Sri Lanka

I am really on a roll here, so rather than get ahead with some of my work, I am getting everyone somewhat caught up on what has been our lives here in Bangladesh.

One of the perks of the assignment here, is that you get to travel to countries and cities that would be a once in a lifetime experience.  For us, it is a wonderful thing to get to decide where to go for school holidays, stops on your way to your R & R, or for us especially in Bangladesh, for Eid holidays.  The "common" stops for people here in Dhaka are:  Vietnam, Cambodia, Bali, Kuala Lampur, Phuket, Singapore, and Hong Kong. 

Andy and the kids had off school around Easter and we took full advantage of it.  I had to work part of the time they were off, but since I teach online as long as I find a decent connection and some privacy, I can teach over my skype-like program that we use for our live classes.  We decided to go to Sri Lanka for the long holiday based: 1.on the recommendation of a friend, 2. on the direct flight, and 3. low price.  We were in no way disappointed, and in fact Sri Lanka surpassed all our expectations.  We had such a great time and found the perfect spot on the beach, that we are returning to that exact spot in August on our way back from R & R and for one of the Eid holidays that the kids and Andy are all off for.

When planning the trip, the goal was to get to the southern part of the country to the beach town of Unawatuna.  You have to fly into Colombo, which is about a good 3 hour drive from that beach.  I made the plans and used a lot of tripadvisor.com and lonelyplanet.com to guide me.  This was the first time I actually planned out a trip, it used to consist of throwing stuff in bags and the car, and seeing how far we get, or staying at youth hostels the one time we went overseas pre-kids.  Planning was going great until I went to make reservations everywhere I had picked out and they were all booked for the first few days of our trip.  Come to find out there was a big cricket match between Sri Lanka and the U.K. and close to 8,000 people dubbed the Bamby Army were following their U.K. team so everything was getting booked.  Cricket over here is another thing all together.

I finally got a reservation at an historic hotel called the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo for the first night and had reserved two different cabanas and rooms for the remainder of our trip down on the beach. 

Galle Face Hotel.

Saltwater swimming pool at the hotel--very nice!

The ride down to Unawatuna was nice--wide open spaces, hills, mountains, water buffalo and egrets everywhere.  They just finished a new highway and we were lucky enough to get to take a shorter drive because of it.  I hear it used to take 5-6 hours to get down there.  Phew. 

So we arrived at the most beautiful beach I have ever seen in my entire life.  I have been to Hawaii, California, SC, and Florida's beaches, but this blew them out of the water!  It is probably the equivalent of being on a caribbean beach, but I haven't had that experience.  By the way, we ran into one American the entire trip, and wouldn't you know, he grew up in the same neighborhood as my dad about 40 years later.  Crazy!  Most of the tourists here are from Europe. 

We were welcomed to the cabana we were staying at the first two nights with fresh mango and guava juice.  The place actually got some pretty negative reviews on tripadvisor, but we were pretty happy with our experience.  The four of us shared one small room in the cabana with a fan and a bathroom.  We were perfectly content.  We spent all of our time outside anyways, so as long as it was clean and suitable for kids, we liked it.  While exploring along the beach we met a man fishing, that we later became very good friends with and ended up staying at a place that he helps operate.  He and his partner are from the U.K. and have partnered with a local family that runs two cabanas on their property right on the beach.  After getting to know them and the local family, we decided to scrap the rest of our plans and stay at their place and it was awesome!  The family consisted of Pearly and her husband, Sunil and their three boys.  Sunil's family owned the property that they live on and built the cabanas on.  Sunil is a fisherman and Pearly worked for 17 years in a shoe factory before taking a leap and running the cabanas full time. She had a dream of having cabanas and she started it, but got stalled out when she ran out of money to finish building.  This is where our friend comes in and has helped by partnering with them and then he can come stay when he wants to, as well.  A great arrangement.  They are loving, joyful, caring people and we feel blessed to have met all of them.  We cannot wait to return in August! 

