Sri Lanka- Trains and Beaches

There is something so calming about riding on a train. I love it.  There is the rush of stress to buy the tickets, get the seats (especially because here most of them are not assigned), get your luggage up and out of the way (because we have a LOT), and settle in to the journey.  Once that train moves, all of your stress is gone and all you can do is daydream, look out the window, maybe strike up a conversation with your neighbor, and enjoy the ride. Trains relax me more than any other style of transportation.  Maybe it is because I have had a lot of great memories on trains but there is something about the slow motion of the trains and the scenic way of traveling that relaxes me.  Every time I have ridden a train, I have been going somewhere good that I want to go. Even in Armenia, it was either to Gyumri, to Yerevan, or back to my house and each time it was good. 

We took the train to and from Kandy and down to the south. The entire time I am on a train, I am daydreaming. I don’t even think about things, I just let my mind wander and see where it takes me. A lot of the times it dreams about the future and the possibility of things. Who knows where I will be in five years, this is the first time in my life I have not had a plan but I think that is ok. I don’t like that I don’t have a life goal I am working towards, but by the end of this trip I will.  Ok, no more deep thoughts; more of the now.

The beaches here are beautiful. A lot of people told us to go east because the weather would be nicer but we didn’t listen. But it has worked out. We have had rain but we have also had sunshine and blue skies. The water has been a little rough but it has been good enough to swim and catch waves.  We are staying at a place that is 3 dollars a night and has some of the best food! Tomorrow I will be taking a cooking class and will be learning a few of the curry dishes as well as a dish called devil chicken. I had it the first night we were here and it is Spicy! But it has that sweet spice that is so good and the chicken is cooked to perfection! Hopefully I can learn it well enough to cook back in America but again we will see if I can get all the spices in America.

For the past two days we have woken up to monkeys and birds, ate delicious breakfasts, walked to the beach, laid around until we were sufficiently burnt.  Then we would walk home, usually in a light rain, shower and nap or read, then have a delicious dinner while laughing about something silly before retiring to bed early.  It has been incredibly relaxing and if anyone does read this, don’t hate me too much, but it is wonderful. I promise I will cook you some delicious food to make up for the fact that this is my life right now.