Elephants and Lobster

One week in Paradise

by

the Kingfisher


Setting foot in Paradise Isle was a more than a dream to me. But paradise was in trouble and you were bound to come back in a body-bag… atleast that’s what the media seemed to tell us. Thing is, how many people really believe everything they see on the news? I for one thought this was a cruel trick to keep lovers of the tropics like me, away from the palm fringed beaches and verdant jungles of Sri Lanka. My travel agent assured me that whilst travel insurance premiums were quite high, the cost of living in paradise was really quite a bargain.

It so happened that my love for this island had made me some friends from there, who like me loved to travel and explore the beauty of nature, wildlife and the vibrant kaleidoscope of life in general. And so it was early spring when my friends and I launched out on what promised to be an insider’s tour of a tropical paradise.

The sun was rising in the east casting its soft crimson rays over the little green island and the clear turquoise waters that surrounded it. It was like a picture out of a fairytale and I could hardly contain my delight. I was overwhelmed by its beauty as we descended out of the cloudless sky onto a picture postcard runway. It surpassed its reputation as “the pearl of the Indian ocean” in my mind. Little brown roads wove through lush green vegetation and large inlets of water on our landing approach. For a place that was known mostly for its tea and cricket, a proverbial backwater to most unenlightened folk, the International airport was quite modern and on par with those of industrialized states.

My friends were on hand to greet me on arrival and after a brief stop over at the Taj Airport hotel; we took off for the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. CC was an avid wildlife enthusiast who actually had an organization involved in the conservation of wildlife. This meant he could navigate us through and into places few knew even existed. Ravi on the other hand was a travel enthusiast whose business acumen had given him the kind of mobile lifestyle many aspire to. The driver was an ex-military guy who had seen his share of the civil war in the country and knew his way around. The roads were good most of the way to the eastern coastal belt and considering we were literally traveling from one coast to the other, I’d say we made pretty good time.

The one thing that unnerved me at first was the presence of armed personnel everywhere we went. In this part of the world even the cops carried automatic rifles as did the military. But then, it wasn’t surprising considering the country was in the midst of a fierce protracted war at the time. However, the two things that stood out most in my mind throughout this trip was that wherever we went people were friendly and hospitable whether military, civilian or rebel; and that quite contrary to the regular news of doom and gloom that pervaded the news, it was a relatively peaceful country on the whole. While there was definitely evidence of an armed conflict in some of the areas we passed through, most of the fighting was evidently in the north of the country some distance away.

Our first stop was the coastal town of Batticaloa which had seen its share of the war. However, life was quite normal and the seafood – prawn, crab, cuttlefish, and fried fish plus the local cuisine was utterly delectable. Accommodation was moderate and the service at our motel was somewhat lax, given the shortage of staff. But the clean a/c room and toilet was quite welcome as was the succulent food placed before us. There was no nightlife to talk of in that town, but then sleep was the need of the hour that night and it didn’t really make much difference.

We were up and out around 5am hoping to cover as much ground as possible while enjoying the locale wherever struck our fancy. At that time of morning even the birds didn’t seem to stir from the trees. But a bakery down the road fed us local pancakes called ‘roti’ together with freshly cooked beef curry. In addition, we purchased a bag full of short eats to munch while on the road. The best part of the meal, which again I must re-iterate was delicious, was a refreshing hot cup of Ceylon Tea made right there in our presence.

The drive down the eastern coast was amazing and the view spectacular. We didn’t need an a/c that morning as the cool sea breeze did more than justice. The 4WD pickup was comfortable and navigated roads both paved and unpaved very easily. Many were the times we stopped to take photographs of the beautiful scenery bathed in the orangey yellow hue of the sunrise. We stopped by a picture postcard lighthouse which was painted a delightful white and blue and situated on the beach, just like in a kids storybook. At a couple of places along the coastal road we had to detour inland as bridges did not exist. CC pointed out that while they used to have ferry services at those points in the past, these had ceased to operate during the war. But just as I felt a pang of disappointment in not seeing a ferry, at one point we indeed were ferried across a wide river, pickup truck and all, which was quite memorable for me.

Now detouring off the main road in that part of the country meant we sometimes crossed through rebel held territory. But these incursions did not even merit a held breath as it seemed to be pretty straightforward and peaceful. Infact on one such journey we passed through some paddy fields and actually found a little hut situated in the shade of a giant tree in the midst of a large paddy cultivation, serving hot food and tea. Here we were in the middle of nowhere… meaning unchartered territory on the map, its existence only marked by our GPS navigator. We enjoyed hot hot beef patties and other equally yummy localized shorteats followed by more cups of tea; prepared and served to us by an elderly white haired men easily in his eighties. I even had the fortune of photographing an eagle who in all probability posed for me for a length of time. The warm hospitality we received overwhelming and we had to refuse many of the goodies offered free to us on our departure. This was probably the first time in his life that guy had ever had ‘city folk’ pass by his humble hut in an unnamed hamlet of rural Sri Lanka and being photographed by us was quite evidently one of the high points in his entire life.


I sometimes look at those photos and wonder where he may be now and if his hamlet still exists today. Sri Lanka is the only known country in the world that won a war on terror, waged by the most ruthless terrorist group in the world as at date. But that peace was won at a price, changing the landscape of paradise along with it. Now the eastern coast is said to be one of the top international destinations in the world. Maybe peace changed things for good.