 Spotting a sea turtle!

 The sea turtle comes to the surface (see lump in distance)

The cabanas--lower with bunk beds and queen bed, top with queen bed.

There are so many things that we enjoyed besides meeting new friends and relaxing.  We went to a spice garden (above) and saw in person spice plants growing in their natural form.  One of the prettiest flowers there was the ballerina orchid (below).

After touring the spice gardens, we took a boat ride on Koggala Lake.  On the lake there are several islands.  One has a buddhist temple and monestary, another is called cinnamon island and has a family that has lived there for over 200 years growing and harvesting cinnamon. 

 Processing Cinnamon.

 Wife and daughter, so sweet.

Cinnamon growing off of plants that are over 100 years old.  New shoots are harvested each year off a main "trunk".

Some other fun things we did were stop at a turtle hatchery so we could all hold a baby sea turtle. 

We went to the historic mansion in Galle and saw insane amounts of antiques and beautiful gems.  Got our dead skin nibbled off by some fish at a foot spa.

Hand polishing gems.  Sri Lanka is home to mines for nearly every single type of precious gem.

He had his icecream and he was done.

Ate delicious food, drank Lion Beer and Arrack (alcohol from coconut water: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrack) drinks....

And Surfed!!!!

 

See you soon Pearly!

Until next time.....

Srimangal Trip February 2012

Some of Andy's friends from work that are from Bangladesh organized a trip to an area of the country called Srimangal.  Srimangal is home to many tea plantations that have been in existence since at least the beginning of last century.  We took a train to get there and the experience was one I will never forget.  I don't know if it is Asia or Bangladesh in particular, but people don't do cues very well (at all).  The tickets were purchased well in advance by one of our local friends, and we got to the train station and waited.  While we waited we were surrounded by about 60 or more people staring at us, since there were several white people in the group.  Nobody talking to us, except for an occasional beggar asking for baksheesh (donations).  Just staring, and staring, and some picture taking with their cell phones, ugh. 
The train pulls in and there is nothing written in English anywhere at the station on the train, nothing.  I don't know how non-Bangla speakers can get on the trains here.  One of our friends spotted the car we needed to board and we started pushing our way through the crowd like everyone else and then I about lost it when I realized Hollis was down there and getting shoved just as hard as I was and he is half my size!  So I start screaming and cussing and pick him up not worried about who gets an elbow and literally hand him to our friend that is already on the train over the heads of people. 

So, once on the train we get settled in and we got private 4-6 person cabins.  The doors are supposed to latch shut from inside, but still every so often someone opens it trying to sell us food, newspapers, or beg for more baksheesh.

About 4.5 hours later, we make it to the train station in Srimangal and are whisked away to our new digs at the Tea Resort and Museum: http://www.teaboard.gov.bd/Admin/notice/Brochure4.pdf. 

The Americans all kind of freaked out because it was so quiet and we hadn't experienced that in 3 months.  It was really lovely to just hear silence.  We got settled in and then went into town to eat at a local place.  We went back and hung at the plantation for the afternoon, took a beautiful drive to a lake, drank some tea, then went back in town again to get some "world famous 7-layer tea".  I use quotes because I seemed to be the only one who had never heard of it.  The tea was really cool, though.  Each layer had a different density and stayed put and had its own individual flavor to it.  We lost track after about the 3rd layer in, but there was one that was ginger, one that was cardamom, and one that was lemon/honey flavored.

We capped that night off with a bonfire and had a great time listening to music and mixing drinks.  Everyone talked the talk that night that they were going to go hiking in the morning at the national park down the road in order to try and see some wildlife.  My alarm went off at 6 am, and I went out to meet the van and only I went (see picture!).  Not feeling my best, but I was determined to see some Asian wildlife.  We didn't even make it out of the place we were staying before the driver pointed out a troop of rhesus macaques (look close at the second picture)!  I was pumped!  Then he stopped to point out a mama jungle fowl with her chicks. 

