Sri Lanka

Hello all,

I just got back from a week away in Sri Lanka! I meant to post yesterday but was just too darn tired to do so. Sri Lanka is the tear-drop island off of India in the Indian Ocean, in case you don't know. It's independent, though it has some political alliance of sorts to India.

A major highlight of the trip was going to tea country. Sri Lanka is famous for Ceylon tea, and tea plantations make up 10% of the landmass. We stayed in this amazing hotel called Heritage Tea Factory, that had actually been a tea factory in the past. To differentiate between the original building and the modern supports, different colours were used. Red was modern, and green was original. They actually ran the machinery in the evening for atmospheric purposes, which was fascinating. That night we had dinner in a train car, which was amazing. However, it was six courses of delicious food- by the end we all thought we were going to explore.

Another interesting activity was going on safari. Technically, safaris. On safari we saw various animals such as water buffaloes, elephants, peafowl (so many of them), birds and bugs. The evening safari was easier to deal with than the early-morning one the next day. I kept falling asleep during the morning one- it was far too hot to bother staying awake! Oh well.

I can't say if it is the best part of the trip, but one of the most enjoyable things I did was go swimming in the Indian Ocean. We stayed at a nice beach resort so naturally I splashed around in the waves for a while. The waves were really strong and I worried that my bikini was going to wash away. All and all, the beach was pretty clean.

Sri Lankan food is easily the most boring I've ever had, at least after a week of it. The rice isn't as good as East Asian rice (though remember I'm extremely bias). Then most of the food is some form of curry. Curry chicken. Curry beef. Curry veggies. Curry something else. SO MUCH CURRY!
At least the poppers were good. Poppers are these sort of pancake things made in a special pan that are really thing, except for the middle part of the "bowl" which is thick and pancake-like. Those went with sambal, spicy veggie based stuff.

Sri Lanka was a really beautiful country. Even though we were in the van a lot (with our awesome driver Maharoof who did not drive us off a cliff), it was a great trip.

My Thoughts on New Zealand

So, my New Zealand vacation is quickly coming to a close. We're flying out of Auckland on Sunday and then it's back to the heat and humidity of Singapore. Here's a list of my thoughts, opinions and observations of New Zealand.

1. The roads are curvy. At least the seaside roads. Either be ready to drive carefully and slowly, sleep the whole way through, or take some anti-motion sickness medicines.

2. It really is the adventure capitol. I swear, any crazy extreme activity you could ever think of is available here. Bungy, bungy swing, giant hamster ball things, skydiving, diving, snorkeling...

3. New Zealand is very eco-conscious. It's really nice to find a place that is actively aware of how much they are using every day. It's also pretty easy to find recycling bins and stuff.

4. New Zealand is Middle-earth. There's areas that look just like the Shire. Then there's the Misty Mountains. Oh, and then there's the woods that look like Lothlórien. And Isengard.

5. People here seem to have a nice work-life balance. It's not like America where all people do is work. People have hobbies and passions that they actively pursue outside of work.

6. People in New Zealand are fit, or at the very least they are active. There are middle-aged mountain bikers!

7. New Zealand is chilly. Bring a jacket if you've come from steamy Singapore, because you'll freeze the whole trip.

8. New Zealand has a lot of sheep. And cattle.

9. New Zealand is amazing! I think everyone should come visit here ^.^