June - July 2011

It has been a while since my last entry due to life happening.
Were to start!!
June 18th returned to Oz for our daughter Kat's Marriage to her fiance Tom
Nathania Springs is where they were Married on 15th July 
http://www.nathaniasprings.com.au/photos/chapel/
The day was just wonderful everything went to plan and she looked beautiful and her dad and I were proud parents watching our girl start in her new life journey.

One by one our children are leaving the nest and as our children go to live life their way we are starting our own journey into a new faze into our life journey.

Returned to Chennai for 4 weeks then back to Oz August 18th ready for the birth of our first granddaughter due on 1st September

Our granddaughter Willow decided she didn't want to wait until 1st September to come into our lives

On the 25th August
We arrived at the hospital at 9:20pm my daughter in the back seat of the car in labour she walked into the birthing room sat on the bed and at 9:25pm Willow arrived and man it was amazing talk about cutting it close..lol
and I have to say she is the most beautiful cute little girl in the world and her mum is exceptional
I could not believe how calm and composed my daughter was she said she had a stomach pain and some back pain!!  I wish my labour was like that lucky girl....

Mother and Willow are doing fantastic it was time for me to leave and it was a hard one.. missing them all but once again thank god for Skype.

Returning home to Chennai September 26th
I am back in Chennai again and I am loving living here even when my family and Friends are so far away but I have met some beautiful people and formed friendships here and I am grateful for all of them
I am looking forward to what is next in life and what living in Chennai has to give and hope I can give something of myself to Chennai.

December Christmas

Well hello it has been quite a while since I have made an entry to the Blog so I thought it was time
I said something!!

Its December Christmas and I have been searching for some decorations and I finally found some
just picked up some tinsel and bits and pieces from a shop in the street cheep too!!
dont have a christmas tree but managed to get a foam cut out tree so I have put that up on the
wall so now I have a christmas tree.
I am happy now starting to feel the christmas spirit!

Went to get some supplies today and while we were there we spotted a ham just the square slab you would buy from the deli that is sliced.
We thought for interest sake we would check what price they had on this..hmmm very amusing they only wanted $70.00 bucks... lol..
Who in their right mind would actually pay this price for a slab of ham that is just processed meat anyway yes I am going to miss having a nice ham and Turkey for christmas but man I am not that desperate their is always chicken at least that is the real deal.

I went back to pick up some supplies today its been 2 weeks and that Ham is still sitting in the fridge waiting for someone to be crazy enough to buy it.

I havent done anything to write about we have all been sick at different times comes and goes think its the cooler weather change don't get me wrong its still hot but we have had a few cooler mornings and evenings nice cool breezes.

It was Mark's and my 26th Wedding anniversary and Mark was unwell so we dident get to go out to celebrate so we thought we would celebrate on friday night just go out for a few drinks.

So this is how it went Its friday Mark's work Christmas break up hmm... it was starting at 9am in the morning they dont just all catch up after work or plane a night out for there christmas break ups here they have it on a work day all day!!

I was planning on getting out of the house today as I have been cooped up in the house for 4 days sick or someone els was sick It turns out I dont have a driver today thats o.k we are going out tonight I'll be right.
Mark and Megan leave to do what they do and I catch up with a few things then I notice its 9:30 and no
Maid hmmm... maybe she is just delayed for some reason time goes by its now 10am the maid is here

Life goes on

It's a new year and life is ever changing!!

The start to 2011 has been very exciting
Our eldest daughter is expecting and is due on September 1st
We are going to become grandparents for the first time how exciting is that!
Our middle daughter is getting married in July so I have been skyping a lot lately helping to organise and doing my best to support from over the seas how wonderful is skype it is a fantastic thing to be able to communicate with this wonderful technology just would not be the same feeling of involvement otherwise bless you Skype.

ticket

"At the going down of the sun,and in the morning,we will remember them" Lest we forget

25th April 2011
Madras War Cemetery
Nandambakkam,Chennai

We attended the ANZAC DAY service getting up at 4am in the morning
to give our respect to those who had fought and sacrificed their lives
to enable us a free and better life in our home country Australia 

By the Australian Consul
Mr Michael Long

Commemorative Prayer
Reverend Deborah Premraj

ANZAC Dedication by Australian Consul-General
Mr David Holly

Recitation by Australian Trade Commissioner
Mr Mike Carter

Engraved forever at ANZAC Cove are these words from Kemal
Ataturk,the Commander of the Turkish 19th Division during the
Gallipoli Campaign and the first President of the Turkish Republic
from 1924 - 1938

Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives.
You are now living in the soil of a friendly country.
Therefore,rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us,
where they lie side by side,
here in this country of ours.
You,the mothers,who sent their sons from faraway countries,
wipe away your tears.
Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace.
After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.

