Bentota (8-20)

After leaving Yala, my driver took me to the bus stop in Tissamaharama where I could get a bus to Bentota, my final destination in Sri Lanka. When I asked the man on duty about a bus to Bentota, he, too, told me to take the bus to Colombo, which would arrive in an hour. He also told me it might be very crowded with no seats because many people would be returning after the election on Monday. After giving me this information, he asked if I had a present for him. No, I didn’t. Later he told me to go to the bus stop and reminded me that he had helped me, which I had thought was his job.

So, when the bus arrived, I wasn’t surprised that there were no seats. However, I had to stand for only ten minutes before a person near me got off. I missed being an old person in China where someone almost always gave me their seat. I had a window seat on the side with three seats, which was fine as I was glad to be sitting for the long ride. The large man next to me overlapped arms a little; so it was a snug. This bus had the loudest music of any of the buses. The video was on with blaring music the whole way.

I’d been told that the trip would take four hours. After three hours and forty-five minutes, I went to the front so the attendant could tell me when to get off. He told me I had to wait an hour. When I said I’d been told it would take four hours, he pointed out the window to a traffic jam and said it was taking longer because of the elections. A group of people was parading down the street. Having given up my seat, I stood at the front, as I wanted to be there when we reached Bentota. When the bus stopped for a break, I went outside and ended out talking with a man who teaches IT at an international school in Colombo. He said he was happy with the election results.

Parliamentary elections were on Monday. Everyone goes to their hometown to vote. The guesthouse owner in Nuwara Eliya was returning to Colombo on Sunday to vote on Monday. I met some other people who were returning to Colombo to vote and then going to Kandy to continue their holiday. Along the road on Tuesday there were occasional firecrackers. Small groups walked down the street carrying green flags. The IT teacher explained that they have seven days to celebrate their victory.

When I arrived at the guesthouse, it was time for dinner. Although prices were the highest I’d encountered at a guesthouse, I decided to eat there anyway because it was convenient. Since the cook hadn’t returned from his trip home to vote, the owner’s wife cooked grilled tuna. When the meal came with a salad, I decided that the high prices were reasonable. This was the first salad I’d had for over a year.

When I woke up Wednesday morning, it was raining. An hour later the rain had stopped and the sun was shining. The guesthouse has a lovely garden and my room had a balcony overlooking the garden. A perfect place to relax and enjoy the morning.

In the early afternoon I set out to walk and go to the beach. I saw a sign to a temple but decided I didn’t need to see another temple. But after two men told me about the very old temple, I decided I should go and headed up the road. The road goes along the river where people have boat rides to see crocodiles among other things. I passed on that. At a junction, I asked a man about the temple, and he pointed ahead saying it was 1.5 kilometers. Later I took the road with a temple sign at the junction thinking it didn’t seem like the right temple. When I got near the temple, a German shepherd stood and barked. Then two other big, barking dogs ran to join it. This was not a temple I was going to see. Farther on I asked two men about the old temple. They said it was 2.5 kilometers, more than I wanted to walk at that point. So I turned back. A tuk tuk driver pointed to the temple I’d been to when I asked about the old temple. A few minutes later he came back and said the temple was far away. I went with him, and it was far, but it was worth the trip.

The Temple of Galapatha is 1500 years old, according to the tuk-tuk driver. Other information confirms that it is a 12^th century temple. I also read that the temple was originally built in the 2^nd century BC. The temple is important because its stupa contains a tooth relic from an important disciple of the Buddha. 

A young monk silently walked me to the two temple buildings and waited while I looked around. 

The walls are covered with beautiful murals. 

 

Both buildings have a reclining Buddha. 

The second building also has Hindu gods in one shrine. I was alone in the buildings with the attending monk. When I was leaving a group was arriving. I was glad to have had quiet time there.

When I finished, I had the driver take me to the beach where I enjoyed a slow walk for over an hour. The waves are rough, and I remembered reading that this is not the season for beaches on the west side of the island. As I was finishing, a man showed me his booklet of places to visit. I had thought about going to a sea turtle conservation project; so when I saw it in his book I agreed to go with him.

When we arrived at Induruwa Sea Turtle Conservation Project, a man took me around and explained the project. People gather the sea turtles’ eggs at night, digging them up after they are laid, and sell them to the center where they are reburied in the protected area. They pay for the eggs so people will sell them to the center rather than eat them.

The eggs hatch in 48 days. They keep track of the time so they know which eggs will hatch when. Two days after they hatch, the turtles are released into the sea. For an additional donation, people can release a turtle, but that didn’t happen until about 6:30 and it was only 4:30; so I didn’t stay to do that. But I did hold one. They estimate that only 10% of the babies survive, as they become food for other animals. But, as the man taking us around said, that’s nature. They can’t guarantee survival of the babies; they can only guarantee that they will hatch and have a chance to survive.

They keep a few turtles for research purposes. 

I held a greenback turtle that was three years old—about 15 kilograms—and another that was two years old—about ten kilograms. They had four species of sea turtles when I was there. The babies were all greenbacks because this is the season when they come to the island.

After returning to the beach, the driver gave me his card in case I come back in the future and can use his services. Since the card has photos of a car and a van and he does long tours, I asked about going to the airport and ended out hiring him for that. Then he offered to take me to the guesthouse for free. Since I was ready to eat dinner, I had him take me to a seaside restaurant so I could eat and watch the sunset, which I knew would be nice. The fish curry—with noodles instead of rice for a change—was good 

and the sunset was lovely with palm trees in the foreground. A nice ending for my time in Sri Lanka.

Notes

Bus stations in Sri Lanka are “bus stands.”

Upon meeting someone, their question is “You from?” The appropriate answer for me is “USA.” Since the answer understood in most of the countries in Southeast Asia and in China is “America,” I found that interesting.