Anuradhapura (North Central Province, Sri Lanka)

For a revised version of this post, go here.
Aug 19^th, 2009 - Today I explored the ancient city of Anuradhapura. It became the capital of Sri Lanka in 380 BC under the rule of King Pandukabhaya but reached its height under Devanampyia Tissa (247-207 BC). It was to serve as the capital of Sri Lanka for over 1000 years. I began at the Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba. What the hell is a dagoba? A dagoba is a dome-shaped memorial alleged to contain relics of Buddha or a Buddhist saint; also referred to as a stupa or chaitya. This one was built by Devanampyia and was his crowning achievement. It is an impressive sight and extremely sacred to Buddhist followers. People come to make offerings, pray, meditate, and the like. In fact most of the people there were pilgrims and worshipers, not tourists per se.

I then moved on to the Sacred Bodhi Tree. This tree acts as the heart of the city both physically and spiritually. It is said to be the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world and has been cared for and guarded for over 2000 years. Wowie.

Much of the sacred city is nestled in a light forest that simply emanates serenity. As you make your way through a sense of calm and well being slowly overtakes you. It is all you can do not to curl up on a patch of grass near a ruin or under tree and drift off to sleep. Oh what a sight this must have been in its heyday. I made stops at Elephant Pond, the Moonstone, Samadhi Buddha (statue), Twin Ponds, and a host of other sites that formed part of the thriving ancient city. Wowie.

I ended my tour at the massive brick Jetavanarama Dagoba built in the third century. It originally stood at a 100m but now reaches only 70m. The area around this dagoba contains the ruins of a monastery and, like other parts of the city, is situated in a beautiful area of green patchwork interspersed between trees and the remains of ancient structures.

Blue of the Deepest Hue (Upper Mustang, Nepal) Part II

Nov 17^th, 2009 - One thing you will notice in Nepal is that men, woman, and children will hack, spit, and expel congestants from their bodies with reckless abandon and the utmost alacrity. It sometimes sounds as if an individual has a personal vendetta against their respiratory track. And when you take into account the arid, dusty conditions of the Mustang area the phenomenon only intensifies. In a word: lovely.

In addition to Hans and Grets there is also a group of mature French tourists following the same track and they were every bit as friendly as my two German counterparts. The second tea house stop saw me eating at a table surrounded by folks while being completely ignored. I suppose struggling in English was probably more trouble than it was worth. Not really such a big deal as bedtime came shortly after the setting sun. Turning in at 8 pm would have been a late night for me.

Notwithstanding an almost complete lack of companionship (Ram was friendly enough but did not have a whole lot to say and I was normally 20-30 minutes ahead of him along the trail) the trekking was incredible. I was often ahead of both groups and generally alone except for the few locals that I passed along the trail. I am fairly certain I have never witnessed skies as blue as the ones I saw day after day during this journey. It was remarkable and left me questioning the very definition of the phrase ‘deep blue’. It does not get deeper than that. When the sky is basically the same shade of blue with or without a pair of polarized sunglasses you know you are in the Himalayas.