Sri Lankar and Cheese

well, i've neglected my blog to the point that i feel awkward posting again. like i have to catch up on all i haven't written about, and the longer i put that off the more work it seems like. so quick overview, i had a merry chirstmas with the family in virginia, reunited with my Smeesa, and began our journey across the world. Starting with a fun stay in Baltimore with Marina, Herdon, Virginia with Mindy and Mike (namaste!) and then New York City with Virginia! Experiencing New York's first snow of the year made me extra extra extra excited to be going somewhere tropical, so thanks for that. It was so very excellent to reunite with my old friend Virginia! We haven't seen each other since high school, but it seems we still have much in common I'd say. Love of black clothing, black coffee, bling, Lil Wayne, etc. Its good. Then we began our 24 hour epic trip across the world! It didn't seem so bad. In fact, it only got more and more exciting. There's nothing like apirplane culture shock, where suddenly you are the minority, fewer and fewer people speak english, and the announcements over the intercom are in some crazy language. Arabic then Sinhalese i think? I love it. So we flew from New york, to Bahrain, to Sri Lanka. The only other white person on the last plane was *gasp!* another blonde guy with dreadlocks! I'm pretty sure all the other people thought we were somehow related.
So then we spent a few days in Colombo, then hit up some beach towns in the south, including, Unawatuna, Galle, and Hikkaduwa. Then we took the bus inland to Ehiliyagoda where we hung out in the jungle with monkeys, explored the rainforest and saw tea plantations and cinnamon farms.
Next we conquered Adam's Peak, a famous religious pilgrimage. For some reason we took the long way, and it took us 14 hours! 14 hours of stairs only. It was a bit traumatizing, and right afterwards i would have never recommended such thing to anyone in their right mind. But after recovering for a few days, i started to feel....different....like something happened to me on that mountain. I don't know if its just the sense of accomplishment for doing the hardest thing i've ever done, or if that place really is magical. I'd say both, and i highly recommend it.
Now we are back in Hikkaduwa, definitely our favorite beach town. There's just something about this place. Its an interesting mix of local culture and cultures from all over the world. We celebrated my birthday here, which really wasn't much different than any other day. Beach. Ocean. Rice and Curry. Dancing. General Merriment. People singing happy birthday to me. Oh yes and my delicious coconut banana cake yum!
So I guess that is the sum up for now. That time of day is approaching where I must nap. Check out Lisa's blog for more details: www.lisamariehanson.blogspot.com