ayubowan!!!!

Gallery: helgas folly

scarlett333 — Thu, 1 Nov 2007 19:56:00 GMT

who is this woman

scarlett333 — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 21:22:00 GMT

who is madame helga?

My dreams came to life last night, not in my slumber but in real life. Tangible things that i could reach out and touch somehow crept out of the deepest recesses of my mind and into this place called Helgas Folly.I came in for dinner and could not pull myself away from the electricty i felt within these walls. I feel i have been here a hundred times, everything is so familiar to me. The walls are adorned with brightly painted murals and photos of ghost and memories. The haunting long damp hallways and rooms are all dimly lit with wax dripping candelabras and music from a gramaphone plays for no one. This place is full of magic and i never want to leave. The food is incredible as well, full of exotic spice. My room was hot pink with a tree painted on the wall and the bed covered in morbid black lace. Monkeys woke me at about 7am pulling on the door handle and scratching at the glass so i got out of bed and spentsometime after breakfast in the pools courtyard, surrounded by twisted fairies and headless mermaids. I also was not surprised to discover that the dalmation here shared my name, of course the dogs name is Scarlett, What else could it be?

Gallery: wasgamuwa

scarlett333 — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 16:10:00 GMT

night in the canopy

scarlett333 — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:38:00 GMT

i woke today sick as a dog(as predicted) and had to skip my morning activities, Im pretty bummed but its nice being able to sleep in, my only disturbance is the little woman who lives in the camp that keeps popping her head in and insisting on me having tea. After resting until noon i feel well enough to do something and shortly after lunch i am informed that my evening activity will be tank monitoring via the tree hut! Im so excited!!! I rush to my room and pack my bag and we head out. Its so beautiful getting a birds eye view of the tank. We hadnt been up here for more than five minutes before the elephants started crossing. Also at the tank is a flock of painted storks, some tortoises, cormorants, and a really fucking big crocodile. The tree hut itself is built really well and seems very sturdy except a place in the floor where some genius fisherman took their bounty from the day and decided to start a fire an dcook the fish on the wood floor....hmmmm...not too smart. The ladder up is also a bit scary and has gotten so dry and pourous and bleached from the sun that not even the hungriest of termites seems to pay attention to it. On the branches of the tree, large red ants have fashioned a nest by gluing leaves together, its preety amazing to watch them at their work and i did until sunset(see pics). That night we laid there til about midnight listening to buttah katahs(ghost stories) and the others finally passed out. I cant sleep at all, i enjoyed listening to all the animals and stared at the sky til even the moon disappeared and the sun rose its head enough to peak over the mountains, its so beautiful here

da park

scarlett333 — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:14:00 GMT

Today we finally made it into the parks boundaries. This was my first chance to observe the elephants up close, in broad daylight. We would pull the rover to the side of the path and the elephants would go about their business as if we werent even there. I indentified and recorded three adults, one is missing the tip of his trunk, most likely from an unfortunate run in with a farmer.Whenever the start the truck back up the males(bull elephants) always make a false charge at the vehicle. Its quite the rush everytime. The ride home

. is rough a nd treachorous and actally pretty cold and im fairly certain i am getting sick

