Last weekend a group of us headed to Sri Lanka for a weekend visit. Pam, Todd, Davin and I flew over on Thursday night (a short one-hour flight) and spent the weekend relaxing by the ocean, visiting the elephants, and touring the tea plantations in the mountains. It was wonderful to visit Sri Lanka again (the only location I've visited twice in my travels this year!) and enjoy the rich tropical rain forests, teas, and hospitable people.
One of the major highlights of the trip came on Friday as this was August 8, 2008 (08/08/08) and we were glued the to the hotel TV at 5:25pm (3 1/2 hours behind China) to see the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games at 8:08pm. Stunning!
Another major highlight was visiting the Glen Loch tea plantation. We got to tour the tea factory and see how they process the different types of teas harvested in the mountains of Sri Lanka. It was fascinating (see my Picasa Gallery for more snaps). After the tour we stopped in the tea house and had a cup of freshly-brewed tea with Buddhist monks--what a unique and tranquil experience :o)
The rest of the weekend was spent resting, relaxing, reading, swimming in the pool, driving around the island, touring the beautiful mountains, and eating good food (steak--mmmmm.... :o) A nice relaxing weekend, indeed!
Sri Lanka - so beautiful I had to visit twice.
Namaste.
This past weekend a group consisting of 10 of our Target expats decided to take a weekend trip to Kabini Park, a wildlife preserve in Southern India. Since earlier this past winter Paul had been to Banipur--another park next door--and really enjoyed the visit, he took the task of putting together a group trip to the same vicinity this spring.Since nearly all of us are living in the same apartment building at Zen Gardens, we took Friday off, met-up outside the building early Friday morning, packed up the van/bus (whatever it was), and started our journey. The six-hour road trip was typical for India--bounces, bumps, twists and turns (not to mention the plethora of animals, cars, motorcycles, rickshaws, people, and various debris on the roads... oh yeah, and India has speed bumps on the highways... yeah... that's a whole other blog entry... I digress :o)
ANYHOO, after singing along to Paul's iPod tunes and lots of snacks, we finally arrived in Kabini, took Jeeps (mighty fast ones!) to the boats, which took us to the resort cabins where we stayed for the weekend. Between the 10 of us we shared 3 cottages--it was just like going to camp! While the days consisted of several "safari" outings (Jeep safari, two boat safaris, and one trekking safari on-foot), the nights were spent playing cards, telling stories, and lots of laughter... in fact, the weekend was filled with laughter from the very start. Yeah!
During the safari outings we saw everything from wild elephants to baboons, peacocks, spotted deer, cows, wild boars, a crocodile, several types of birds, and then the "usual" assortment of cattle, goats, chickens--you know-- the animals that hang out on the street outside our apartment? Yeah, they were there as well... ya just can't completely escape the feeling of home in India--not even in the jungle! Check the online gallery album for more snaps.
All-in-all, the weekend was absolutely fantastic. Yes, the safaris were interesting and we had some interesting guides along the way, like Oopy ("Shhhh! Silent safari! Dancing peacock! Shhhhh... elephant! Oh wait, let me answer my mobile phone...), but the best part of the weekend was the fellowship. We all had time to just hang out with one another--time for stories, jokes, games, and just plain relaxing. It was wonderful.
BIG thanks to Paul for helping to organize a fantastic "Memorial Day Weekend" trip (although India doesn't celebrate Memorial Day and we had to work on Monday...) I am sure we will all remember this fantastic time for years to come. It was, indeed a safari so good--or, in the unforgettable words of Oopy every time we'd see another elephant, "Success!!"
This weekend, Michael (aka "Curly"), Paul, Will, and I took a hop flight down to Sri Lanka to see the country and check out the sites. It was absolutely amazing... I tell ya, between riding elephants, strolling along the ocean, wearing boa constrictors, visiting the over 70 elephants at the elephant orphanage (and then watching them bathe in the river), touring the spice garden, jump starting the van, running through the tea fields, spending the day at the botanical gardens, eating great food, shopping in crowded markets, relaxing to an herbal massage at the health spa, watching a cultural dance show, swimming in the hotel pool, road tripping through the mountains, playing with monkeys, jumping out of the van to "get the shot", or just hanging out with J.D. and playing 20 questions, we really didn't have anything to do... and all in 56 hours. Whew! :o)
Sri Lanka is incredible. It's sort of like India, but sort of not. How to explain... well, it looks a lot like India, but it's cleaner and more orderly. For example, in the cities, such as Colombo and Kandy, the streets are clean and the traffic stays in its own lane. Imagine that! The prices are a little more expensive than India, but now that we're all seasoned hagglers, it's not a big deal. The landscape is truly breathtaking--the mountains, the ocean, the rain forests, the flowers--something to see around every corner. The animals are amazing--elephants, monkeys, lizards, snakes, bats (huge ones! see the gallery slide show), dogs everywhere (much like India), and all of the exotic birds make this another tropical paradise.
Despite the ongoing issues in Sri Lanka (another car bomb went off north of Colombo yesterday), people just keep moving. Like any other part of the world, unrest continues but life doesn't stop. Violence is present, but so is peace. In so many places in Asia, peace is present--so much so--on the faces of the people, in their smiles and laughter. Even the noisy vendors on the streets trying to make a living will laugh with you when you try to talk them down to a reasonable price.
