Five Terrifying Needles

The last week has just been outrageous and I am very proud of myself for my accomplishments. After nagging Bandula on a few issues I have accomplished many things on my ‘Still to Do’ list.

Last weekend I went on a trip to Dambulla, Sigiriya, and also Polonnaruwa. I left after a morning chat with Max. I was very sad to say goodbye and to leave. He expressed his concern over me going alone and the troubles I may face being a lone, white, ‘attractive’, female. I think I try to be blissfully unaware, or at least I look for the good in everyone and try not to think about the disturbing things they may do. We were both a little worried, but I promised to call at major points along the way and send emails if possible. With this agreement I signed of, grabbed my bag, and headed towards Galle Rd.

I took a bus to Colombo first. Being the main city, most long-distance busses originate from the main bus depot at Colombo-Fort, which is close to the train station. I bought a few snacks to take with me, such as my beloved sausage bun (basically a small sausage in a doughy croissant), a sugar bun and yoghurt. The yoghurt here is ‘set’ yoghurt with gelatine, so it is like thick jello and only comes in vanilla flavour. It’s so good. I hopped on the bus that was going to Dambulla, paid my fare, and sat down for the ride.

The ride took forever. We were immediately stuck in traffic during lunch hour in line at a bridge that was down to one lane for repairs. It took about 45 minutes to go only a few kilometres. I had a young man sitting beside me who quickly fell asleep. A couple of times his head fell on my shoulder, and once he almost fell out of his seat! This pattern went on for over 2 hours! Somehow he woke up before his stop and got off. Another young man sat beside me. He also fell asleep like the first man for a couple of hours. I also had a short nap. It’s weird how the rocking of the bus puts people to sleep. I have noticed that many people nap on the bus. A little after 5 hours and one quick tea break (yes, the whole bus gets off for tea and food), we arrived in Dambulla. I asked someone on the street which way to the guest houses (since most are in the touristy area by the caves). He pointed me in the right direction and I began my walk.

At this time I was approached by many tuk tuks asking if I wanted a ride. “Where you going madam?” I called Max to tell him I arrived safely and was looking for a guesthouse to drop off my backpack prior to exploring. I knew he would feel better having heard from me. Along the way I asked one of the drivers if there was a cheap guesthouse close by. He said he knew one close to the main attraction and that he could take me there free of charge. This made me wary as the last time I was offered a free ride, things got really creepy! He told me about the Sunflower Inn and all its amenities. I remembered that in most cases, people will offer you a ride to the guesthouse for free if you end up staying there because they get commission. If you don’t stay, then there is a small charge. I agreed and he took me to said hotel. It was nice because the woman who owned it spoke English and showed me a variety of rooms. There are some with hot or cold showers, A/C or non-A/C at a wide range of prices. I went for the cheapest room at 1500Rs (about $12) with an overhead fan (‘non-a/c’) and a cold shower. It was a big room and even came with a resident frog in the bathroom! I freshened up and then headed out to the Dambulla Caves!

I arrived at the Golden Temple after a very short walk and got to see the giant Golden Buddha. I purchased my entry ticket and began the 100m climb to the 5 caves. It was about 300 stairs and since it was evening it had begun to cool down. Thank goodness! I can’t imagine doing that in the heat of the day because I was dripping. I was very stupid and forgot my handkerchief in the hotel room so I ended up wiping my sweat off on my shirt and hands. A little gross, but I had no one to impress anyways! At the top you must remove your shoes because it is a sacred site with a temple. For the low, low price of 20c I had someone watch my $100+ pair of Keens (worth the charge!) and I proceeded inside the temple grounds.

Along the rock face is a white wall. It’s not so much a wall, but looks like building fronts with fancy doorways and mouldings. But once you approach them you can soon realize that inside the doors are not houses, palaces, or stores, but caves with hundreds of shrines of the Buddha. In total, there are 5 caves and probably thousands of images. They come in the form of statues (various poses) and paintings. These paintings cover every inch of the walls and ceiling despite the uneven surfaces. It looks like someone just wallpapered each room with the ‘Meditative Buddha’ pattern. Inside some caves were stupas (white domes/temples) and also places for people to chant, worship, and present offerings. In one cave there was also a bucket that collects water that perpetually drips from the roof. It is unclear where the water even comes from but it’s been dripping for hundreds of years. This water is apparently used by the monks, but without my book near by, I can’t tell you what for. I will get back to you!