wasgamuwa

scarlett333 — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:33:00 GMT

Yesterday Eleanore and i woke around 7am & prepped for wasgamuwa. she will be teaching while i do conservation work. The bus arrives a couple hours late and headed out on our 7 hr journey to the park. Everytime i thought we were as far as we could go into the sticks, we would make a left and go about twenty more miles. we are deep in the forest and the place is so untamed. The trees are giants and block out any sign of sunlight and seem to stretch all the way to the heavens. Its really exciting being able to stay in an area of sri lanka that most people never get to see. Once we made it to our site it was....errr...surprising. Our site is nothing but the basics. Our place consist of a cement floor with large holes in it, the frame is made from the branches of a jackfruit tree, and the walls consist of two made from mud and the other two from bamboo curtains. I love it! We have a tin roof, which is great since it rains all the time and for beds we have cots filled with coconut husks. The showers are in a seperate building and there is no roof at all in there so when you shower in the cold water you are looking right up at the trees. We unpacked and had our orientation and it seems it will be a busy two weeks, After a nice dinner we tried to sleep. Once the rain stopped you could hear the whole jungle alive with activity. Around midnight, I started to hear a rumbling, then i realized it was heavy footsteps and they were getting closer.It seemed perfect in this Jurassic park like atmosphere. Trees came crashing down and then trumpets, Wild elephants!!!! much different than the ones at the orpahanage or the beast i got to ride. These guys are killers. Over 150 people a year in this area alone. we laid perfectly still until they had their fill of jackfruit and coconuts and moved on. Its really strange being woken by one of the largest wild animals there is. You know at any second you could be charged and tehre is nothing you can do about it but sit and wait. you feel ---well----helpless. Finally i was able to sleep again and woke around seven freezing from sweating all night in bed. I got up and had a bit of breakfast then hopped in the land rover to set off for work. Today is fence monitoring and it blows! I have to walk about 8km in 95 degree heat with 90% humidity. I walk this distance with about 2" between my face and an electric fence. Its rather frightening as after some distance the heat gets to you and your footing becomes unsure on the slippery mud hills, another concern is crossing over cobra holes and where they have burrowed into termite nest. I walked the distance anyhow with clipboard in hand and mark if there are loose or missing wires and the voltage at every pole, Usually 6.1-7.2 kvs---fun. Probably be a while til i write again as i am far from civilization and took a 5 hr bus ride to get to this cafe

Gallery: elephant ride

scarlett333 — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:16:00 GMT

woah, that things huge

scarlett333 — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 14:53:00 GMT

stupid bugs

scarlett333 — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:40:00 GMT

I have fallen deep into a routine by accident. I wake and have breakfast, spend countless hours online loading pics, come home and have dinner watch a little television and go off to bed. I could be anywhere and do these things so i really need to break this pattern. I layed in bed for hours last night watching bettles make their way up the corner of the room. They head towards a lamp and one by one fall into the deep basen of the light to meet their certain doom. People are like that.....today i went on a good long hike. Even short distances here wear on you fast. All the undulating terrain, the ups and downs, not to mention being over 1300 miles closer to the sun than i usually am. Its hot and steep. On the way back home i picked up my laundry and made it back to spica for lunch. Again we had fried fish which has become my favorite dish, even though it looks awful. Their lil fried eyeballs staring up at me :( ---The owners are leaving now to go to a funeral, or whatever they call it,they all bring food over and make a dinner table surrounding the body, kinda gross i think. I am happy to have the place to myself now and end up packing the whole time.

Gallery: sri lanka

scarlett333 — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:45:00 GMT

plans

scarlett333 — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:09:00 GMT

today,once again, my only outting was to use the internet--- im outside plenty in the jungle i am living in ,but as far as trips in town i have limited them. I didnt go to the otherside of the world to be in a city, and a dirty one at that. I spent the better half of my morning rearranging my itenerary since i will not be doing a pilgrimage in kataragama. Now when i get done working i will come back here(kandy) til the 9th then on the 10th i will leave for sinharaja reserve, the last untouched rainforest in sri lanka. I will spend five days there then on to unawatuna as planned...i hope its everything this outdated book says it is ,as i will be there for a couple weeks. Well i am going to attempt to add pictures to this blog now so hopefully when you are reading this, pics will accompany, doubt it though, these computers are sooooo slooooow. Marie--you would pulling your hair out fo' sho'

