Unawatuna

Day 106 - 12th August 14

I sit in the little garden of Irsia Bed and Breakfast eating toast and drinking coffee, before catching the express to the airport in KL, for what I hope is the last time. When I arrive in Colombo late afternoon, Hannah has hired a driver in Unawatuna and has kindly come to collect me from the airport. She's booked us into Palm Grove Guesthouse - our room is large, with a beautiful, wooden, four poster, its sides draped with white mosquito net curtains and pristine white sheets on the bed. We meet the owner briefly, who's a friendly older lady from Blackpool. Her customer service skills are excellent. The dining area on the balcony just outside our room is like a conservatory since it's surrounded by the tree tops and plants in the garden below. Although in close proximity to other buildings, it's a tranquil spot. Han has bought a bottle of wine, knowing that I have been craving wine in Indonesia, so we share this before leaving the guesthouse.

There's a festival in Unawatuna tonight. The streets are crammed full of Sri Lankan's who have come to watch the procession. It is with slow progress that we make our way to

the beach, attempting to weave through the crowds of families unsuccessfully. Due to recent heavy rainfall the ground is full of deep , dirty puddles which are impossible to avoid in the mayhem. The street is lined with small pop up shops selling colourful toys and odd household wares. Hannah spots a shack where I can buy a snack, as the restaurants are not running as usual. She introduces me to rottis filled with a spicy potato mix and wrapped up into neat triangular shaped parcels, which we refer to as 'triangles' for the remainder of our trip.

As we continue down the road to the beach, a tunnel of twinkly, white fairy lights stretches out above our heads, its arch shaped in the formation of half a spiders web. On the beach, we join the pilgrims wading through the lapping waves towards the temple shining in red and yellow and green at the far end of the beach, its colourful lights reflecting in the sea.

As we approach the temple, the carnival procession of dancing groups arrives. Older women wearing white bear the flag of Sri Lanka, leading the procession. Drummers and dancers follow behind them, dressed in the traditional white and red Kandy outfits. Energetic dancing, quick feet and fast beats perform before moving into the temple to be replaced by the next group. Twirling and spinning with arms stretched out, toes pointing in the air and heels on the ground

as rhythmic bodies flip in quick succession from left to right. A few of the younger group's dancing is ill-timed and choreography is forgotten as they desperately try to follow the leading dancer. The sun rises pirouetting past - women dressed in a gaudy, synthetic satin, coloured orange and red, customed into corsets and skirts with head bands cut into spiky rays. As it sets, disappearing beneath the horizon of the temples archway, the moon appears through the clouds in the form of graceful female dancers dressed in silver and white shiny satin. Peacocks in impressive costumes strut by, spinning their raised feathers. Two lions dance awkwardly with the legs of two men beneath a bright yellow furry body and a papier mache fashioned head. Men masked in comic yellow and grey painted masks shake their torches of fire comically at us as they pass. Slightly sinister masks float by, with straggly long black woollen hair. One boy pulls along another by metal hooks gauged into the skin of his back,

attached to strings which are held like leads. The most impressive dancers tower above the surrounding crowd on stilts, still performing the same fast energetic moves, sometimes holding one leg raised into the air and jumping on the other. I assume there must be some significance in relation to what the groups represent and how these relate to Buddhism.

As the crowds follow the tail of the perahera through the gates and up the hill to the temple, a guy who has been chatting to us ushers us through to join. We sit on the rocks above the beach as the white spray leaps high beneath the temple lights and awkwardly attempt to converse with him and his friend in broken English. We pass the statue of Buddha hidden behind a veil of fairy lights and manage to lose them as we return down the hill and back to our guesthouse to sleep.

Day 107 - 13th August 14

We have a lovely simple breakfast - a large plate of fruit, poached eggs on toast and proper coffee with milk. We chat to a couple from Switzerland. The guy is originally from Sri Lanka, but they're only going to spend a small chunk of their holiday with his family so she can enjoy some beach time too. Today we move to Bed Space, run by Hannah's friends from her previous visits, Mal and Dave. They have a

room available and have kindly said that we can stay here for less than the going rate. It's a nice clean guesthouse with a modern feel and white washed walls. I spend the afternoon relaxing and take my clothes to the laundry. Tonight they are holding a dinner party which Han and I join. There is an outdoor space, with two large wooden tables sat upon the gravel, next to their outdoor kitchen area, where we can watch them cook. Their work tops are smooth concrete slabs and they have created a trendy, modern feel. There is a wooden decking area where they serve us cocktails.

