Sunday

Just thought I would try to download some of the images while I have a moment.

We saw so many brilliant scenes it is difficult to capture them.......people working in the paddy fields, old women crouching on a flat rock in the middle of a stream beating a piece of washing to get it clean often surrounded by little ones playing in the water. There are many shanty areas where all you can see is a sea of corragated metal balancing precariously against each other, these people have so little, they are hungry and yet smilling.

We also drove past the government building, set in a large expanse of land, a lake surrrounding the beautiful building. As we get around the towns we have constant reminders of Mahinda Rajapaksa one of the hopefuls in the forthcoming local elections, who likes to see himself posted on any/all spaces that can be found, he either has both arms in the air in a triumphant display or one arm raised, the recently re-elected president is also on posters with his heavy moustache, he is of course also on all the new bank notes.

Today we intended to visit the Colombo zoo which is currently being rebuilt out of town, they are apparently adopting the Winsor Park model. However the existing zoo is in the heart of Colombo and we found on arrival the entrance is 150 rupees for nationals and 2000 rupees for foreigners, this is the terminology used at the gate, a guest carrying a camera is charged an additional fee to bring the camera in. I intend to complain to the embassy on my return, you can imagine the outcry if we were to adopt that policy in England!

Today we had another amazing encounter on the road. We were negotiating along in the customely zig zag fashion when we realised the head lights pointing towards us were in fact not stationary,it was a bus, fulll of people which had decided he had hhad enough of it all and drove on the wrong side of the road to pass all the traffic

. Unbelievable!.Suffice to say we have passed two accidents in the last three days, I guess its a good job I am not based here.

Tomorrow we go to the orphanage down the road hopefully armed with games and toys which we intend to buy from a warehouse we have been told about. We have a lady coming in to do us lunch as we have a busy day.

Bring it on............

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