UpCountry Tea!

@ One of the many tea factories in Nuwara Eliya.

Possibly cause Nuwara Eliya is located at a height ~~ on a hill station ~~ they call it "Up Country". And the "Up Country Tea" u bet is the best seller in Srilanka! If you ask me, for the Indian palette the upcountry black tea is a safer bet. Their regular milk-tea jus doesnt hv our "Kick" ~~ Can be a litt too mild for our taste!

But indeed What more can one ask for when you get the air of the mountains and a chance to taste lovely unblended black tea. Its a combination to live for (or die for?? ) :)

Linking this to ABC Wednesday(T is for Tea)

Ha n with this I succesfuly finish the NaBloPoMo... Indeed it was maddening this time esp with the crazy schedule at office... Glad I finished it thou :)

Ice Ice Baby!

The first time you sit in front of a fire place not cause its fancy but cause you are chilled to the bone ~~ Now thts a memory you'll treasure for your life.....

Possibly the only reason why NuwaraEliya and more Importantly Binota Residency will remain special (We figured out later that its not NuwaraEliya which is chilling cold ~~ This hotel we staying in is so positioned that it gets hit by the cold mountain wind n tht explains the freezing temp there!). N ofcourse for ma hubba ~~ no hol is comp if theres no hill station in the iternary!

Linking this to our world

Buddha and Buddhism!

When somebody asks me hows Sri Lanka, My ans invariably is tht its v much like kerala except for the inherent differences that Buddhism has infused..... Buddhism there is a way of life jus as Hinduism is in India! Hers a pictorial walk thru of the diff Buddhist temples tht we hopped into....


The Most Famous Buddhist Temple inb whole of Srilanka - The tooth Temple, Kandy

 Then we reach the ancient Buddhist city ~~ The Dambulla temple which is almost prehistoric.. being built somewhere in the early BCs.... The finesse of the work is worth marvelling at.....

Heres a closeup shot of the sole of the recling buddha ~~ I wish I knew what the figures in there signify....

Signing off with the Buddha that I picked up for ma home when in Srilanka :)

Heres a suggestion for you if you intend to go buddha-shopping in Srilanka ~~ The best bets are the buddhsit centeres or Laksala by Srilanka Handicrafts board

Linking this upto Myworld tuesday and with this I kickstart NaBloPoMo for noevember ... Imagine 500+ bloggers from across the world bloggin everyday for  month... wow huh!

Masks of Sri Lanka

No points for guessing what topped ma shopping list on the hol to Sri lanka ..... Hands down it was those colorful n vibrant masks! The dance show jus added more fire to the fuel......

It was on this shopping sojourn tht we got this interesting tid-but abt masks and their significance. Supposedly the Masks that are hung outside most srilankan homes, widely fall under one of the five categories:

Peacock Mask: Brings Peace, Harmony and prosperity
Fire Mask:  To subdue enemies and bring friendship and harmony.
Garuda Mask: Brings  Protection (Garuda is a mythical bird)
Snake Mask: : Brings protection from all dangers.
Evil Mask: Keeps away Evil(??)

Thou I wish I could take you on a pictorial walk thru of the masks ~~ I jus cant find them in my archives :-/. So plz do click on those links to hv a glimpse of those masks. The one that I could show you thou is the "Peacock Mask" that I picked up.....

Somebody asked me if we picked it up fo what it signified ~~ All I will say in ans i s"I wish" ~~ This is another of those things where the "Object" chose us rather than vice versa :-D. One hella dumb pots we are .. arent we :-D

Linking this upto ABC Wednesdays (M for Mask), Wordless Wednedays

Stories From SL - IV

 Imagine walking for a early morning stroll and witnessing this sunrise n having the beach almost to urself(barring a few fishermen n a odd tourist)! This is the best thing I liked abt Trincmalee in Srilanka - Beautiful, untouched beaches with no usual tourist trappings!

You hv a hotel ~~ Almost basic, nothing v fancy but bang on the beach! Hop on here to read more abt Coral Bay ~~ the Hotel where we stayed.....

N when at Trinco, do drop in at Pigeon Island ~~ A haven for snorkeling with crystal clear - almost see thru water! The approach to the island is adventure enuf(at least for the faint hearted like me) ~~ You are cruising thru the ocean with jus the diver for company n no sign of land n man for miles together! Hats off to the Navy for maintaining this place spic n span despite the crowd coming in everyday........
 

Linking this upto Thursday Challenge - "GOLDEN" (Fields, Sun, Flowers, Hair, Gold,...)

Stories From SL - III

Pic Clicked at Kandy, Srilanka. Loved this concept of Srilanka Tourism tourism where they capsule the entire dance forms of SL into a 1 hour live program every evening for the tourists! Imagine replicating this in India ~~ Wont each state hv its own customized dance-drama capsules!

N when we at this pic ~~ The dance here is the famous Srilankan mask dance(chk the link in youtube for a hazy glimpse of it)! The masks hv a socio-religious significance around them.. But I will park tht story for some other day.....

You can look up the othe pics of SL Dance forms here (Hubbs FB Album page)

Linking this upto ABC Wednesdays(K for Kandy), Wordless Wednesday...

The Teacher.....

.... and preacher who taught the world the values of peace and non violence

Clicked at Dambulla in Srilanka!

Linking this upto Thursday Challenge!

Back from SriLanka!

A trip tht was on our minds for few years... something tht neva worked out for myriad reasons ~~ passports, finance u name it! So this time with no prior planning, we leapt into it head first and guess what the hol jus materialized!

The first thing tht comes into ma mind after spending a week in SL? Not the places, not the food, not the hotels its the people ~~ warm, friendly people across the length &  breadth of the country! From the waiters to the hotel staff to the pavement vendors everybody is more than happy to go outta their way to make u comfy in their country! Evn the street vendor is happy to let u sample his fares before u zero on what suits ur taste buds!

Speaking of people, the western influence here is profound from their names to their dressing! But well its a diff story when it comes to speaking English, they are still true to their mother tongue! Something we could learn from!

The touch of Buddhism is what adds tht other distinctive touch  to the country! Possibly its the novelty of a new religion but for me I equate the pristine white Buddhist temples with "calm n peace"!

Hang on here to read on abt the masks, dances, temples of Srilanka!

Ayubowan!

Ages I hv managed to take a peep into ma blog and so Ayobowan it indeed is for me and for any lone reader left! So what kept me away? Well at times you get so lost with soaking in simple  moments of life(viz. spending time with mom n sis) that blogging is the last thing in your mind... Indeed this statement surprises me as much as not missing the blogging!

So in an attempt to keep the blog alive, am leaving u with a recipe of a dish thats been figuring right at the top of ma hubbs fav list the past week ~~ If u know ma hubbs remotely n so are now pukka tht its gona be a non veg dish or possibly a cocktail then well well heres a shocker for u! This is a coconut based dish... Yea u heard it rt! N for those of u who dono him ~~ The pseudo mallu he is, coconut n him are like poles apart ~~ He runs off at the v whiff of coconut oil `` So he taking to this like fish to water is a shocker! Now with no more diversions, heres the recipe:

Mix together grated coconut, finely chopped onions, red chilly powder, lime juice, salt and there u hv the pol sambal ready! Trust me its yummmmm ..... Gos perfectly with rice, sevai n such!!!!

Pic Courtesy: Google!

Now go ahead google up the words "Ayubowan", "Pol Smbal" and u possibly know where I was headed to the last week!