When you`re wandering through Asia, and a safari is part of the highlight package, you`re not exactly expecting to be cruising the savanna in a Range Rover in search of the Big 5. A safari in much of Asia is more likely to mean cruising a buffet lineup of various cooked exotic, strange, and unidentifiable animals while jostling with 5 Big busloads of Chinese tourists. Sri Lanka does appear to be among a handful of Asian nations that is taking it`s responsibility ...

As we were sketching out our trip through Asia, we had picked out a number of festivals that we wanted to check out and one that had always been a curiosity for me were the extravagant, usually Hindu, elephant festivals. There are a number of these held in India and other parts of Asia where elephants are an integral part of ceremonies and processions so it seemed like it would be a slam-dunk to find one as we traveled the area. However, two elephant sized red fl...

Back in her glory days DH was something of an accomplished runner. In fact, when we were home owners I was required to build and maintain three distinct DH Shrines in the basement; the first chronicled her volunteer firefighter accomplishments, the second housed her policing awards (and given the enthusiasm with which coppers hand each other award plaques, this took up significant space), and the third was reserved for her many athletic trophies, most of which ce...

Another day and another difficult to pronounce ancient city; this time Polonnaruwa. Driving to Polonnaruwa took us by a number of military bases and installations (including a Sri Lankan Naval Base that was nowhere near any water- presumably done to confuse any Tamil Tigers that might have been foolishly looking for the Navy along the watery coastline). Although not at the heightened state of alert that existed during the conflict, the military presence was a poi...

We're finally broke out of Southeast Asia and Oceania with a short jaunt to Sri Lanka. Dropping in was not without some concerns as this country's recent history has been marred by a 3-decade inter-ethnic conflict which decisively, but controversially ended in a gov't military victory over the rebel Tamil Tigers in 2009. Safety and infrastructure tend to be casualties of war and although Sri Lanka has some distance to go yet, we've been pleasantly...