Showing posts with label Sri Lanka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sri Lanka. Show all posts
Monday, May 20, 2013
Bye Bye Arugam Bay
Pleasure, Pain and the Power of Friends.
The greatest pains and the greatest of pleasures all pass. I have held both pleasure and pain so close this winter and as much as you may cling to them, indeed they go just as they came... And I've found that pleasure and pain aren't so different after all, they're intimately connected- because it's usually pain that follows the pleasure. How could one feel pain if they hadn't held pleasure?! And how could one appreciate pleasure if they hadn't suffered pain? And so it has been, this dance between the two, navigating extreme sadness and the most wholesome, nourishing happiness. Both experiences are an opportunity to grow, and I know that I am returning home a different woman than the girl that set off in late Autumn.
T.S. Eliot said,
"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
And so, after all this exploring, I'm returning into my spiritual self and my physical home, for the first time. Fresh.
This winter has held so many magical moments, and so many beautiful people. It has offered up delicious food and perfect waves. The days and the nights haven't been long enough to contain the fun, bliss and abundance that has been sent to me. I owe it all to the company I've kept, so ill end with one more quote from TS Eliot, which sums up how I feel about the importance of some good friends. Thank you to EVERYONE who held me, loved me, nourished me and laughed with me this winter! I'll see you all again, someday...
"You do not know how much they mean to me, my friends,
And how, how rare and strange it is, to find
In a life composed so much, so much of odds and ends,
(For indeed I do not love it ... you knew? you are not blind! How keen you are!)
To find a friend who has these qualities,
Who has, and gives
Those qualities upon which friendship lives.
How much it means that I say this to you-
Without these friendships-life, what cauchemar!"
― T.S. Eliot
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Friends with Shortboards...
Wake up no later than five. Start the kettle. Then I walk outside and holler into Nirs room for him to wake up. He joins me for some yoga in the living room, we take some tea, then it's back outside to holler into Zivs room through the window. Most mornings Ziv doesn't rally to surf, despite my multiple attempts to wake him. So by 6, Nir and I start the walk to the point. He is the eternal gentleman, so he carries my 9' log and I carry his little light potato chip. This has been my routine for months now, but I'm so grateful that Nir has joined in, and is enjoying it as much as me. It's always beautiful to share your mornings with a good friend, and its even better when that friend offers to carry your heavy ass longboard for you...
Bliss and Abundance on a Big Rock.
Yesterday we had an adventure. Mimi, Nir and I headed to Okanda to check out the break and then to the Kudimbagala Monastery to climb to the top of the very very big rock. We saw nearly a dozen elephants along the way, and one that was almost too close for comfort. The real magic though was atop the rock...where the silence, the wind, and the hundreds of swifts flying around produce a sense of serenity that can't be found below. A few times I got a bit choked up as thoughts of my approaching departure came to mind, but then I just shut my eyes and surrendered to the bliss and the abundance that was all around me. Another beautiful day.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Surfing, Crying, Laughing, Loving.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Spontaneous And Sensational
1. Then Agenta said he'd drive
2. Then Nir needed to go to Galle to see about a house
3. Then Mimi decided to tag along and "see Galle"
4. Then I think "well, why not?!", packed an overnight bag and hopped in.
It was a 6 hour drive to Galle. We stopped off at an artisans shop full of wooden carvings, witnessed an amazing parade, and arrived in town to let out Adena and Luther. We then proceeded to a friends of Agentas, whose home is on the river just north of Galle. It was a totally random, cosmic, spontaneous adventure, that got slightly more weird and eclectic as the night went on. We ate some pot candies, sipped some beers, danced, played music, chilled out and then ate rice and curry at 1 in the morning, which we were hand fed by our host....ah, the customs and etiquette of eating in Sri Lanka will always baffle me. Nir, Mimi and I were give. The big room with AC to share, and the three local boys piled together on the couch. It was not what I had pictured when I hopped on the taxi, but it was a spontaneous bit of fun and randomness, one of those magic nights that happen only in Sri Lanka.
This morning we sipped some tea, said our goodbyes, and then stopped into the fort in Galle for a proper cappuccino at my beloved Pedlars Cafe.
It was nice to get out of town and break up the routine, but I'm happy that we are heading back to my sweet home Arugam Bay....
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Hair Cut Cry
I got my first "official" hair cut yesterday (my mother is a dog groomer and I usually just sit in her dog room and have her trim the ends with her shears). It all came about because Marina, Kelly and I have been having "girls" days. This usually involves exchanging massages, but since Kelly didn't give massages she chimed in "How about a hair cut"?! Well, let me tell you- Kelly is the REAL DEAL. She had her professional scissors and comb with her, and though I'd first said a firm NO to a hair cut, after seeing her magic with Marinas hair I hesitantly said Okay...