That afternoon we entered the jungles. Now this was known to be rebel infested area, and most civilians had not entered these jungles in decades. We had been warned to stay clear of certain pockets of jungle, but otherwise we managed to actually hack our way through the beaten track of old and photograph animals in their natural habitat. Elephants by the watering hole, hippos wallowing in the mud, deer grazing in the tall grass, leopard in the trees and on an outcrop of rock, peacocks preening and dancing on the road even as our vehicle approached and a myriad of birds and butterflies all around us. It was beautiful, breathtaking and almost unreal.

That night we camped under the trees in our vehicle. 2 in the cabin and CC and myself in the open rear of the pickup. We lit a small fire for coffee and for cooking some fish we caught in the river earlier that day. Camped by the riverside in the shade of the trees it was the mosquitos that pestered us the most. It took awhile getting used to the sounds of the jungle, especially when you’re in the open rear of a pickup truck with your feet hanging over the edge of the tailgate. I could have sworn that about twice animals sniffed my feet, but were probably repelled by the aryuvedic ointment we had applied to keep the mozzies at bay. In any case I opted against taking on the jungle folk that night and got some sleep instead.

The next morning we crossed the river at a fairly shallow point and headed south. The southern most areas of the jungles formed part of a national wildlife park. So by mid day we did encounter few animals and some people. We picked up a guide from the main office and headed into a part of the park rarely visited by civilians on safari. This would be a good area to photograph more animals in their own environment. Going off the beaten track was quite normal for us. But the guide though knowledgeable was pretty much terrified since there had been reports of rebel activity. Rebel or not we proceeded and after partaking of the beauty of many types of wildlife in their natural habitat and expending a few rolls of film; we headed for the coast. Part of this park named “Yala”, is actual coastline, and we managed to find a pathway through the brush onto the beach itself. On our way there we saw a shell of a former park bungalow and stopped to investigate. However, we quickly came away as our ex-forces driver indicated the presence of landmines around that bungalow. As for the guide, he had fainted before we even turned.

So there we were on the sandy beach in the hot afternoon sun. Now you would think that this beach would be as deserted as the jungles we passed through. But on the contrary there were fishermen cleaning their nets and drying fish in the ancient traditions of their forefathers. In the ensuing conversation with these fisherfolk, we were offered fresh lobster at a fair price. (an absolute bargain in my opinion, but we were not about to tell them that.)

So leaving the driver with the jeep, we set off in a motor boat out to sea with 2 fishermen. The noonday sun beating down on us was unbearable and we quickly pulled off our t-shirts and held them over our heads to reduce the effect. About 2 miles away from the beach were a cluster of lobsterpots floating in the sea and there we bagged 5 – 6 large lobsters and came back to shore. Our guide had settled down in the meantime with a cigarette and he and the driver were being hosted to grilled fish on the beach, when we arrived. We also enjoyed some delightful salted fish grilled over a fire on the beach (under the burning sun). It was quite refreshing in this day and age of modern convenience to see the way these fishermen made fire by rubbing 2 sticks together

The heat was getting to us by now and we quickly jumped into our air-conditioned vehicle and headed back to the park office, where we dropped off the guide. A good tip ensured him actually offering to make the trip again. But by then we were already headed to one of the worlds most spectacular beaches. Arugam Bay.

Arugam Bay is infact one of the worlds top surfing spots and surfers come down from all over the world to ride the waves and soak in the sun at this beautiful locale. As for us, we found a really great place run by a Thai guy and his wife. It was spotless and clean and each room had an enclosed outdoor shower. Also great for sunbathing if you wanted privacy.

Their restaurant was the absolute pick of the entire block. A wooden log structure open to the sea with ceiling fans, great music and a superb variety of beer. We chatted with the owner over a couple of beers and had a splendid lunch which was better than 5-star cuisine. After a good nap, we took off for elephant country a few miles away. This was somewhat interior and we had to travel quite slowly down this stretch of road hoping to spot elephants as we drove. We passed a few elephants down the road and photographed them, but we were looking for a larger herd. Dusk was starting to fall when our binoculars picked up a large herd of elephants moving out of the jungles into the open pasture.

We drove off the road and got down with our cameras in hand. We counted around 15 – 18 elephants including 4 baby elephants. It was absolutely beautiful the way the entire herd took to pasture and the young played in the eventide. The chef from our restaurant had cooked the lobster very well together with a delicious accompaniment for it. There we sat on the tailgate of our jeep, watching the elephants and eating lobster and creating a memory that would surely last a lifetime. Now I know the food was succulent and I also know as darkness overtook us, we were still watching the elephants and laughing at the antics of the young. What it is I’m not yet sure, to this day… But suddenly a bull elephant trumpeted and looked at us. Then 3 elephants trumpeted and the large bull started towards us at a trot. We didn’t wait to exchange greetings. The elephant was less than 200 yards away. We just jumped onto the back of the pickup, hanging on as it reversed onto the road and took off down the now darkened road. Maybe… just maybe it was the lobster. Elephants and lobster… who would have ever thought of that?

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 16.06.2012

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