tomorrow is my birthday. 62! Can hardly believe it. I have done things this year that I have never done before in my life. Like walking out on a ledge 20 feet up for one thing. Every year a new adventure.
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