A visit to Ravana's Homeland [Emma and Lily]
Emma:
Last week my family and I went up to Sri Lanka for one of my dad’s former student’s weddings. We stayed in the capital, Colombo, until after the wedding and then we went down to an area called Bentota and stayed right next to the beach for a few days. There was also a river right next to the hotel and to get to the hotel you had to go on a ferry across it. One day we went on a 2 hour tour down the river. We saw a lot of water birds and two of these really cute water monitors. The best part was when a guy with a pet baby alligator came over and I got to hold it and put it on my shoulder. Clara had wanted to go on a Ringo ride, so I agreed to go with her since she had wanted company. In the end, I loved it and she was terrified, but when we stopped halfway through the ride she said she was fine. There was a really nice beach too. The waves were really big on the first two days, so on the third day we decided to rent body boards, but then the waves were tiny for some reason. If you walked down the beach for a little while there was tide pools. They were really cool and had crabs, eels, tiny fish, and sea urchins. It was a fun vacation.
Lily:
Two nights ago we returned to our flat from Sri Lanka, that little island off the coast of the tip of India. The reason we went there was to go to my dad’s former student Lahari’s wedding. Our first destination was Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka and the city in which the church where the wedding was held is located. The wedding was Christian, and Lahari looked very pretty in the white and gold sari she wore in it. After the service, there was a reception at the Hilton hotel. It was really fun and there was lots of dancing and a buffet bigger than you’ve ever seen for dinner.
After staying five days in Colombo, we took a pretty drive down to Bentota, a town on the coast of Sri Lanka. We stayed at hotel Ceysands, a really cool hotel that we had to take a boat to because of the river right in front of it. There was a boathouse there with all sorts of water sports you could do on the river, such as Ringo rides, water skiing, jet skiing, body boarding (for the ocean, not the river), and lots of others. Well, Clara had her heart set on the Ringo rides; I guess she thought it would be fun to be pulled around on a tube by a boat. She finally talked Emma, who wasn’t thrilled at the idea, into going. Emma didn’t really want to go, but she went anyway. (I rode with my dad in the boat, to take pictures.) Emma ended up loving the ride, and wanting to go again, while Clara on the other hand hated it, and was too horror-struck to even talk for a while after the ride.
The ocean was so nice; it was warm and the waves weren’t too rough for most of the trip. Emma and my dad rented body boards, but then found the waves not big enough. My dad gave his board to Clara, who had a blast riding the small waves.
Another thing at the boat house was a boat tour, that we took. It was so much fun! We cruised along the river and saw all sorts of cool birds, and two water monitors, which are these big, slithery lizard things that swam lurked in the shallower parts of the water. There was a man we saw whose job was paddling around in his canoe, showing off his pet baby crocodile. The crocodile sat on Emma and Clara’s shoulders. I hate reptiles, yet anyway petted it bravely. We went through an awesome swamp thing that was like going through a tunnel of trees. We also went to a no-machine, all hand-work coconut product factory. They showed us how to make rope with coconut fiber. This is how:
1. Soak the coconut in water for three months.
2. After 3 months, take the coconut out and peel off the now soft shell.
3. Hack up the shell till it turns to fiber.
4. Let the fiber dry.
5. Twist and roll the fiber into a rope.
Well, that’s all I have time to tell for now; I have to go read Heidi during my five minute break from home school.
Last week my family and I went up to Sri Lanka for one of my dad’s former student’s weddings. We stayed in the capital, Colombo, until after the wedding and then we went down to an area called Bentota and stayed right next to the beach for a few days. There was also a river right next to the hotel and to get to the hotel you had to go on a ferry across it. One day we went on a 2 hour tour down the river. We saw a lot of water birds and two of these really cute water monitors. The best part was when a guy with a pet baby alligator came over and I got to hold it and put it on my shoulder. Clara had wanted to go on a Ringo ride, so I agreed to go with her since she had wanted company. In the end, I loved it and she was terrified, but when we stopped halfway through the ride she said she was fine. There was a really nice beach too. The waves were really big on the first two days, so on the third day we decided to rent body boards, but then the waves were tiny for some reason. If you walked down the beach for a little while there was tide pools. They were really cool and had crabs, eels, tiny fish, and sea urchins. It was a fun vacation.
Lily:
Two nights ago we returned to our flat from Sri Lanka, that little island off the coast of the tip of India. The reason we went there was to go to my dad’s former student Lahari’s wedding. Our first destination was Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka and the city in which the church where the wedding was held is located. The wedding was Christian, and Lahari looked very pretty in the white and gold sari she wore in it. After the service, there was a reception at the Hilton hotel. It was really fun and there was lots of dancing and a buffet bigger than you’ve ever seen for dinner.
After staying five days in Colombo, we took a pretty drive down to Bentota, a town on the coast of Sri Lanka. We stayed at hotel Ceysands, a really cool hotel that we had to take a boat to because of the river right in front of it. There was a boathouse there with all sorts of water sports you could do on the river, such as Ringo rides, water skiing, jet skiing, body boarding (for the ocean, not the river), and lots of others. Well, Clara had her heart set on the Ringo rides; I guess she thought it would be fun to be pulled around on a tube by a boat. She finally talked Emma, who wasn’t thrilled at the idea, into going. Emma didn’t really want to go, but she went anyway. (I rode with my dad in the boat, to take pictures.) Emma ended up loving the ride, and wanting to go again, while Clara on the other hand hated it, and was too horror-struck to even talk for a while after the ride.
The ocean was so nice; it was warm and the waves weren’t too rough for most of the trip. Emma and my dad rented body boards, but then found the waves not big enough. My dad gave his board to Clara, who had a blast riding the small waves.
Another thing at the boat house was a boat tour, that we took. It was so much fun! We cruised along the river and saw all sorts of cool birds, and two water monitors, which are these big, slithery lizard things that swam lurked in the shallower parts of the water. There was a man we saw whose job was paddling around in his canoe, showing off his pet baby crocodile. The crocodile sat on Emma and Clara’s shoulders. I hate reptiles, yet anyway petted it bravely. We went through an awesome swamp thing that was like going through a tunnel of trees. We also went to a no-machine, all hand-work coconut product factory. They showed us how to make rope with coconut fiber. This is how:
1. Soak the coconut in water for three months.
2. After 3 months, take the coconut out and peel off the now soft shell.
3. Hack up the shell till it turns to fiber.
4. Let the fiber dry.
5. Twist and roll the fiber into a rope.
Well, that’s all I have time to tell for now; I have to go read Heidi during my five minute break from home school.
posted by Jim Hartley | 8:00 AM
1 Comments:
Hmmm....you went UP to Sri Lanka and your dad went DOWN to Sri Lanka....I was just wondering how that works! Anyway, I'm glad you had a good trip, sounds like it was lots of fun. Ooo...monitors in the water by you, crocodiles on shoulders--I'm glad you will be home safe soon!!!
Love, Grandma
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