Nearing the end

If all’s gone to plan it should be early Feb 2022 by now and I need to be back at work for the 7th. I’ll have travelled from Galle on the south coast of Sri Lanka all the way to Jaffna at the northern tip of the island. I’ve now pre-recorded my journey here in 10 legs and three ‘spotlight’ blog entries.

The real trip, places I visit and experiences I encounter may of course be fundamentally different to this planned version. These past few months though have been an attempt at mapping out my route and considering the places where I’ll need to sleep over.

To get from Mihintale, my last stop and the place where Sri Lanka and Buddhism became entwined, I’ll take, or maybe even hire, a tuk tuk for the four hour drive southbound to Kurunegala. The thrill of riding in a three-wheeler is amazing and will be an exhilarating way to round off my trip.

Kurunegala

Arriving in Kurunegala I think will be a bit like Kandy – busy, noisy and disorientating. It too is a major town and the capital of the North Western Province. It’s not really on the tourist map, as despite it being the capital of Sri Lanka for 50 years at the end of the 14th century, there’s little antiquity to speak of.

However, Kurunegala has eight very noticeable large rocks that encircle and dominate the town. Their names are based on animals they were imagined to resemble, eg, elephant rock, tortoise rock, monkey rock etc. The city is also surrounded by coconut plantations and rubber estates.

Looking up from Kurunegala town is Elephant Rock and on the top of it an enormous white Buddha statue. In the foreground there’s a clock tower which is a war memorial from 1922 commemorating the soldiers who died in the First World War. After 1945, names of officers were added who sacrificed their lives in WW2.

But my real reason for stopping at Kurunegala on the way to Colombo airport for my return flight to London, is to call in to the Sri Bohdi Malu Viharaya (Buddhist Temple). This will be to visit Buddhist monk Ven. Ragama Sugathananda Thero and his community. Since 2015 friends have volunteered in this community teaching English to school children and child monks and this has continued via Zoom throughout the pandemic. One friend has set up a sports activity programme for the community and others have helped improve the eyesight of many community members as well as those from adjoining towns. They’ve done this by providing funding for eye tests and, where needed, prescription lenses. Friends of friends have donated thousands of spectacle frames for the new prescription lenses to be inserted into.

Thank you

As I conclude my journey, and having taken the couple of hour drive from Kurunegala to the airport, I’d like to thank you for reading and following my blog so far.

I hope you’ll rejoin me for the real thing at the end of November this year when I’ll blog/vlog my way across Sri Lanka. I’ll be raising funds to:

• enable Women’s Development Centre in Kandy to support girls/women living in refuges learn new skills so they can become self-sufficient when they leave their refuge. An example of this is the looms project which is making a difference to the girls in a Kandy refuge
• help the UK charity Their Future Today get children currently living in orphanages in Sri Lanka out of them, and instead living within supportive families

I still intend to keep up the blog between now and before I set off. In these I’ll give updates on the offers of support/sponsorship I receive so I hope you’ll keep reading! With this in mind I’ll now turn my attention to sorting out travel equipment, en route accommodation, and local guide support for the more remote and trickier stretches that I’ll travel through.

As always I’d love you to comment and ask questions in the box below or via my social media platforms. Alternatively or additionally join my email list below to receive automatic updates and perhaps share with a friend who may be interested in becoming involved.

To end, please enjoy this brief YouTube video clip with a few highlights of Sri Lanka from the perspective of a tuk tuk! Xx

Previous blog – Leg 9 – Jaffna to Mihintale