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Tales of the Travelling Princess
I'll not speak for long for fear that this might turn into a rant.
We have ended up in Kandy after trying to reach this city in the hills for two days. Please read Natalie's delightful description on the journey (statraveljournals.com/pumpkin) for the full low-down. She is right to say that the last leg of the journey nearly broke me. I was tired, hungry and angry. Some of you know this is not good for people around me. I know that we can't expect Sri Lankans to speak English or even have a little knowledge of it and I was more angry at me and Nat not having a map/phrase book/guide book to help us out. We had no idea where we were going nor how long going anywhere would take. This was a little frustrating after 2 hours of bum numbing bus journey. The crazy reggae/buddhist music blaring from the back of the bus was funny so this distracted me from the rage building up inside about the state this country is in.
Where is all the tsunami aid money? Why is tourism so difficult for businesses to tap into? Why are there no proper road systems for all the workers who make long journey to/from work every day?
Just checked the BBC website to find some more problems in the north of Sri Lanka. Nothing to worry about around the south and areas we have travelled from. Apparently. But not quite sure what is going on here. We hitched a lift with a couple from East Ham yesterday - he is a Sri Lankan who moved away 10 years ago. He was visibly upset about the changes in ten years. He didn't like the thought of two foreigners travelling around unguided - let alone two women. I think he was exaggerating a little but there is certainly some truth in it. There are police checkpoints at the entrance to most towns and there are points around major points of interests are swarming with police. Not sure they are checking much but they are there with guns and menacing stares.
The reality is that this country is at war and the cease fire ended for the Sri Lankans a long time ago. Both sides need this war as people are making a lot of money from it somewhere along the lines. It keeps Sri Lanka on the map, too.
Just re-read that and it does indeed sound like a rant. Only frustrated about what we've heard from people we've met. Nobody seems to be making the most of having a fantastic country and it's (mostly) fantastic people. If I could be made president I'd have a few things on the top of my to-do list.
Tip: bring at least a map of the country you are visiting - even better bring a guidebook so you know some places to go!
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