Sri Lanka - Day 1

We just returned from a fabulous one week trip to Sri Lanka! Allen and the kids had a week off of school and work due to the EID holiday and we were dying to get out and explore a new area of the world. So why did we choose Sri Lanka? We first thought about going to Greece or Paris but found that most of the Greek islands close after the busy summer season. Paris was difficult to get to (long/weird flight times) and seemed like too much effort for such a short trip. We started to research locations that were a short flight and that's how we found Sri Lanka. 

We flew into Sri Lanka on the morning of the 12th, after taking a red eye flight from Bahrain. When I was researching places to stay, I found a beautiful private home for rent that included a full-time driver and a private chef. It was an absolutely perfect way to explore the country and because we had so many people taking care of us during the week, we were able to see parts of the country that we otherwise would not have been able to experience. Sri Lanka is an island off the coast of India so there are a lot of similarities between the two cultures. 

We arrived at the villa mid morning and had a delicious breakfast waiting for us. The climate is tropical so we were treated to amazing fresh fruit every day. The pineapple is the best I've ever had and the passion fruit was so so yummy too. The house sits up on a hill and overlooks rice paddies and a river. It was breathtakingly gorgeous. We loved watching the water buffalo graze and take baths in the river during the week. 

After Emery had a nap and the kids played in the pool for a couple hours, we headed out on our first adventure. We went to the local Buddhist temple for a tour and to see their elephants. Elephants are an important part of Buddhist celebrations and almost every temple has elephants. The house manager took us to the market to buy treats for the elephants and we got to feed them. Watching my kids feed the elephants was truly one of the most delightful experiences of my life. I wish we would have recorded them because they had the best time and were just awed by the experience.

 Emery would not touch the big elephant but loved being close to her. After feeding we were able to take an elephant ride. This was the one thing I really wanted to do on this trip and it was amazing. We were all surprised at how hard it was to stay on! Being on top of the an elephant is a very wobbly experience but it was awesome. We had a handler with us at all times and felt totally safe. Again, no amount of persuasion would get Emery on top of the elephant but she loved watching us do it.

 After the rides we watched her get her bath and the handler cleaned her feet.

And then she had a nice long drink from the hose! He just stuck it right in her mouth!

After the elephant rides we went on to tour the Buddhist temple. It was fascinating! All of the temples have monasteries attached and we were able to see some of the young novices who are being trained. They all wear the orange robes and start at 5 years old when they leave their families to serve in the temple for their lives (so sad to me). The littlest monks were so cute but too shy to let me take their pictures!

This is the main section of the temple. I took a picture of the banners because they are made by people who are having a hard time and need extra prayers for their trials (sound familiar?). The members of the village will say extra prayers and make more offerings for those who make banners.

Some of the Buddha statues inside the temple. One of the rules about Buddhism is that they do not allow people to take pictures with the Buddha statues unless they are facing it in a respectful and worshipping way. They believe that taking a picture with the statues indicates equality with the Buddha which they do not believe in.

The ceiling of the temple had incredible intricate paintings all over it. Absolutely gorgeous.

The people visiting and worshipping in the temple wear completely white clothing and bring offerings of jasmine and lotus flowers or fresh fruit to the temple when they come. We loved seeing the people praying together. A monk led the people in prayer by singing part of the prayer and the people repeated the song to the monk. So beautiful.

Outside the temple is the biggest Buddha statue in Sri Lanka. It was huge. You can see Allen in the white tshirt at the base of the statue to give you some perspective of how large it is. The whole experience was fascinating and beautiful to see. The Sri Lankan people were so friendly and loved talking to our kids. Emery got lots of attention because of her blonde curly hair and people came out of their way to talk to us and touch her curls.

After the temple we headed back to the villa for our first taste of true Sri Lankan food. Our dinner every night consisted of 6-8 amazing dishes prepared by the chef. We had all kinds of delicious curries and honestly loved everything during the week. My kids are pretty adventurous eaters anyway but they really went above and beyond on this trip. They tried everything and gobbled up things I never would have guessed. Our big surprises were the okra, pumpkin and beet curries that were so delicious and flavorful! I don't think we ate a single processed food during the entire week and we loved going to the markets and buying loads of fresh produce every day.

After dinner  we were all exhausted from the flight and the days activities and had a wonderful night of sleep under the mosquito nets! We joked throughout the week that you know your vacation destination is exotic when you have to sleep under a net!