My main goal besides R & R was to see a Hoolock Gibbon, which is endangered and found only in a few parts of Asia, one of them this national park in Bangladesh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoolock_gibbon.  If you didn't know me in my pre-wife-of-a-diplomat life, I was a zoology major, and once started a masters in Anthropology, so this was quite a big deal to me!  The driver got me to the trail head and he and I were the only ones there along with a guard that took my money to be let in.  My driver didn't speak English so I asked him in my made up sign language if he thought I was safe to hike in there by myself or if I would be killed by motioning a throat slashing on myself.  He chuckled and reassured me I would not be killed.  We exchanged cell phone numbers so he could check on my in case I took too long or got lost or worse...He checked on me when I didn't come back at the right time and I reassured him I was on my way.  I felt glad that he was looking out for me!

The bamboo was huge in this rainforest, I had never seen nor thought of anything like it.  It was a peaceful hike and it was literally raining on me as rainforests do.  This girl from the suburbs of Chicago was thrilled.  I did not see my Hoolock Gibbons, but I did see some more rhesus macaques, which suited me just fine, and I ran into a lovely indigenous lady who was walking near her home with her baby.  Totally surreal experience and one I will treasure for my life.  We did return later with the group to hike and the place was filled with busloads of school children that were obsessed with taking our pictures, beggars, and sellers of all sorts of junk.  I was so glad that I got up so early, and got out and enjoyed the beautiful day in a beautiful forest.  

Later that day we checked into a dive of a place and I can rough it, but this place was too much.  When your kid is crying because they have to go to the bathroom but the bathroom is too disgusting, you feel like a failure as a parent.   I turned in early and was happy to be leaving the next morning with the experience under my belt.

Somewhere in this trip we also visited an indigenous group of people, who's name escapes me.  They were lovely and showed us some of the weaving they do.  They had a lot of animals and the kids seemed happy and healthy.

The trip home was less than stellar.  The benches in our cabin were wet from the air conditioner condensation leaking, and it stunk really bad, and the door wouldn't latch.  There was a lot of yelling at people as they would open our door and try and sell us stuff or try and bother us.  We finished up the rest of the booze and were surprised to hear ourselves say, "I can't wait to get back to Dhaka, I mean get back to our apartment that is in Dhaka."

Until next time......................................

What's goin' on?

I really intended to keep people more up to date on this blog with what has been going on here in Dhaka, but time has not been on my side. 

I will do my best to give you the crash course of our lives here over the past few months, if that is even possible, but maybe I can start with some highlights.

• Our new to us car arrived in February and it is suiting us nicely.  We bought a Toyota Probox: http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%E1%BA%ADp_tin:2002_Toyota_Probox_01.jpg None of the cars have the same name here.  I have seen a corolla, but that's about it. This name has gotten some mileage!  The first day out I got into an accident and was standing still, yet I got yelled at by the driver that I owed him money.  I couldn't do everything they say you are supposed to do since the driver boxed me in and there was bumper to bumper traffic.  I did have the embassy number on me, and told him to F-off and call them and see what they say.  As I was dealing with the driver and the occupant who spoke english and was a local, a crowd of about 40 onlookers gathered. Eventually one of the guards standing nearby had been entertainedn enough by the foreigner, so he sent me on my way and made the other driver move for me. I found out the other driver called the embassy, and he was told to call back the next day once they had a chance to find out my side of the story.  The dude never called back.  Extortion. 
• We went on a mini"vacation" to Srimongal and visited some tea plantations and I saw real live in the wild monkeys, while hiking in a tropical forest at 7 am alone (heavenly, I tell you) (separate post to hopefully follow) 