At dinner, I sit next to a German couple whose two young children are in bed. They have travelled a lot over the years and have not let having children prevent them from continuing their adventures. On the other side of me is the couple who run Palm Grove. The guy is friendly but lacks tact which his wife constantly tries to compensate for, smiling and chattering away. We speak to them about Blackpool, their time in Sri Lanka and their children. Their daughter works in a really successful nursing home and they relay a bittersweet story to us that their daughter has shared with them. There was an elderly man and woman in the home, both in their nineties, who suffered slightly from dementia, but had formed a bond and had embarked upon a sexual relationship together. It would have been illegal in England for the nursing home to condone this relationship - as the women was suffering from Alzheimer's and was therefore unable to recall the incidences, it had to be classed as rape. Both their families were informed of the situation and whereas the family of the woman thought it was wonderful that she had found a companion, the family of the man was horrified and removed him to a different nursing home. It seems such a shame that in our society it is not acceptable for an elderly couple to enjoy the freedom to do as they wish.

The wine is delicious. After dinner, half of the party retires, but a few of us stay drinking in the garden. The time passes rapidly and the sunrise surprises us. The German lady has gone to bed, but her partner is still up. When I discover they are not married, in my tipsy state, I tell him he must propose tomorrow and we will arrange a fake wedding for him, with his daughters as flower girls. He laughs, but I am so insistent that he eventually concedes. I am triumphant and promise not to fail him.

Day 108 - 14th August 14

Today is spent lazing and nursing our hangovers. Happily for me, Hannah is being treated like a princess so I am inadvertently receiving the same perks. Mal brings us breakfast in bed at midday, a full English with a plate of fruit.

I am slightly mortified when I bump into the German guy in the early evening and he tells me jokingly that he was waiting for me to organise his wedding. I detect a note of disappointment in his tone, as if he had secretly liked the idea of a slapstick wedding and had been genuinely prepared to go along with it.

In the evening, we visit the old hotel Mal and Dave used to work in and I admire the location and the pizza oven they built. The restaurant is still using the menu they created and we order pizza here. It is by far the best pizza I have had since leaving England. We watch Michael Jackson's 'This is it' after our conversation with the Blackpool couple the previous day who recommended it to us, raving about MJ's strive for perfection. They have a projector screen and I lie in a hammock slung across the corner of two walls, contentedly watching the movie, after so little time in front of a screen since the start of my travels.

Day 109 - 15th August 14

Hannah has researched a charity project nearby and today she's arranged for us to meet Janaka, as we'd like to understand what is involved before fully committing ourselves. When we arrive, he welcomes us both with a warm hug and receives us in his living room. His 8 year old daughter Koeli comes to perch on his lap. She speaks a little English and is clearly highly intelligent. She is beautiful and is dressed in a pristine blue frock. Janaka tells us that there are a variety of projects and he will send us to them all after which we can decide which ones we most enjoy. It sounds like a perfect set up, and after meeting a couple of volunteers that are already staying there, we're excited to start and arrange to move in on Sunday evening. It's about £20 a day for accommodation, with all meals included, which although not cheap is reasonable and is vastly different to numerous other volunteer projects which demand extortionate joining costs and a committal period of at least a month.

Galle's fort is nearby. We take a tuk tuk there and stroll around its protective walls of red brick. Locals are swimming off the beach just below the white lighthouse, some of the women wading in their burkas. It's a really pretty area of colonial houses built by the Dutch, Portuguese or English, all of which took control at different times. The narrow streets are filled with lovely cafes, gem and craft

shops - a perfect tourist hangout.

Mal and Dave are putting on a second dinner party, but there's only a few of us this time. A French lady is travelling with her 3 children who are all bilingual since her husband is English. They are incredibly well-behaved. We are served a prawn cocktail starter, fillet steak with bearnaise sauce, thrice cooked chips and roasted carrots and cheesecake for desert.

Day 110 - 16th August 14

In the morning I wake feeling ill. I spend the majority of the day sleeping. I watch a movie in bed - Adam Curtis' the Century of Self which pinpoints the beginnings of public relations and marketing on Edward Bernays' use of Sigmund Freud's pschoanalytical ideas, in order to make people believe they always need more or the newest product. It is interesting to watch in this short episode of my life in which I am living out of a backpack with few possessions and removed from the Western consumer-driven society.

Day 111 - 17th August 14

I still feel a little weak. In the afternoon, we sit in a cafe on the beach. I drink lime and soda and read, relaxing so I fully recover before the move this evening.