Kataragama Pilgrimage Site

*Transcribed*

We woke up early (as usual) and headed over to the shoot location at about 07:00. We stopped to get some footage on the road and we saw a lady who was making hoppers so we had some breakfast. Although they were plain (as opposed to milk) hoppers they were still really good. I was feeling like shit when I got up this morning, but I think it’s because I had a very small dinner. I’m feeling a little better now that I’ve had a couple of snacks.

The 50 women were already at the location (Kataragama) when we arrived. Kataragama is a famous religious landmark/pilgrimage in Sri Lanka where they have a Hindu temple, a Muslim mosque as well as a Buddhist temple all in the same location. S, Tammy and I watched the ceremony and then we just kinda’ hung around until they finished shooting all their scenes. While hanging around we went to get some pineapple slices. The man cut the pineapple up and then rinsed it in a tub of water. Once we started eating, we all wondered if the water he washed it in was clean, but this was Sri Lanka so we just hoped for the best. A couple of minutes (and a few pineapple slices) later a guy came and washed his hands in the same “pineapple rinsing” water. YUMMY! Tammy was like: “Ummm…I REALLY didn’t need to see that.” Ah well.

After the last scene was shot we finally began the trek back to Colombo. On the way back we stopped in Embalapitiya for a quick swim in the Chandrika Wewa (“Wewa” means lake) which is a small man-made lake. Here are some pics of the day:

These scenes were actually what I saw day before yesterday on the drive from Trinco to Tissa. On the left is a mountain (in case you weren’t sure). Then you see some elephants. I think the elephant in the forefront is dead; no, he’s actually just napping! If you look closely, in the lake behind the standing elephant you can see man giving an elephant a bath. You probably need a couple of bars of soap to do a good job. As cool as it might be, I wouldn’t want an elephant as a pet. I think it would be more trouble than it?s worth. It’s true. Think about it.

The lady who’s standing up was singing a song in Tamil; many of the other women look bored to tears. The second picture is a ritual where you take a coconut and smash it on a rock to purge you of your sins. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get a picture of the coconut actually breaking on the rock! There’s Tammy walking through my perfectly planned shot. I showed the picture to Tammy and said: “Who’s this random white person walking through the ritual??” I think it?s a cool contrast though.

Some cheeky monkeys in the first pic. Oh wait, that’s S and I. Sorry, cheeky monkeys in picture 2! Yeah, we look really terrible, but that?s what happens when you? haven’t been eating or sleeping properly and traveling on Sri Lankan roads for 4 days straight! I think this pic was taken around 09:30 (hence the redness of the eyes as well) before we had the pineapple treats! . All over the temple area there are pipes with taps for people to wash their fruits and hands. A couple of locals came and told us that these monkeys are able to turn the taps on to wash their hands and drink the water. What was even funnier was that the locals were complaining that the damn monkeys don’t close the taps!! LOL As the people here would say: “?Cheeky buggers!”