Elephants in Minneriya

I was first drawn to vacationing in Sri Lanka when I flipped open an airplane magazine on board a flight and saw pictures of leopards in the wild . Instead of heading to Africa for the famed safaris, I decided on Sri Lanka.

Instead of seeing leopards, I set my sights on the elephants of Minneriya National Park. This decision was easily reached after reading about the elephant "gathering" every August. And well, the experience really lived up to my own expectations of seeing the majestic creatures in the wild. Minneriya is such a beautiful and peaceful place. 

Our jeep driver was amazing and frequently pointed out any wildlife that he spotted to us, although we seemed only interested to witness the gathering.

And boy can these elephants eat! 

We were so engrossed in them that we decided to head to Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage to spend more time with those beasts. Well, all I can say is that nothing beats seeing them in the wild and that was a disappointing detour in our trip.

Sri Lanka

I have dreamed about visiting Sri Lanka for the past two years and was lucky enough to finally do so during the National Day weekend this year. 

The country has left an indelible mark on me especially after having encountered the colourful and warm personalities - from the humble farmer and his wife from Polonnaruwa who were superb dinner hosts, our amazing safari jeep driver who brought us to the best spots to see the elephants in Minneriya, sweet dear mama Kumari from Kandy with whom we bargained to relax the guest house's curfew if only for half an hour, the friendly Chinese owner of the popular Slightly Chilled Bamboo Bar who, we like to believe, was happy to see fellow Chinese people and to speak in Mandarin with, the hilarious Bob Marley wannabe who picked us up in a pick up to his rest house, and then sent us on an easy two hour trek to Shantipura (but which saw us panting up the mountains for half a day, no nearer to the highest village in Nuwara Eliya), to our fantastic and funny tuk tuk driver who gave us a death defying ride to the airport. 

Our trip was nothing short of exhausting, with constant travel from one town to another. But my awesome travel companions made me realise that I can and will forge new travel experiences and memories with like-minded souls. 

Away for yet another National Day

We have a tendency to want to leave our mark on things. Since we can't all be moon walkers, leaving footprints on the moon, we turn to leaving thoughts and experiences behind in words. 

That's why this medium is special to me especially when far from home. It is strange to be away, by choice, during National Day when my whole family celebrates with feasting.