Sri Lanka January 2010

We decided since we had the weekend off before the liveaboard in the Maldives that we would spend it in Sri Lanka. Of course, we had to pick the weekend before the election of a new President. We got all sorts of warnings from the US Embassy to stay away from political rallies as there was a possible threat of violence between the two political parties. I must admit that the presence of the military everywhere in Colombo was a little scary, but things went fine and we were indeed glad to get on the plane to the Maldives vowing that we didn't need to come back to Sri Lanka anytime soon.
















Van instinctively chose the right lane at the Sri Lankan Airport in Colombo.




















These Arabian women we on the beach in full burkas. You could only see their eyes and I kept imagining how hot they were completely covered in black from head to toe.

This soldier was patrolling the Galle Green water front across the street from our hotel. They did not like the photo being taken so I had to wait until their backs were turned. When we took the Tuk Tuks in Colombo, they would stop us and our driver would have to pull over. They took one look at us and waved us on, but we saw them giving native Sri Lankans more than a cursory look.

Soldiers and inflatable beach balls. Not the combination that we were expecting to see on the waterfront.

Local Sri Lankans enjoying a walk on the beach. It was interesting that most of the people playing on the beach were fully dressed. No one was in a bathing costume and this young lady in her Sari even had high-heels on. I don't know if the lack of swimmers was because they don't know how to swim or because it is not an accepted practice in Sri Lanka.

We went to Buddhist temple that this reportedly 89 year old male elephant called home. His tusks were magnificent. They must have been almost 5 feet long. We got to pet him and feed him food and that was thought to bring us good luck and fortune. We both love elephants.

Here is one of the beautiful bronze statues at the temple.

Van was attracted to this statue. It must have been the bee hive hair do, don't you think so? Ha!

When we stopped to view a building, a young man with a basket started playing a flute and this beautiful King Cobra came out and started swaying to his music. Apparently, they take the fangs out so the snake can't kill the charmer with his poison venom. It was really fun to see. I like snakes.

We took a tour on Sunday to the interior mountainous city of Kandy. Here is a busy city street on a beautiful day. The military presence was not as prevalent in Kandy and for that we were very thankful.

This sweet old man was working at the Hindu temple. It amazes me that you don't see very many Indian people with gray hair. It seems that they are very old to have gray hair.

Here is the detail of one of the thousands of sculptures found in the temple. It is amazing how everywhere you look there is something you hadn't noticed before.

Here is the golden roof at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is said that the tooth of Buddha is in the temple. Once a year the tooth is put on display and worshipers can make flower offerings to it. This Temple was bombed about six years ago. The security was very tight with frisking of all people entering the temple grounds.

Another view from the inside of the Hindu temple located in downtown Colombo.

Here is the view from the hilltop looking down over Lake Kandy which is right next to the Temple of the Tooth. It was actually quite a pretty town compared to Colombo.

In Colombo, I took this picture in which I thought "paradise gone bad." A beautiful resort pool and above it is a military tower complete with guards and machine guns. It is the security tower for the British High Commission Consulate Building which is right next door to the resort.

In Kandy we stopped to see the Big White Buddha on the hill. Our driver could give us no other information.

Here is the flag of Sri Lanka flying over the Parliament Building in downtown Colombo.

Here is the view from the pier looking towards the harbor in Colombo. In the evenings there were big political rallies near the waterfront. It was hard to sleep with all the noise and campaigning going on so close.

All and all, our trip there was informative but disappointing. It's probably the least favorite place we have been since living in Malaysia. We will not go back anytime soon. We might wait until they have been a free country for longer than 30 years. It might improve the treatment we received and the tourist amenities.

Maldives January 2010

Our trip to the Maldives aboard the diving liveaboard, the Black Pearl, was one of the very best vacations we have ever had. It was our first liveaboard experience - where you stay on the boat for the entire week and dive, sleep, and eat. I must admit that we felt a little overwhelmed with the advanced experience level of the rest of the divers on board and the technical aspect of the diving - lots of current due to tides, but thanks to Ismail and Ali, the dive masters onboard, we learned to be more comfortable and really stretched the horizons of our diving skills. If the terrific crew, wonderful food, and excellent diving wasn't enough, we even had the joy of spending a whole week with some really awesome people. Everyone was a joy to behold and we felt blessed to share our vacation with them.



















Male, the capitol of the Maldives (pronounced MAUL-DEEVES) is a bustling city on a separate island from the airport. This is the view from the harbor at the airport to Male. The water was so incredibly blue. It made my heartbeat slow down and relax just looking at it! Talk about a natural stress reducer!













Mike, Chris and Paul who I nicknamed "the boys of summer" were from London and we had such a good time slinging crap back and forth all week. Mike and Chris are brothers and Paul is Chris' best friend. I have to tell you, the camaraderie between the three of them left us wiping the tears from our eyes from laughing too hard. What a great trio of men! Interesting that all of their last names are Lewis.


























Detlev and Antje were from Germany. Antje was a diver and Detlev was our master snorkeler. They were a lovely couple and even though Antje did not speak much English, she spoke volumes with her beautiful smile, eyes, and contagious laughter. Both of them were a joy to have onboard. Very nice, wonderful people to get to know.
