curd and whey

scarlett333 — Tue, 9 Oct 2007 20:45:00 GMT

Today i chilled at an internet cafe for the better part of the afternoon. I swore to myself i was not gonna do any shopping til i returned from wasagamuwa but i found myself buying cheap but beautiful jewelry. i am trying to really cut down on spending as my guide books were WAY OFF when it comes to general expenses. The owner at the guesthouse said that he has tried to be featured in lonely planet for the past six years and they wrote him back saying their writers have not been back to Sri Lanka in eight years which explains the seriously outdated info. Oh well-what to do? So anyway-- after that i went back to my place, took a shower and nap then went outside to wait on the bats. I was told they fly over in swarms around 6 so i waited and waited and waited. I had started getting slightly discouraged and then the best thing happened. They swarmed! But even better it was the fish pond i was by and not the sky. All around me they flew, i could feel there little leathery wings. Afterwards i joined everyone at the table for dinner. It was squid---curry squid. I was a little sqeamish but it ended up being ok, however i did turn down the second portion. For dessert we had curd and treacle. Once again i was sqeamish but i will always try something once. I refuse to be one of those people that miss out on something great because they dont like what it looks like or smells like, and this looked and smelled awful. I thought it was sweet and put a spoonful of curd in my mouth, i thought i was gonna die. AWFUL, but then i was told that you must put the treacle on top, after drizzling the heavy syrup over it it actually ended up being quite tasty, bitter sweet. Later i was taught how to prepare the dish.so simple--- First you boil milk over a high heat and once it gets a good heavy curdle going you stir it up, dump it into a wooden bowl and set the bowl on the counter to cool over night, thats it---old hot milk. ehhh still good. Time for bed

Temple

scarlett333 — Mon, 8 Oct 2007 19:35:00 GMT

2AM

All night i was woken by animals. I thought there was a man outside so i layed in bed with a can of pepperspray like a little scared old lady. I eventually went back to sleep and woke at about 7 am and laid in my room listening to the sounds of rain and jungle birds. Prayer songs are once again being played and i can smell breakfast being made so i head down. For breakfast i had a traditional sri lankan omelette full of cheese, chilis, tomato and onions...mmmmmmmm....afterwards i rush into town to catch the fifteen minute showing of the sacred Buddha tooth. I made it there just in time to view the golden casket. After that i toured the rest of the museum. It was beautiful. i will have to come back, as today a guide followed me around without being asked and kinda irritated me the whole time then asked for ten dollars--ha, go fuck yourself buddy. The museums are filled with many relics of religous and political importance. Art, statues, and many other things cover the ceiling, floors and walls. afterwards i enjoyed a nice lunch at the queens hotel then went home. That night i had another great dinner of noodles and a coconut curry then retired to my room to fill out postcards and write some letters that probably wont get to the states til after i return, well see

i want kandy

scarlett333 — Sun, 7 Oct 2007 19:13:00 GMT

The drive as predicted was hell, long, winding, bumpy,unfinished roads didnt help my cramps at all and for the first time in my life i felt carsick. Eventually the awful roads that went up and through the hills brought me to Pinawella Elephant Orphanage. Entry was a steep 1000rs, but i gladly handed it over knowing that the money went to a very good cause.The orpanage was built in '75 to help out seven orphaned babies that lost their mothers because of man. Now the orphanage is home to almost 80 of the animals, many born here. At 9:30 a bottle feeding is done then at about 10:30 they are led across the road to the river where thay are all bathed. I got a head start across the street and secured myself a seat and had breakfast. Unfortunatelly i could not enjoy either. I poked at my omelette and could not be entertained by the elephants wallowing in the mud. I was lonely. It hit me like a ton of bricks,it was this place. All around was almnost only tourist and all the tourist were couples, kissing and hugging, holding hands and laughing togeteher---i was sick to my stomach. I went to the bathroom and like a child i cried. After realizing how ridiculous the whole thing was i washed my face,threw on my sunglasses, told myself to get over it, paid my bill and took off. About an hour later i arrived in Kandy!!! This is what i expected when i booked a ticket here. Lush green forests cover the hilltops,wildlife everywhere. I couldnt have picked a better place to stay---Spica Holiday Home. These people give off the vibe that they have known me for years, they are so warm and welcoming and damn they can cook. I went to my room and feel asleep in the warmth i found in this families home. I woke at about 7 pm to prayer songs being sung through the mountains and i headed downstairs and grabbed a book that i curled up with on the parlors couch. The couple was busy in the kitchen tending to dinner. After about an hour or so dinner was ready and we sat down at the table together for by far the BEST meal i have had since my arrival.

