Blog # 14 - Sri Lanka - Rural # 4
"Thousands" of stray dogs hangout on the side or on the roads
Fresh fish without refrigeration?
The orange flag signifies a monk's death
Some of today's travels took us through jungle areas
Besides cows, there were plenty of water buffalo wandering around
Many years ago, kings built large lakes or reservoirs to hold drinking water as well as using water necessary for crops such as rice
Rice field with temple in the background
Many roadside shrines for passerby's to pray
Another family happy to have their picture taken
The rural and undeveloped areas are quite pretty
As we were enjoying the view and taking pictures, a noise above caught our attention. It was a monkey. Our daughter, Shira, is an expert on primates. She'll probably know the classification of this "monkey."
More roadside shrines
Here we are - in the middle of nowhere - hot and humid - visiting a Hindu temple
Parts of the temple complex were designated (only) for monks
Young women lighting candles and praying
Jerry couldn't find a manhole; but, he did find this stone design in a walkway
We had to walk about two miles from the bus stop to the temple as did this mother and child. The weather was nasty! The only difference between us and this family was they took off their shoes at the beginning of this lengthy walk
Historical and religious relics are sealed inside. No one can enter
We were lucky to see how locals pray to their gods
The praying process for everyone was quite lengthy
Jungle foliage surrounded the temple. Monkey's were everywhere
Mother and baby
These monkeys were not tame - they had the free reign of the area and we were warned not to smile and show our teeth - it is a sign of aggression to them.
Another type of monkey
We're still smiling; but where's the A/C
Grandpa, daughter, granddaughter and groceries
This was the best part of the day! We wandered away from the other tourists and came across a brother and sister playing a form of badminton. Using hand motions, Jerry got the kids to drop their rackets, move apart and wait for something special. Jerry taught the kids how to throw a frisbee. After a half-dozen or so tries, they got the hang of it. The smiles on their faces was very special.
Jerry gave them the frisbee. We waved good-by and the children ran to their mother and probably the aunty. The adults waved goodbye to us - everyone was smiling.
As the bus was about to leave, the daughter ran back with a gift. She gave us scented paper flowers
This was their side-yard
We realized that when the students leave school, the boys and the girls don't walk together
The day concluded with a nice, relaxing dinner with a room that had plenty of A/C
It took us ten days to learn that the smaller phone is used to call the butler
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