• Hollis turned 5 in March and we had a great party at the American Club.  Bounce house, pizza, cake, adult beverages.  I hosted the party while fighting off a sinus infection that resulted from one of many flu bugs.
• Kids got lice!  at two separate times.  I am itching just thinking about it.  We are using tea tree shampoo regularly as a preventative and performing weekly or semi-weekly nit checks.  We used the traditional chemical treatment the first go round, but I took some advice from a friend and school nurse to use plain listerine.  You put it in a spray bottle, spray dry hair until saturated, put on a shower cap and let it sit for 2 hours.  You shampoo and condition normally and comb with a good lice comb.  The key to lice is the comb.  Usually the one that comes with the shampoo sucks, so I ordered this gem over amazon last month:  http://www.amazon.com/Terminator-Professional-Stainless-Treatment-Removes/dp/B000HIBPV8
• We went on a much needed vacation to Sri Lanka, which started out with a hilarious, albeit, somewhat pathetic story.  Hollis woke up vomiting in the middle of the night, but we were determined to go.  He would be better off being sick in Sri Lanka, was my view.  So we thought he was going to be ok and checked into the airport and our flight was delayed (which is pretty normal here).  We had our carry on luggage with us and then Hollis got that look and said it--"I think I'm going to throw up".  Andy did his best to run with him to the nearest (very far) bathroom, but on the way as he was carrying him out in front of him, he yacked!  Then, since Andy was running super fast, he wiped out on the puke on the tile floor.  Poor Hollis was covered from head to toe in puke, Andy somehow managed to not get any on him, and nobody else got puked on.  I am sure this is not the first time people have been seen leaving Dhaka puking.  With all our clothing packed and CHECKED ALREADY, I looked for clothing at the two dinky shops with clothes in the waiting area.  This is happening while Andy is trying to clean poor Hollis up in a disgusting bathroom with no paper towels, only a chip of a bar of soap, and bio hazard tap water.  After three trips to each store and finally resorting to rummaging through the storage area myself, I finally found a t-shirt and two pairs of shorts.  We threw out his clothes and had to wash his flip flops off. 
• After all that we made it to wonderful, lovely, Sri Lanka. (separate post to follow)
• We have had no fewer than 3 earthquakes that I have experienced while in the 4th floor of our building--not fun!
• Got up close and personal to Madam Secretary--Hilary Clinton when she was in Dhaka for a whirlwind 24 hours!  The kids got their picture taken with other Embassy kids and her, and Hollis of course stole the show and told her a 10 second story that she actually listened to.  Still waiting on video of that....
• Isobel got giardia, and was sick for at least 2 weeks, then recovered.
• Andy and I got giardia and are on medicine and are on the way to recovery.

Needless to say, I am looking forward to getting back to the U.S. for part of the Summer and can't wait to do many things that I took for granted before moving here, such as:

• driving a car where there are rules and stop signs and stop lights
• walking down a sidewalk without worrying about stepping on feces, piss, or loogies
• breathing fresh air
• going shopping and not being hassled by the zombie patrol of beggars, and feeling like a jerk because I cannot give everyone of you money
• going shopping and just being left alone to think and shop
• eating fresh fruit and vegetables and not having to disinfect the crap out of it
• brushing my teeth with tap water
• going to a park and not being followed and asked a gazillion questions every 30 seconds and having my kids pictures taken by strangers
• taking a train without the fear of my kids getting crushed by people just trying to get on the thing
• no earthquakes (hopefully)
• having family close enough that if I wanted to I could get there by driving a car for 6 or 10 hours

So, in a nutshell, it has been a wild ride so far and the kids are very happy.  They are super resilient, much more so than this chick.  They love their school and their friends and make our time here fun and interesting.  I have neglected to post for so long mainly because I felt that all I would do is complain and I don't want to be that kind of blogger or person.  Often times, this city is too much, but the people we have befriended have made it so much more bearable and enjoyable.  Already we are getting ready to say goodbye to friends in a few weeks that will be off to their next assignment.  That is a reality of this lifestyle and one that I definitely can say without a doubt, I do not like.  There is always the chance to meet up again in the future, in a new place and for that I am grateful.

Until next time...............