beachin it

scarlett333 — Sat, 6 Oct 2007 18:58:00 GMT

today i made it to the beach and got a little color. My Bags finally arrived and that gave me relief indeed. I was able to wash away the smell of curry that was seeping from my pores---i reek! I have been reading all day and just layin low. Its been nice. The streets are being decorated for the festival tomorrow that sadly i will miss but thank goodness im getting to Kandy!!!! I am also cramping pretty bad which makes that 4hr drive sound like hell

cheap date

scarlett333 — Fri, 5 Oct 2007 19:07:00 GMT

not a damn thing other than chillin at the downstairs bar with 30cent shots of whiskey. almost got attacked again but hotel owner came to my rescue and so did a dog that has been following me around sice i arrived. HA TAKE THAT PERVERT. he is actually pretty lucky cause i had my finger on the trigger to my pepperspray and i was kind of looking forward to squirting someone

supeldesena--er good morning

scarlett333 — Thu, 4 Oct 2007 18:01:00 GMT

I was able to sleep again luckily and have reset my schedule. I feel great. I woke to my first morning. Roosters and crows are making a racket and the streetsare already full of traffic.. Men ring bells on there bikes selling saris and other goods. From the rooftop i can see all the way down lewis ln. I return from the rooftop to dicover that i have locked myself out of my room-genius. I go downstairs and find mr.mike having coffee wearing a sarong and he kindly lets me back in my place. I get dressed and have a fine breakfast of eggs, toast and pinepple and fresh mango jams and the best tea anyone has ever put to their lips. I head across the street and shanta(yesterdays driver) stops me before i make it to the beach and coaxes me back in the tuk tuk. There were things i wanted to see in negombo town so i gladly obliged. First we went to the Angurukamalla temple and it was incredible. A 6m reclining Buddha statue is here with may other buddhist relics. A monk walked me around and explained the meaning and importance of all that was there. Also at this site were hindu statues and hindu places of worship along with a stupa, or dagoba. Afterwards i went next door to the spice gardens that were run by a pushy man with a bad stutter stutter stutter. I recieved an ayurveda (ancient herbal treatments) for my skin and hair which was kind of nice. The hair treatment was supposed to not be oily not be oily but it felt as if someone had dumped Crisco in my hair. He did some high pressure sales and i gave in to an 18 dollar bottle of needra for sleeplessness then i got the hell outta there. After being covered in grease i headed to St.Mary cathedral. it really did take my breath away. Negombo, being predominatly catholic, is referred to as little rome. A local artist painted the ceilings and the art throughout the cathedral is beautiful.. doves fly through the open air building adding to its charm. I go to rest after that then head out for a boat trip. The road to the boat tour scared the hell out of me but i held on tight and we made it safely. Upon arrival a young woman greets me at the door and tells me to wait for the captain. Finally he came, a very young man who you could tell had done better for himself than most people in the area. All around is dense jungle and parrots fill the tree branches as well as many other local species. A nature lovers dream. Once in the boat i felt as if i was on the junglebook ride at Disneyworls only here everything was real. At the end of the canal we were dumped out into the rivers mouth and it looked alot like the old flick 'Queen of the Nile' a favorite of mine and my grandmothers. Water monitors slither by and still tropical birds are everwhere, local children hang from the trees like little monkeys screaming BOM BOM --BOM BOM from being accustomed to english visitors handing out candy---i had none.Eventually we stopped and the captain advised me we were to witness, in very bad english"illegal act". I was curious to say the least. The stop ended up being at his friends place, an older guy, who was a toddy maker. This made me very happy as i had read about this and was anxious to try it. The man ties a clay pot around his neck and up the palm tree he goes. Very nimbly by the coconut husks that have been made into steps. At the top ropes have been tied from tree to tree. At the top he grabs his machete hacking away at the tree tops. Eventually, once the pot was full, he came down and filled our glasses. Toddy is made from the sap that ferments in the top of the trees in the hot sun turning the coconuts juices into an alcoholic bevereage. Its quite refreshing and much like a light cider. After that we jump back in the boat and go just a bit further to another "illegal act". Here we are greeted by an old drunk,young children,a young woman,pigs and a viscious dog. I am led into a denser part of the woods and see an old still---ahhh white lightnin! The man was a moonshiner only he called it aruk---he stumbles through the process of how its made and i cant make out a word he says--hes speakin english but the kind of english i only hear at about 3am inside the windrose, hes wasted. Even his family just laughs and laughs at him.i taste teh aruk mostly trying to not be rude but i have to admit i was wanting a little buzz then we took a tour around his shack, first corner we rounded a pissed off monkey jumped on his shoulder with a rope around his neck--a pet. Then he insists i come inside his home, once again to not be rude i comply, there is no electricity of course and in the sweltering jungle the heat when you walk in almost feels like someone punhed you in the face. He shows me his wedding photos of the wife he divorced then excitedly shown me his boombox and dances around the dirt floors. I stepped away slowly, backwards out the door leaving him dancing in his drunkness. I wonder how long it was before he realized he was alone...I board the boat again and we ride the waters for awhile then teh boys decide they want beers so we stop at a hotel on the water. It was getting dark by this time and i was getting more and more nervous with every minute of lost daylight. after a few hours of my dmands to leave i eventually was takin home, or headed that way. This was a boat ride from hell--the engine kept stopping and they would laugh and say they were out of gas--- i lied and said that the hotel, police and my parents were looking for me and eventually they started to boat back up. I couldnt see shit and all around me my body was being groped, i pushed the hands off of me---screaming in anger and eventually it stopped. I kept thinking how easy it would be for them to rape and kill me, casting my body into the dark swampy water, it could take a long time before anyone ever found me. Finally we made it to the tuk-tuk i bitched to go home and the driver halfway agreed, he drove me into an ally and tried once more to have his way with me. I screamed agin this time we were in front of a guesthouse where i could be heard and i was able to pull away and make a run for it. My arms still have bruises from his hands being tightly wrapped aroungd my wrist as well as scratches from his long gross fingernails. I returned to my room, made a few calls and cried myself to sleep. Most of my anger was at myself for allowing myself to be put in such a bad situation