Anyways, the caves kind of blew my mind. First, who found them? Second, why in these caves? How did they get the statues there? Who hauled them up that massive hill? Or, did they carve out the caves and use the excess stone for the statues? The colours were still very impressive because the frescoes were sheltered by all the elements. I didn’t spend much time there, as there were many groups and in some caves it got pretty crowded. To be quite honest, Buddha, stupas, and shrines all share common characteristics and begin to look the same. I was feeling like ‘Ok, this is pretty wild that all of this is going on in these caves on a hill in Sri Lanka… but the image of Buddha hasn’t changed and it’s more of the same.’ The caves in Dambulla are very famous and I am very glad I had the opportunity to see them. When in Rome… err... I mean Sri Lanka?

From there I walked through a little market place outside the temple. These markets all sell the same cheaply made, ugly coloured, and tacky items for children. Many also sell items to offer such as flowers, food, and lotuses. I have noticed that depending on where you are in the country, markets have a special item that others don’t really have. Here they had a lot of cakes and sweets. Many were homemade and still in the pan and you could buy one piece all the way up to the whole pan! There were also sesame snaps, ‘toffee’, sticky jelly stuff, and I bought a little brick of nuts that was held together with something sweet like caramelized sugar or something similar. I perused the stands, although it was the same ‘gemstone’ rings and neon coloured cat plushies, potted fake flowers and copious amounts of sweet treats. I must note at this time that ‘sweet’ to Sri Lankans is like, diabetes-causing-sweet in the West. Cake is grainy because it’s mostly sugar; not that I’m complaining but rather I am giving an example. I will be bringing back some treats for people to try so they can also see… way sweet! I indulged in a little cup of chocolate/vanilla swirl ice cream on my walk to the Sunflower Inn.

Once I got home I promptly got ready to wash, as they say here. Basically you wash your hands and face before a meal, kind of to freshen up, but I was about to go for a full body wash. Determined to conquer the cold shower I agreed to, I marched to the bathroom. I was very startled to see the giant frog (which I mentioned before) sitting atop a wall-mounted mirror. I said ‘Oh my gosh’ and left the bathroom. I stopped and took a breath and was just thinking ‘Woah, I did not expect to ever stick my face that close to a frog. It’s there and I’m not going to move it. Just don’t startle it and maybe he won’t jump on you.’ I exhaled and went back in. My shower felt unbelievably good after just being drenched in sweat after a hot hike. I kept a careful eye on the frog the entire time. Maybe I should mention that bathrooms here don’t have a shower stall or bathtub. It’s just a tap at about knee level to wash your feet or to fill a basin and a showerhead sticking out of the wall at regular showerhead height. There is no curtain. The floors are tile and with a big squeegee, clean up is easy. There is a drain in the corner, typically by the toilet and sink that you can direct the water towards. So the mirror was adjacent to the showerhead, therefore, the frog and I were merely 2 feet apart… with no barriers protecting us from each other. Now that I think of it he must have been pretty freaked too. First, I’m a white girl, and that tends to scare children here. Second, I’m tall. That also scares children. Third, I came into HIS domain. I also was wondering, how did the frog get up to the mirror? He was perched approximately 6 feet above the ground and could not have jumped that high, could he? Can frogs climb? The most probably answer is that he magically appeared there with a ‘poof’ and cloud of smoke. The mystery remains unsolved.

 I proceeded to the dining room (once dressed, of course) and brought my iPod to take advantage of the wifi. I sent a few emails to let my loved ones know I survived and also to check the Winnipeg news. Dinner came and I impressed the staff with my ability to eat like a local- with my hand. There were many other guests in the dining room that I felt were judging me as they gave me weird looks. Whatever, at least I am embracing the lifestyle while I am here! I had a typical rice and curry meal with a coleslaw-type salad and fruit. I felt it was a little expensive at 550Rs ($4ish) compared to other places I’ve eaten. I went to lie in bed diagonally, as the bed was giant (two twins pushed together). It was so nice to finally have my feet actually not press against the bed net and be eaten alive. I set my alarm for early in the morning and closed my eyes.

After a breakfast of bread and fruit, I grabbed my backpack and purse and hit the road. After waiting for a bus for about 15 minutes, a tuk tuk driver approached me and asked to drive me to the bus station. I reluctantly agreed, as I wanted to save costs and take the bus, but it was also important for me to catch the Sigiriya bus and arrive in time to hike before it got too hot. It was about a 30-minute bus ride and once we got there, it was about a 15-minute walk to the entrance. I bought my ticket for 3900Rs (gulp), and once I turned away a guide, proceeded through to the grand entrance, which is basically a long road with many baths and moats along the side. I’m sure it must have been beautiful in its day! A man showed me the baths and gave me a little explanation about the path to take up the rock. Then he asked for a tip. Ugh. I hate that. They say you can give whatever you’re comfortable with, but then if you do that, they say it’s not enough. I was a little disappointed when he asked me for 400Rs, when I gave him 300. I thought that was generous for his 10-minute shpeel.

