At around 10:30 AM Hoài Anh and Thắng appeared and we all hopped back into the Maruti and headed toward our next destination, a tea plantation stuck somewhere in the highlands passed Nuwara Eliya. All of us heard that the drive would be about four hours but we did not reach our final destination until after seven PM. It was a lot of driving but we did make some stops along the way. We had to stop several times outside of Delhousie for a 3-speed, rod-brake b...

Adam's Peak, or Sri Pada as the locals call it, was 2230 meters high. It was revered as a holy site by Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians. The large boulder at the peak contains an indentation resembling a footprint….possibly Adam's? The entry into Sri Pada was a large brick archway. There were monks there to bless you and tie prayer strings to your right wrist. They were also quick to demand a donation. One monk handled me a book filled with names o...

We departed for Delhousie and Adam's Peak (Sri Pada) at around 4:30 PM. When Benjamin said he hired a car for us what he meant was he hired about half a car. Our driver, Manog (sounds like ménage as in ménage à trois) showed up in a blue Maruti Suzuki 800 AC. I looked like an old four door rabbit. I assume the 800 was for the number of cylinders and AC was for the little air conditioning button near the steering wheel. I will never know because we never u...

Benjamin's Mom's Recipe for Batu Moju (pronounced mahjew) Eggplant dish from the first night in Kandy 250g eggplant - cut into small strips ½ red onions - cut into cubes 10 green chilies - cut it from the middle (optional) 2 - 3 cloves of garlic 2.5cm x 1 piece of ginger 8 - 10 curry leaves 1 tablespoon coriander power 1 ½ mustard seeds 1-2 Tbs Vinegar 2 - 3 teaspoons Sugar Oil to fry Salt to taste DIRECTIONS: Heat the oil in a large frying pan i...

Monday morning was time to relax a bit. I slept in until nine. I said my good byes to Benjamin's sister Sarah the night before, she returned to work in Colombo before dawn. It was nice to have her perspective on things. I hope she travels to Portland some day and I can return the generous hospitality I have found from the Arumugam family. I spent much of the morning trying to convince Hoài Anh and Thắng the value in following Benjamin's advice and hiring ...