The agreement was a TRIM, only taking off the bottom inch of salt-water/sun/surf damage. I didn't threaten Kelly like I usually do my mom, and perhaps this was a mistake. Because she went ahead and "cut off the dead ends" to "clean it up". Holy SHITBALLS. She cut at least 6 inches off of my hair! My beautiful hair! I soothed the pain and shock with a strong gin and tonic and even now I still haven't come to terms with it. But as Kelly (and everyone else) has said -- "It looks so healthy!!!!". In the end, it was the ultimate lesson in detachment. There are few things that I am attached to, but my hair is one of them- and probably the strongest of them all. My hair has always made me feel beautiful, but true beauty radiates from the inside out- no matter what length your hair is. So, I've shed a few tears and am feeling a bit self conscious, but Kelly really did do an ammmmazing job and I'm grateful for her push to "detach" from the outer beauty and start to connect with the inner... Ah the wisdom that one can receive from a hair cut! Every day is a blessing and every day there's another lesson.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Foodie Fun with Friends.
GEMS.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Little Adams Peak
Whoawhatthefuckhowislifethisbeautifulandamazing. Boom. Bah. Amazing. There are no words for our morning hike to Little Adams Peak....
Desse Barama (Peace)
by Hamza El Din
"The world shines about me,
luminous as the moon, smiling like a rose,
and a sweet benediction
flows through everything existing.
How beautiful life is.
I marvel at people who are not in love with life.
You, my girl, are beautiful,
and your beauty,
like the beautiful thought of peace,
belongs to the eternity.
Detest war and destruction.
When you go to the riverbank,
and the sun sets in the evening,
the waters of the river will be rippling softly,
and from a distance, in the twilight, you will see white sails.
A song of the boatman will come from there.
'Today no suffering, no suffering.'
The world shines about me,
luminous as the moon,
smiling like a rose."
dawn.
"The morning at dawn has secrets to tell, don't go back to sleep." -rumi
Ella Spice Garden
Ella Spice Garden is a one man show. Chanty is a young Sri Lankan who hosts cooking lessons out of his families kitchen, teaching us foreigners how to make a proper Rice and Curry feast (his mothers recipes of course!). As soon as we arrived we took over the kitchen, put on some music, joked and laughed, and challenged each other to world domination garlic peeling. It was mayhem, and it was *delightful*. The food we cooked up was outstanding, and luckily for Luther (who keeps forgetting and using his "poop hand" aka left hand, to eat) we had silverware. And the highlight of the evening? CHAMPAGNE!!! Luther and Adena must love me because in duty free they grabbed a bottle of bubbles for us to enjoy. Such a great night. If anyone is ever passing through Ella, I highly recommend Chanty!
+94 75 2363636
*Rice:
3 cups of rice for 3 people
*polished* rice (sambar rice). Short grain. Good for soaking up flavor. Wash rice until water becomes clear.
12 curry leaves
Piece of cinnamon
Pandan
3 cardamom pods, pound in mortar, crushing inside seeds
*PANDAN (spice), looks like a long palm frond. Will be available at Asian supermarket
Using rice cooker...water: add one centimeter above the rice
*Potato curry:
Boil potatoes (3) cube
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
1 green chile, cut down middle into 2 halves
12 curry leaves
Pandan
Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon roasted fenugreek seeds
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon unroasted curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
Add 2 cups of 2nd coconut milk (the thinner coconut milk)
Cover it, bring to boil.
Once comes to boil add half cup of 1st coconut milk. Continually stir as it comes back to a boil.
*Dal curry:
1 1/2 cups of lentils, rinsed
2 cloves of garlic sliced
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
1 green chili cut lengthwise
Pandan
8 curry leaves
1 tablespoon Unroasted curry
Teaspoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 cups 2nd coconut milk (thin)
Bring to boil for a few minutes.
When no liquid on top, add 1/2 cup 1st coconut milk. Heat until top layer of liquid disappears.
Temper the dal:
In a sauce pan fry
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
8 curry leaves
Pandan
2 cloves garlic, crushed
*Garlic curry:
60 cloves of garlic (large only)
Cut both tips off, then slice in half down the middle (length wise)
Teaspoon turmeric powder
Teaspoon salt
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
1 green chile thinly sliced
Pandan
10 curry leaves
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in skillet. Add garlic and spices. 2 teaspoons roasted curry powder. Then one and a half cups 2nd coconut milk. Bring to a boil (cover). Cook until thick.
*Coconut Sambal
1/2 red onion diced
1 green chile sliced
1/4 tomato, diced
Mortar and pestle, smash
Tablespoon salt
Teaspoon red chili powder
Juice of 1/2 lime
Mix with hands.
The View.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Off to Ella
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Ustrasana in Nuwara Eliya
Take joy in it.
It will turn to gold.
Resurrection will be now.
Every moment, a new beauty."
--Rumi
My Eyes So Soft
My Eyes So Soft
"Don't surrender your loneliness so quickly
let it cut more deep.
Let it ferment and season you
as few human or even divine ingredients can
Something missing in my heart tonight
has made my eyes so soft
my voice so tender
my need of god
absolutely clear."
--Hafiz
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