Looking up from the base of the rock to the top is terrifying. It is supposedly 200meters high and about 750 stairs. However, it looked a mile high with a billion stairs. The people on top of the rock looked like ants. I was a little discouraged and feeling sad because I didn’t think I could actually make it to the top. I was reflecting on my hike with Karen in Nepal to the Peace Pagoda and how I was struggling and was an unpleasant companion. At least at this walk no one would have to deal with my grumbling and groaning! Luckily Sigiriya is divided into two sections. The first bit includes many stairs with little landings and breaks to go see auditoriums, caves, and other ruins. You also approach the cave with beautiful frescoes of partially dressed women and then the mirror wall, which was actually reflective back in the day. There are some parts that are still so smooth you can wave your hand in front and see the reflection. Sadly, the wall has many scratches, including people etching their names into it. There are warning signs everywhere threatening fines and imprisonment if you are caught ‘wilfully destroying’ the mirror wall. There are also guards, and there is a rope keeping the crowds about 3ft away from the wall. Along this half there are many crowds and it gets pretty backed up. I found myself standing a couple of times enjoying the cool breeze halfway up the giant rock and above the tree line. I was totally ok with that. From the mirror wall you go up many steep stairs to the base of the lion’s paws! The other half of the ascent begins here. This landing is very big with places to rest and sit in the shade. Only the paws remain today, but the rock apparently had the full body of a lion in the front, I guess kind of like the sphinx in Egypt. This is why Sigiriya is also known as Lion Rock. The paws are protected today so no one can climb on them. From this point it is only stairs to the top with no landings to rest. Again, it was backed up and we were taking it slow. Again, I was ok with that. These stairs were not original but were steel and soldered to the rock and held in place with poles somehow. I didn’t ask questions. I kept climbing. Finally I got to the top. It was amazing! There are ruins of the old palace and royal bath. The rock looks over miles and miles of rainforest and you can see the Golden Buddha in Dambulla in the distance. You could see the shadows over the trees cast by the clouds, which seemed to be right beside you! It was an incredible sight! I sat down on one of the old walls and soaked it in. I took some shameless ‘selfies’, ate some crackers, chugged some water, took pictures, and proceeded to descend down the 750 stairs I took about an hour to climb. Going down was obviously much easier, however, my legs got very shaky at the bottom. Another man showed me the way to the exit along with the Cobra Hood Cave, and Rock Arches 1,2, and 3. Again, I was asked for a tip, but I said I only had 100Rs and gave it to him. Not entirely a lie, but oh well. Once at the exit I walked past the long line of gift shops, bought a jam bun, and got a tuk tuk to take me to the main junction to catch a bus to Polonnaruwa; the last leg of my weekend journey.

I arrived in Polonnaruwa at around 1:00 and with such a time constraint (last bus out to Colombo left at 4:30) I hired a taxi to drive me around to the ‘must see’ sites and had a ticket I could buy from him. After, he would take me to the bus depot in time for my Colombo bus. All in, it was 4000Rs. The ticket alone was 3250Rs (groan) but I thought I might as well just do it while I’m here! First he took me to see some ruins by the Archaeological Museum, which I also visited. The museum just had a bunch of ruins and statues and miniature representations of how the buildings probably looked centuries, and even millennia, ago. The first set of ruins was a palace on the water’s edge. There are royal baths and a ‘mausoleum’. In addition, there were 12 columns (still standing!) that describe the seating order of the council chamber they were in. I didn’t wander around too much here.

From this section the driver took me to see the King’s old palace. It was originally said to have 7 stories, but now there are only 2 because they were destroyed in a fire. There was another council chamber here with many columns and images of elephants along the wall outside of the hall. There was also a beautiful bath that has spouts where the water comes out through the open mouths of crocodiles. Pretty neat! From here we went to the Quadrangle, which is definitely the highlight of Polonnaruwa. The buildings weren’t huge, but there were lots of them and they had a lot of detail in the stonework. I got to see the Vatadage, a circular building with 4 Buddhas, a dagoba in the middle and ‘sculpted railings’. Apparently it is strongly believed that this was intended to be the home of the Tooth Relic (now in Kandy). Across from this was the Hatadage, a sanctuary that actually did hold the relic for some time. It has three doorways all leading back to a great room with statues of Buddha. You can look through all of the doorways up the few stairs of the Vatadage to see one of the Buddha statues there. It’s designed incredibly well. There were many other buildings and statues in what appeared to be a courtyard but these ones were the most impressive. Since this site is sacred, I had to take off my shoes. Luckily I was wearing socks. The sand and stone would have been far too hot on bare feet!

