Arugam Bay Flashbacks

Sitting eating chop suey (which seems to be the official dish of Kandy-apart from cake of course) tonight, Dave and I realized we had forgotten to write about several important things connected to our last post.

First, our second hotel in Arugam Bay (run by muscle man/ cosmetics collector Ralph) was also home to a small puppy named John. John was under the care of Ralph. Unfortunately, Ralph's excessive grooming routine did not extend to his dog. John had a terrible case of fleas, or, as described by Ralph "John is very itchy." The poor dog couldn't take more than two steps without scratching himself, according to Dave, not unlike professional baseball players or the average American male football fan.

We mentioned that we were either locked in or out of our hotel most of the time, because of Ralph's concern for security, but we neglected to mention the explaination he gave for the lock down. When asked, Ralph would assume a very serious face, start shaking his head and say, "bad men, you know? Bad men around. Ali Baba. Bad men." Thanks to Ralph's explanation, "Ali Baba" has become synonomous with bad men. Despite all Ralph's security measures, Roded's cigarettes fell victim to Ali Baba and his devious ways.

Ralph

The Sea Rider

Also in Arugam Bay, back at our favorite restaurant, Ruwangi's, we were sitting eating dinner (or lunch, who knows), watching two children running around (mostly naked) between the tables and the kitchen, where their mother was attempting to prepare food. One of the children started howling, and Ruwangi emerged from the kitchen to announce, "big one tried to eat little one". Janine, Eddie, Roded, Dave and I looked at each other, assuming he meant the larger child had bitten the smaller one, otherwise there were stranger things than the bong going on at Ruwangi's. Perhaps cannabalism is alive and well in Sri Lanka?

On one of my long bike rides in Arugam Bay, I cycled to Crocodile Lake. To get to the lake, you first go to the village of Panama, about 20km from Arugam Bay, then down a deserted dirt track for another 2.5km. The lake was beautiful, full of birds, surrounded by trees and was devoid of human activity. I sat down beside the lake to eat some crackers (delicious Munchee biscuits, a favorite of all Sri Lankans), and enjoy some quiet time away from Dave. I had barely sat down when a man appeared on a bicycle. He went through the round of questions I am now very familiar with, "what is your country? What is your name? Are you married? Are you pregnant? Where you go? You like Sri Lanka?" (These questions typically go on until they exhaust their English or I say something like, "yes, I'm married, have children, a taxi, I'm pregnant and I don't need accomodation"). The man on the bike finished his speel, but didn't leave. He just sat there, watching me eat crackers! Then two more guys on bikes appeared. Suddenly my peaceful lunch in an isolated spot was a party of four. The guys, in very broken English, asked me if I would like to have a boat ride across the lake. I weighed the risks, me, alone, on an isolated lake-full of crocodiles-with three strange men, and decided, no, I didn't need a boat ride. Finishing my crackers, I packed up, said goodbye and continued my ride around the lake. I got off at one point to take pictures of some birds in the water, and was quickly approached by another man-this one however, didn't speak any English, so I avoided having to tell him my life story. He made hand motions indicating a crocodile, and gesture to further along the shore. We walked together, him making chomping motions, me nodding, along the beach toward a group of birds. He explained, using more gestures, that there were no crocodiles on the shore, since the birds felt safe enough to sit there. He made boat gestures, pointing to himself, then to me. Comforted by the fact that there would be only one strange man and a lake full of crocodiles, I agreed (sorry mum). We hopped in his narrow outrigger and he paddled me to the far end of the lake and along the other shore- I saw several crocodiles- before he returned me, in one piece, to my bike.

More to come about Kandy and our adventures here (it's mostly, but not all, cake eating-we have done some stuff).