Heaven on Earth

Where does true paradise exist? I suppose the answers would be infinite, as no two people could possibly have the same setting in mind. You ask: Why on earth would Nate pose such a deep, nebulous question to the simple readers of his blog who, on average, lack the mental capacity required to effectively screw in a lightbulb? The reason I bring this up is simple: I have recently discovered my own paradise. This place is Sri Lanka.

For the nearly four months that I’ve known Winnie AsianName she has spoken at great length about this magical place called Sri Lanka. Her description seemed impossible. Picturesque beaches, beautiful people, rainforest covered mountains, fulfilling relief efforts, insane party scene, peace and harmony amongst the gracious people who deal with the aftermath of the tsunami on a daily basis… how could all these things exist in the same place? I don’t know, but Winnie has never been more right in her entire life.

For the last week, I have been lounging on the beaches of Unawatuna Bay, rebuilding the schools of Boossa, hiking the palm-covered mountains of Kandy and relaxing in villages found deep in the rainforest. This was most definitely one of, if not the, greatest vacation of my life. I will do my best to recount the experience that brought me close to quitting my job and becoming a beach bum for the remainder of my existence.

Words just can't describe...

Part I: Arrival and the beaches of Unawatuna

Winnie, Juan and I arrived in Colombo around 11:00 PM on Friday the 28^th. We grabbed a taxi and drove the 40 minutes to our hotel near the beach where we checked in and immediately ventured into the city to find a cozy watering hole where we could kick off our vacation. We eventually found our way to a bar called R&B. (I have no idea what that stands for.) This turned into a normal evening out with the crew: drinking too much, dancing more than I should be allowed to dance, hitting on people I had no business hitting on, finding my way home. Definitely nothing new to my loyal readers.

The next day we found a bus to take us to Galle, which is a city along the southern cost of Sri Lanka. This bus ride was really an eye-opener. The entire drive was along the coastline where you saw the remains of countless houses, businesses, hotels, fishing shacks, etc. For the most part, all that remained were concrete foundations that you wouldn’t recognize unless you were aware of the devastation caused by the tsunami.

We arrived in Galle and grabbed a Tuk Tuk (a Sri Lankan rickshaw) that took us to our hotel near the beach called Thambupanni. Our room was amazing! It required a Swiss Family Robinson-style climb to our front door found in the tree tops, but the hike was well worth it. We met up with a few of the friends Winnie knew from her days of tsunami relief work and had a grand old time. That night, we met the bartender/waiter/manager/DJ/hippie of the Lucky Tuna, Rikas, who quickly became our best friend. We would spend the next 3 or 4 days on the beach at his restaurant eating, drinking, relaxing on the beach and playing with his dogs Pinkie and Saddam. Only pictures can accurately describe this experience. This is the best I can do:

I managed to make a few friends

This was my scenery for an entire week

Hiking behind our hotel arond Unawatuna beach

My days consisted of waking up around 11:00 AM, heading to the beach for breakfast, laying on the beach reading a book, swimming in the ocean, climbing rocks to the Buddhist temples, hanging out with Rikas, basking in the glory of this tropical paradise.

We heard some incredible stories from the tsunami. Like how Rikas was on the beach when the tsunami hit. He was beaten by the ocean but was able to maintain the state of mind to find a way to swim to find air. Once he had taken hold of the roof of a house, and was able to pull three struggling tourists dangling from a tree to safety. So he saved three lives, no big deal to him.

Or about Sunil, whose bar and restaurant was destroyed by the tsunami. Juan and I were lucky enough to stumble upon his restaurant the first day it was open since it was demolished. He gave us our first beer for free. When I refused to take the beer for free (a big beer in Sri Lanka is about $1) he explained that it was a day to celebrate and remember his mother and son who perished in the tsunami. Sunil might have been the happiest guy I met on the trip, yet possibly the one who lost the most in the last year.

Simply incredible stories.

I also spent time while on vacation helping to get a school back on its feet. We spent hours painting classroom furniture and rebuilding a wall almost destroyed by the waters. There were about 200 children around at the time and they couldn’t have been happier to have us around. What a rewarding experience that really made drinking that night all the more rewarding.

Winnie, myself and Juan after a day of relief work

Part II: Kandy and rainforest

After a few days on the beach we decided to see the rest of Sri Lanka. So we hopped on a train headed to Kandy. We spent 7 hours on the train, but the ride flew by as I sat by the window, listened to my iPod and watched the coastline go by as the sea breeze hit my face.

One of the incredible views out the window of my train

Kandy reminded me of Colorado in the summer, if Colorado had palm trees and huge Buddhist temples nestled in the mountains. Here we stayed in a guest house that cost us about $4 a night per person that had a great view of the scenery. We spent the first day hiking to a Buddhist temple on a neighboring peak. On the way we met a man who took us to the school where his brother teaches a few thousand students.

The Buddhist temple was definitely worth the hike…
…as was the view…

…as was the 12 year old monk I met.

We toured the Tooth Temple during the day. Legend has it that the Tooth Temple (or TT) houses one of Buddha’s teeth! Screwed up, eh? It’s also really cool and has the largest taxidermied animal on the face of the earth. That’s not an official record, but I can’t imagine there’s anything bigger. Has anyone ever taken a whale to a taxidermist? If it’s happened be sure to let me know.

That night we went to see Kandyan dancing, which was really cool. I finally saw people walking on fire!!! Awesome!

Maybe the coolest part of the trip was when Rikas took us by train to his family’s village in the rainforest. We visited the house where his family was gathering for Eid (the Muslim festival at the end of the holy month of Ramadan) and we drank, ate and chilled out with his mother, brother, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbors all day. His mother made us a friggin’ feast that was out of this world! It was a perfect example of how a family can have very little but maintain a level of happiness few Americans have ever experienced. Really makes you think.

Me, Rikas and Juan wearing a lungi

Eating the feast Rikas' mother made us
Chillin with Rikas' family in the 'forest
(Rikas was the only one who really spoke both English and Sinhala and we were still able to spend a whole day with his family)

Rikas' cousins dancing to Tamil music, and they were damn good.

Rikas' cousins

The trip ended much as it had begun: taking a bus to Colombo to catch our flight home. A very sad moment for all of us. This was definitely the first vacation where I felt like I could have stayed indefinitely.

If anyone else has taken a vacation where the partied as hard as I did, worked as hard as I did for a great cause, saw the most beautiful beach of their life, saw the most beautiful mountains of their life and received the true local experience, doesn’t even have to be in the rainforest, then please let me know.

You all must promise me one thing: go visit Sri Lanka in your lifetime. Believe me, you will not think the same way about the world again.

MORE PICTURES COMING SOON!!!