I bought two items from a vendor on my way out and the driver and I headed to Gal Vihara. Here there are 3 giant Buddhas carved into granite and other stone. Two were standing and one was ‘recumbent’. There was also a small shrine of a seated Buddha. This site is very important to Buddhists and was actually impressive. You see pictures of this site a lot. However, there is a ‘protective canopy’ over the site so it takes away some of the beauty of the place. I also had to remove my shoes before entering the roped off area with the statues.

Then the driver took me back to the bus depot, I paid him, and caught the bus leaving for Colombo. The ride was long… about 6 hours. The bus was packed but luckily I had a window seat beside a girl from England. There was a creepy dude looking down her shirt (which I thought was a little too low anyways) and he stroked my neck with his finger and pulled on my shirt collar. I immediately turned to him and told him to stop and I didn’t have another problem. I wasn’t going to deal with anything like that again.

Eventually I arrived in Moratuwa after transferring onto a bus in Colombo. I was one of 3 females on the whole bus. They were all workingmen with briefcases and suits who were returning to the city after weekends home. They kind of looked at me like ‘you don’t really belong here’ because women don’t really ride the bus late it seems. I wasn’t afraid, they just seemed curious. Anyways, I arrived home around 11:30 and was very tired. I showered very quickly and went to bed.

The next day was the last time I would see the girls at the trade school. I brought cake and ice cream to celebrate the completion of their program and visited for a bit. They gave me some gifts that were handmade, such as a wrap (sarong), crocheted doilies and some potted plant holders that looked like lotuses. I cried when I said goodbye. I have their addresses though so I can always write them!

That Tuesday I got up at 4:30am to go on a field visit to Ratnapura with the Child Development Unit. The drive took a couple of hours but we eventually got there. Basically we were visiting 4 villages. Two of them were receiving surveys to evaluate their programme, while the other 2 were being introduced to the programme set to begin there. I wasn’t sure what to expect really, but I ended up with a stack a mile high of evaluation surveys after listening to people speak a foreign language for 6 hours. I thought someone would translate for me, since people always mention that they will. It was boring and I didn’t go on any other field visits. I only entered the data into the documents I made and sent them in.

After breakfast the next morning, I proceeded to Colombo Fort railway station to catch a train to Rambukkana. There the Sarvodaya staff picked me up, and we proceeded back to the Kegalle District Center. I spent the afternoon sleeping in the office because I was still very tired from the past few days. Once the office closed at 4:30 we left for Damunupola where I would meet my host family and the place I’d be living for the next few days.

I was greeted by a woman with an anthurium bouquet and was invited inside for tea. The home was very nice and painted some exotic colours. I was shown my bedroom and the bathroom. Sarvodaya staff left and the woman made some food. After dinner I went to sleep. At about midnight, my light was turned on and some people were poking their heads in (no door, only a curtain) to see me. It woke me up, so I groaned and rolled over. Many people had come over to see me; some people just stop what they’re doing to look at me. I was not impressed! However, come morning I realized that it was actually my host family that peeked at me. They had been away for the evening and the woman from the night before was like a ‘stand-in’ host mom. How embarrassing! I apologized and we all laughed.

My days there were very fun. The mother, father (ex-parachute instructor with the Sri Lankan Airforce), daughter (10), and son (8) were all very hospitable and loving. I spent my week teaching English to some of the children in primary school and visiting the community. Many of the little kids would bring a little gift for me, like peanuts or a chocolate bar. Despite it being very cheap to me, I know it was probably expensive for them. I was (and still am) very grateful. I was also gifted a rug by the monks in the village. They apparently really liked me. I got to see them 3 times and spent time with the community listening to them chant with the monk. I visited the preschool and dhamma school (like a Buddhist Sunday school). I enjoyed washing myself with a bucket of water and a wash basin and eating with my hands, no matter how many times I was offered cutlery. On my last day we went out for dinner and ice cream. We were going to see the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage but it was closed. Instead we did some shopping and took photographs together. On the morning I left I was given many little departure gifts, including a handmade flower crown and necklace! We all exchanged contact information and cried a lot. It was an amazing opportunity and I’m glad I went.

There were many things I learned in the village:

1-     Privacy and alone time aren’t really things people respect. People were reading my Skype conversations over my shoulder… outloud! They were also coming into my room without asking or knocking… one time I was changing for bed! Luckily the light was off.

2-     People really encourage you to embrace the things they love while also ensuring your comfort. My family there offered to make me many things to eat, as long as I liked them!