Made it :) my first day

scarlett333 — Wed, 3 Oct 2007 11:00:00 GMT

10-03-07 11:00 am wednesday

The airport lost my luggage---big surprise. Im not letting that get me down though. My driver picked me up(an hour late) and tooke me to my room at oceanview guesthouse, negombo. The staff is so friendly. On the way here we stopped and tooke pics of the Dutch canal(circa 1650's). My room was too hot so i upgraded to one with an ac for a little more ...1800rs total. i love this place.

10-4-07 11:33 pm

OOPS!!! I made the mistake of taking a nap and woke up in darkness. I planned on sleeping for about 30 minutes then starting my day. The thing that sucks is that i cant go out walking around and im starving. Damnit! Before my "nap" i did have the opportunity to go into town. I had to go to a money changer so the guesthouse owner called me a tuk-tuk, a three wheeled vehicle and not for the faint hearted!!!!. The streets were crowded and todayy they have a special wednesday market. Vendors are everywhere . After changing my money i saw the most beatiful saris, they cost about three times the amount a wanted to spend but i had to have them. I haggled my heart out and got two for 12,000 rs opposed to 10,000 each. The crooks.Afterward i went to the fishmarkets. it reeked. all over people were busy cuting, fileting, and selling every type of fish known. Bags of live crabs hung everwhere and as fish were being gutted their insides were fed to boney ratty looking dogs. In a field beside the market,which lies on the lagoon, blankets had been layed out where saltfish was cured. Baracuda, Sardines and many more sat in the hot sun covered in chunks of rock salt and left to dry. This process makes the fish last up to two weeks for eating. Gross. After the fish market i rode home. My balcony faces the road and a cemetery is acroos the street, beyond that is the lagoon which is to polluted for swimming and the streets are filled with dangerous addicts. From where i sit now the streets are bare, an occasional scooter, dog or tuk tuk passes but thats about it. From the cemetery all through the town white tassles are hung to represent someone who has passed away and buried in that lot. Its a nice idea. Guess i should try sleep again.