Minneriya Wildlife Sanctuary

Colombo is awesome, but there is soooo much more to see in Sri Lanka. After a few days of visiting relatives, we hit the road. Our first destination: Minneriya National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary.

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We arrived late in the afternoon. Apparently the best time to go is in the morning (and in August) - so the staff were a bit surprised by our arrival. We piled into a jeep anyway and prepared for a wild, dangerous adventure.

And apparently this is my safari face:

We stood up in the jeep holding the cages and drove through the park for about two hours, ducking for branches along the way. Our guide said he wasn't sure we would see an elephant - but that we would give it "full try - full try."

Even though it wasn't the right time of day or the right season, there were still loads of beautiful birds in the park.

(Peacock ≠ elephant.)

And even though we didn't see very many animals in the park, the scenery itself was really lovely.

(bird ≠ elephant.)

Sri Lanka is home to some of the most beautiful birds in the world.

Monkey! A Grey Langur.

(monkey = awesome! But monkey ≠ elephant.)

We saw a family of spotted deer frolicking in the woods.

(deer = cute... but deer ≠ elephant.)

And then they saw us.

But they didn't dart - they kept eating. Apparently my safari face is not very intimidating.

After our two hour tour, we left the park. But our driver took us on a little side route before heading back to the hotel. You see - apparently the road cuts through part of the giant national park. At dusk, you've got just much chance of seeing elephants near the road. And as the sun began to set, to the right of the road, we saw three elephants walking along the edge of the woods!

Because it was dark, it was really hard to get a good shot... but I still managed to capture the moment. Elephant = elephant!

eee! It was really amazing and a very different feeling to see an elephant in the wild. So majestic!

Links of Interest

• Wikipedia: Minneriya National Park
• Sri Lanka Tourism Site - Minneriya National Park

The Colombo Swimming Club

We had one more day in Colombo before heading out further into the country. We spent it, as we should have, with family. My cousin's wife lives in Colombo and invited us to the Colombo Swimming Club for lunch. The club was established in 1936 during colonial-era Ceylon.

My godfather. The sign behind him lists the names of all the members.

The swimming club is right next to the beach, though a wall and train tracks separate the club from the ocean.

While we were there they were taking down the big tent from the New Year's party. Look closely at the workers - they got up to the top of the framework with no shoes, no ladder - and were working with no net. Methinks regulations are a bit looser in Lanka than they are in the states.

Me and my cousin's wife.

Aw, family...

While we were taking this photo a train raced behind us - you can see that in the background instead of the water.

Links of Interest

• ColomboSwimmingClub.org

Sri Lanka - Final Topic

So, after much thought and some struggle, I think I've settled on the following topic for the class. Modern missionaries: resolving the conflict between philanthropy, politics and proselytism in the war-torn regions of Sri Lanka.

As I continue reading and research, I'll be considering the following: - Role of different religions in modern Sri Lankan society - Philanthropy for poverty/Religion and the poor - The effect of natural disaster and tragedy on conversions - Brief history of religion, freedom and diversity of Sri Lanka (include, give context) - Brief history of proselytism (again, for proper contextualization) - Discussion: Transparency conflict – mission of religion vs mainstream philanthropic endeavors.

At this point I don't have much else to say, I'll just be reading. and reading. and reading.

US State Department raps both Sri Lankan government and LTTE for human right violations

"Feb 26, Washington, D.C.: The United States Department of State in its 2008 country reports on human right practices flayed the Government of Sri Lanka for its poor human right record and accused the LTTE of killing and abusing a large number of civilians." Article: Sri Lanka, 2 - 26 - 2009: US State Department raps both Sri Lankan government and LTTE for human right violations

The full report can be found here: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/sca/119140.htm

Not sure how I feel about this. While I do think we should be active globally, is the US in a good place to chide other countries about human rights violations?

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