SriLankaVision

Bhutan 2010 Scholarship entry

Sri Lanka | Saturday, October 16, 2010 | 5 photos

I spent three months sampling Sinhalese culture and had some unforgettable hands’ on experiences with endemic flora and fauna in Sri Lanka. Polonnaruwa was all about monkey business. I spent every waking hour following troupes of Grey Langurs through ancient ruins while documenting behaviour, and the multitude of plants and animals they interacted with. International Test Cricket fever led me to Dambulla’s giant golden Buddha, and into the ‘Five Caves’, on a pilgrimage of frescoes and dagobas dating back as far as 2700BC. Tales of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam beckoned me north to Trincomalee, but I arrived only to discover the coastal areas deserted owing to a naval crackdown on local activities. I detoured from Kandy to visit the (in)famous Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage where tourists gathered to watch Pachyderms bathe in the waters of the Maha Oya River much to the chagrin of whip welding mahoots. My final destination was the woven beach huts of Hikkaduwa; a party town where backpackers could enjoy the surf and sand while drinking coconuts to their heart’s content.
Each time I visit somewhere new I grasp the opportunity to unlearn those things I felt sure of and to adapt and observe what goes on around me. I think the greatest by-product of travel through developing nations is the realisation of how similar we all are despite our differences, and how much I have to be thankful for. I plan to continue travelling far and wide to assist conservation groups and would like to capture these experiences more skilfully with my photographs. A visit to Bhutan with Jason Edwards would really enhance my technical skills and pave the way for a much greater contribution in the future.
Thank you for reading my application.

Paul McCann.