Overall, Sri Lanka was an excellent vacation which provided a beautiful and relaxing experience for all of us--and it's only two hours away from Bangalore. The people were very kind, the hospitality excellent, and our driver, Joseph, was wonderful. All of us said we'd like to return again soon--and with the short flight and reasonable prices, its a sure win for a revisit!
Well, I'll be off for a couple weeks touring Europe with my Mom & Dad, so be ready for "snaps" from Amsterdam, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria by the end of the month!
Namaste.
This weekend I went on a weekend road trip to Mysore, India, a city south of Bangalore known for its silks, sandalwood, and beautiful palaces. The most popular attraction in Mysore is the Mysore Palace, or the Maharajah's Palace, known for its beautiful architecture, intricately designed rooms, 12 Hindu temples, and beautiful surrounding gardens. However, the most original feature of Mysore Palace is its spectacular lights that are illuminated for only one hour each weekend (and during Indian holidays). These tens of thousands of lights adorn not only the palace, but the temples, three gates, and accompanying buildings that complete the palace grounds.
I was joined on this fun-filled weekend by four of my partners in crime, er... I mean, comrades from Target: Michael, Mike, Tom, and Praveen. Yes--3 Mikes and a Tom (of which two of us are named Michael Thomas)--so it presented an interesting mix. 
The other "Michael" is expat Michael; Mike and Tom are visiting from Target HQ in Minneapolis; and Praveen is from Target India. Actually, one of the main reasons we went to visit Mysore is because Praveen is from Mysore so he became our trusty tour guide. The five of us had a great time laughing and goofing around like guys do--it was good bonding time and reminded me how much I miss just being silly with friends. Hey--that's what they're for! During many moments over the weekend our behavior reminded me much more of Junior High than corporate business. Whew--that's a relief!
We stayed at a wonderful organic farm where we were treated to a fresh breakfast of masala dosas (similar to crepes wrapped around curried potatoes), mango juice, and fruit every morning. It reminded me so much of Hawaii :o) On Saturday afternoon we took the palace tour, ate fresh coconuts and walked around the city. We returned on Saturday evening to see the Palace lights. Stunning! The whole Palace grounds became a golden playground. Amazing. It reminded me of being in Disney World :o)
On Sunday we visited other palaces, shopped at the marketplace, ate lots of delicious food, and headed back up the 3-hour road trip to Bangalore. It was so nice to get a couple of days "away from the city" to unplug and relax. The peace and quiet was a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Bangalore. How fun it was to feel like I was back in Junior High on a Hawaiian vacation with Disneyworld as an evening treat. Apparently my weekend was much more of a trip that just to Mysore! I love it. Memories are so nice to :o)
Today I got the "royal" treatment. My driver, Amith, took me to see Bangalore Palace... the former home of the King & Queen. It was built in 1887 by King Chamaraja Wodeyar and is supposed to be inspired by the Windsor Castle in London. Not only did I get to look around, but I got my own personal guide and tour of the castle. It was amazing. I'd never seen a palace with so many different styles and colors of ceiling tiles! Plus, the last King and Queen to inhabit this palace back the 30s had the coolest circa 1930s art deco furniture--too cool for a medieval-style structure.
Another advantage of having my own personal tour was that I was allowed to not only look at whatever I wanted, but to touch it, open it, explore the different rooms, and also take pictures of whatever I wanted. There were no "velvet ropes" on this tour. My favorite part of that privilege was touching the handmade stools fashioned from, oh I don't know, elephant's feet, perhaps?! Or how about buffalo hooves...? Yeah, this King was decadent. If you'd like to see my whole set of pictures from my personal tour (including the 100 year old elephant head mounted in the main foyer), just click on any of my slide shows and you'll be taken to my Picasa online galleries.
Later after the palace tour, Amith and I went shopping again and I picked-up the last of the Christmas gifts for my family back home in Minnesota. I also went out walking when I got home and explored my neighborhood... too bad I didn't have my camera, but I will take it another time. I would have loved to show you the cow that leisurely sauntered down the middle of the street like she owned it... sheesh! Moooove on over, darlin! (It's funny to watch the cabs and cars honk at them... they could care less). What a life. Happy weekend, all :o)
Last weekend a group of us headed to Sri Lanka for a weekend visit. Pam, Todd, Davin and I flew over on Thursday night (a short one-hour flight) and spent the weekend relaxing by the ocean, visiting the elephants, and touring the tea plantations in the mountains. It was wonderful to visit Sri Lanka again (the only location I've visited twice in my travels this year!) and enjoy the rich tropical rain forests, teas, and hospitable people.
Another major highlight was visiting the Glen Loch tea plantation. We got to tour the tea factory and see how they process the different types of teas harvested in the mountains of Sri Lanka. It was fascinating (see my Picasa Gallery for more snaps). After the tour we stopped in the tea house and had a cup of freshly-brewed tea with Buddhist monks--what a unique and tranquil experience :o)
The rest of the weekend was spent resting, relaxing, reading, swimming in the pool, driving around the island, touring the beautiful mountains, and eating good food (steak--mmmmm.... :o) A nice relaxing weekend, indeed!