3-     Using a squat toilet is comfortable and is actually better for your system! I also didn’t mind washing with a bucket and a basin… good for spot washing!

4-     It felt like people were digging for compliments sometimes. If I didn’t finish something they would ask if it was ok. Sri Lankan people eat a lot of food, and I tried to explain that I just don’t eat as much.

5-     Children are very mystified by white people!

Once I was home, I spent my time relaxing a bit and planning my weekend in Kandy for the Perahera. Maia, Liam and I left on Friday (16^th) via train. Once we got there, we dropped our bags off at the Sarvodaya District Center and had a nap. A couple hours later we left for the Botanical Gardens, which were very nice. There were hundreds or maybe thousands of different types of trees and flowers. We saw some flying foxes (big bats) and a kingfisher (bird). Around the 2.5 hour mark, I began to feel really exhausted and a bit sick. We left for headquarters anyways to get ready for the festival. I decided that I was feeling too rotten to go. I spent my evening in and out of the bathroom with diarrhoea and vomiting. Somehow I slept through the night (combination of Immodium and Gravol perhaps?). The next morning I felt a bit better, but didn’t eat much. We went out shopping and within an hour I started feeling very weak and faint. I just started crying and said I had to go home. Once we returned to the District Centre we all re-evaluated the situation. We determined I should go to the hospital and see a doctor. Luckily it was right across the street. The doctor took my blood pressure, which ended up being on the ‘low side of normal’ and said I was very dehydrated and needed an IV. A part of me knew this is what I needed based on a similar experience I had a few summers prior when I was hospitalized for heat stroke.

I went into the shadiest of hospital rooms and waited for the nurses. They decided to put the needle into the back of my hand. I suggested inside my arm (by my elbow) because I’ve had success with that and frankly, it was less gross. They said ‘No, no good’ and put the needle in my hand. It hurt so bad I must have flinched because the needle got messed up and they had to do it again. The second one was on my wrist. The nurses took this one out too because my vein had collapsed. That’s how dehydrated I was. For the third needle, they did the back of my other hand. Unfortunately they punctured the vein and the IV fluid went under my skin instead of in my vein. They found this out because my hand began to get swollen and no blood could be drawn from the needle. Seeing that I was in a lot of pain and discomfort they put a local anaesthetic on and told me they’d do another needle in 30 minutes. About 5-7 minutes later, a fourth needle was put into a vein close to my ring finger. They wondered why I was crying and scared. I felt everything. I’m not sure why but it didn’t take. All this time I was a hysterical mess. I hate needles of any kind and I was really uncomfortable. I was also scared out of my mind and having the doctors converse in their language and just poking holes in me was very freaky. They were about to put a fifth needle in when I yelled ‘no no no!’ and talked about my options. Oral re-hydration was a route I was willing to take but it was very complex and honestly I didn’t want to be responsible for all of that while I was already super messed up. I asked them to please try my inner arm. If it didn’t work, I’d try the oral re-hydration plan. They put a local anaesthetic cream on for 30 minutes and gave me the needle. It took. A part of me was like ‘Told you so!” but another part of me was just glad it was over. I laying in the bed for about 1.5 hours as the IV slowly dripped into my arm. My hands were bruised from the needles and people squeezing them. I could barely use them. I hummed and sang softly to the beat of the IV drip and waited for the time to pass. Finally I was cleared.

I got back to the District Center and relaxed a bit because Maia and Liam were out. They were with me at the doctor and were a big help, but they needed to do their own thing. I started feeling crummy and like vomiting again. I went to bed early. The next day I bussed home to Moratuwa. I did not get to see any of the Esala Perahera Festival.

On the way home I stopped for some retail therapy and some ice cream. I bought some more souvenirs and a dress for myself. I got back to headquarters feeling crummy again. I laid down and fell asleep for about 1.5 hours. Afterwards I just cruised on the computer for a bit.

Today I have decided not to push myself. Every time I have, it has prevented me from healing. I got diarrhea again today (too much information?) so I went to the doctor. I didn’t want to mess around. I’m so sick of being sick and I didn’t want to get super dehydrated again… I’ve got no veins left for an IV! I was also very hot (sweating despite the fan on) but my skin felt cool. I was extremely nauseous again and laid down. Mangala, one of the staff here, took me to the doctors where I got some pills to help with the stomach pain, vomiting sensation and diarrhea. I really hope they work.

What next? Well I guess I will just relax until I can actually work and do things. I leave in 8 days for home and do not want to be sick on the plane and for my arrival. I won’t be going to Jaffna or anywhere else in the north. I will only focus on getting better.

Hoping my next post ends on a very happy note.