It was really hard to do justice to the wonderful shades of blue in the water. It went from the deepest blue to the lightest blue and every beautiful shade of blue in between. The islands we saw were indeed amazing. I don't know how you'd be able to pick a resort without feeling like you might be missing out on another lovely location. It's so beautiful.






















Another view of the beautiful water and islands we passed on our seven-day diving excursion.






















Ismail, or Issy, who was the boss of the boat introduced his crew as the "Lovely Boys." I agree whole-heartily. The whole crew was absolutely amazing! Here three of the "lovely boys" dock the boat for the evening.


































The sunsets were magnificent and ever changing. Here the rays of the sun extend way up into the heavens and beyond.







































Van and I "unda-the-sea" on one of our trips. We dove in the morning early, mid-day, and again in the afternoon. It was easy to develop a rhythm of get up, dive, eat, nap, dive, eat, nap, dive, drink & eat. No one had an alcoholic drink until after we were done diving for the day. It was great. You got lots of exercise, ate great food, sunbathed, napped, and dove. I can't think of a better way to spend a vacation. Of course, the drinking in the evening was fun as well!














Ali Baba, our very special dive master. Ali was the rock that we clung to in times of stretching our diving horizons. Honestly, if it wasn't for his assistance and kind manner, we would not have learned as much or had near as much fun on the trip. Thanks, Ali for being so good to us!












Our home on the water for the week. The Black Pearl. We lounged on the front deck, had dinner all together on the back deck, and used the upper sundeck. Detlev and Antje even slept out under the stars on the upper sun deck most nights.














One of the beautiful sunsets. Everyone stopped what they were doing and just watched as the sun slowly set into the water. It was my favorite time of the day.


























How could you ever grow tired of this.
















A very friendly Rock Fish. We were hanging onto the reef in the current looking for sharks when this friendly fellow stopped right in front of me. If he didn't swim to me, I would have had a hard time telling him from the coral and rocks. Amazing natural camouflage.

Another sunset.

And another. This one was on our fishing night. We took the dive boat out to a thila (pinnacle of rock) and tried our luck. Local knowledge won and one of the lovely boys caught the most fish. I have to add that I was the winner in the tourist category with 3 Red Snappers. I outfished Van and even Calamari Man! We ate them Maldivian style the following evening for dinner - delicious!

















This photo proves that Ali is an angel! See the halo!
























Detlev and I snorkeled to this beautiful sand bar in the middle of the reef. The water was so amazing. I wish I had thought to take the waterproof housing off before snapping the pics. There were water spots.


















Here is the whole crew. Front/Center; Doris & Robert from Germany, Blue Shirt; Antje, White T-Shirt Right Side, Richard from London; Left Front, Pavela from New Zealand (her husband Pavel was taking the photo); Back Left; Me, Paul, Mike, Ismail (Issy), Van, Ali, Detlev & Chris. What a wonderful group of people. There were tears when we said good-bye.

Doris took this great photo of a bat fish. They were huge and we saw a lot of them.

Doris also took this great photo of an anemone and Nemo (a clown fish).

I had never seen a tuna before this trip. They were really shiny and fun to watch.

The fish were everywhere. I can see why the Maldives is known for its fish. This is a good example of how there were so many fish it was hard to focus on just one.

Doris took this photo of two Hawksbill Turtles. The lower one was pulling on the other turtle's foot. He seemed to be saying "come on, wake up, it's time to play. You've been napping long enough!"

This is the Black Pearl Dive Boat. It was great. You put your gear on the dive boat at the beginning of the trip and left it there until the last day. They filled the tanks away from other boat so the noise didn't disturb us and gave you a basket for all your dive equipment. It was a truly great way to dive.

Oh, the crowning jewel of our dive trip. We got to see a Whale Shark. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. You cruise around in the boat trying to spot one under the water. There are several other boats looking as well. When a boat spots one, everyone jumps off with their snorkeling equipment and the race is on. Honestly, it reminds me of the start of the swimming portion of a triathlon. It's pandemonium. Totally worth it though to get a chance to swim along with these huge creatures.

Doris took this beautiful photo of a school of giant Manta Rays. This is another reason to dive the Maldives. They were the most incredible things to behold. Since we saw them soon after the Whale Shark it really was a pretty awe inspiring day.

Here is another photo because one just is not enough.

We saw lots and lots of sharks. Here is a pretty large White Tipped Reef Shark. In order to see most of them, we would cling to the rocks in the strong current and watch them come in from the deep blue.

Oh, Doris and Robert. If anyone on the trip made us feel like we had been friends for life it was these two lovely people. They are from Munich, Germany, and it is our sincerest wish to visit them there. Robert will forever more be known as Calamari Man. I never would have thought we could make so many comments about Calamari, but we managed in spades. What truly wonderful people and we were lucky enough to share our vacation with them. They were the lucky ones who still had another week in the Maldives at a resort. Honestly, it was very tempting to say the heck with work and join them. We easily could have stayed another week.

Another view of the reef and the beautiful and abundant fishes!

One last sunset. Perfection. Go to the Maldives. Live aboard the Black Pearl. Meet people who you want to be friends for life. Enjoy the magnificent views above and below water. Have the time of your life!