I still can’t push myself off the bed, without elegantly wrapping my arm around my thigh, rolling back and forth to heave myself up! Blinking surfing is dangerous! I forgot to say, our surf instructor was called ‘Blackie’. I simply couldn’t bring myself to say it out-loud.
Anyhoo, we went into Galle town today, and peeped into the spice market, and was a bit frightened, as everyone is staring at you hungrily (probably for the assumption of foreign cash rather than human flesh). Galle town was dirty, polluted, and not particularly pleasant actually. Their has been some trouble in Galle between the minority of Muslims being picked on an stone pelted by local mobs. Their is definitely a massive muslim-aphobia out here. Not cool.
Our now regular Tuk Tuk driver bought us 5 mangoes and proudly told us each mango was 20 ruppee to him as a local and would have been 100 each to a tourist. It’s not that nice knowing people hike the price up just because you are a tourist. But as the local market people’s ragged clothes, and skeletal frames show, life isn’t fair.
So we next head to a silk factory. Made the traditional Sri Lankan way with real silk worm cocoon. 435 silk worm eggs for 1 sq m of fabric! Eek!
They had a sign showing where the water had reached from the 2004 tsunami wave, and the local chap explained how the government now no longer insure against natural disaster on Boxing Day!! They seem to think it was an amalgamation of a full moon, Boxing Day, and some other nonsense reason that had all come together at once. Not taking away from the fact their entire stock and machines were all destroyed, but luckily no people, as the place wasn’t open, being a national holiday. The workers all just ran upstairs and hoped for the best.
I found myself a pretty and oh so soft silk scarf as a useful souvenir in the heat to cover my delicate external cells with.
We pop in to a local gem shop, at my request, for our friend to show us one with local prices, not tourist. I found a simple silver ring with a single red ruby in. (May be coloured glass, but I am not really fussed… I like it)
We head back to base, and have some soft cheese and local crackers, shading from the stifling mid day humidity.
Lots of monkey action today! They are very cute creatures, but I am happy they are staying in the trees.
We have arranged a tour of some of the mid island, to start Saturday, with the Shanghai men’s guide, Wasi, who we got along with well.
Another storm rolled overhead, flashing and crackling in the same almighty fashion. I sit on the floor of the edge of the veranda, watching up, and Leon advises me to sit away from the edge. I ignore him haha! As he one said to me, if you ain’t living life on the edge, you are taking up too much space!’
My mug! Monkey sat in trees in Marco’s massive tropical garden Gorgeous greenery in Marco’s garden Me stretching and pointing to the tsunami water level 26.12.2004 sign, which is a foot above my outstretched hand. Our Tuk Tuk driver looks on.
