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