Ode of Remembrance
They shall not grow old
As we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them
Nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun

And in the morning
We will remember them
Lest we forget


Sonnet for ANZAC Day

Sound the Last Post again,lest we forget
the freedom that we cherish has been bought-
not found like mushrooms in the field; the debt
is ours to pay,mindful of thoes who fought and fell
-yet still they held the torch aloft!
May we remain as zealous to withstand
the traitors who would make our fibres soft,
as well as enemies beyond the land.

The trumpet has the power to move us still,
and though the debris of a flood of years
lies over hand and mind,an aching thrill
comes rising perilously close to tears.

Sound the Last Post to hold the memory bright,
then sound the Rouse and keep the torch alight.

Alf Wood

Final resting place of the "diggers"
14 Australian & 5 New Zealand
Madras War Cemetery

Link
 http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=145401&mode=1

The poppy of wartime remembrance is Papaver rhoeas, the red-flowered corn poppy. This poppy is a common weed in Europe and is found in many locations, including Flanders, the setting of the famous poem "In Flanders Fields," by the Canadian surgeon and soldier John McCrae. In the United States,^[3][4] Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand artificial poppies (plastic in Canada, paper in the US^{[citation needed]}, UK, Australia and New Zealand) are worn to commemorate those who died in war. This form of commemoration is associated with Veterans' Day in the United States and with Remembrance Day in Canada, both of which fall on November 11. In Canada, poppies are often worn from the beginning of November until the 11th. In New Zealand and Australia, the soldiers are commemorated on ANZAC day, April 25

SRI LANKA

COLOMBO

We are now coming to the end of our journey Clolmbohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombo

We arrive in Colombo and the first thing we do notice is how busy this place is we are back in the city
bumper to bumper traffic the other thing we notice is over here everyone stays in their lanes not at all like Chennai...lol

Our accommodation for the night is at a place called Havelock Place Bungalow http://www.havelockbungalow.com/

This place has two colonial homes joined up with a very nice pool in the middle beautiful garden courtyard area you can eat in or inside dinning.

All the food here is home made and produce from the area and it was delicious my mouth is watering at the thought.
The staff were helpful and friendly their was also a security guard at the gate.

The rooms were very spacious and comfortable had a romantic ambiance to the whole place a big bathroom lounge area and double french doors leading to a court yard area the bed was a mattress on a cement block you can imagine what was going through my mind!!

The thought of sleeping in this bed hand me a little concerned but much to our surprise it was very
comfortable and I had a very restful night...
I would  recommend this place if you are looking for somewhere in Colombo that was special.

Once we relaxed a little had a snooze showered and went for our dinner which was most enjoyed
a taxi was orded for us then we handed our room key over to the security guard who was going to be waiting for our return we headed for a casino.

Most of the casinos in Sri Lanka are small often limited to a few gaming tables.
Poker games are unlikely to be found, though blackjack, roulette and baccarat can be found in the casinos of Colombo.
Of the nine casinos in Sri Lanka, eight of them are found in Colombo. Some of these casinos sport famous American casino brand names, like Bally's and Bellagio.

Casino and lottery gambling is legal in Sri Lanka. The lottery is regulated by the National Lotteries Board, which offers a wide variety of lotteries
Despite a varied gambling culture, the authorities of Sri Lanka sometimes have harsh crackdowns on betting. One famous legal case involves the police of Colombo smashing a lottery stand, which led the lottery vendor to take his case on civil rights before the Sri Lankan Supreme Court.
This case is still pending as of early 2008.

There are other indications that Sri Lanka has an ambivalent attitude towards gambling. This was underscored in 2004 when Sri Lankan officials imposed "sin taxes" on casinos on the island. Other goods and services included in the tax were alcohol and luxury goods.

Bellagio One of the well-known casinos in Colombo Its modern interiors, advanced equipment and state-of-the-art technology provide a great entertainment to foreigners and locals alike

Bellagio is where we headed for the night!!
Very nice only about 20 tables we walked into this Casino and were greeted by the staff and offered a drink

Walked around watching people play their games then Mark found a table of interest black jack so he took a seat and enjoyed a few games.
I was offered a seat to sit beside him which surprised me I didn't think you could sit unless you were playing very comfortable seat as well then I was offered a drink they just kept coming over asking if we wanted more drinks then we figured it was free...lol
Now Mark is in heaven not only do you get free drinks also their was a smorgasbord at one end of the room it just so happened to be would you believe it "Indian night" ..funny...
the food also was free.

There was a platform to the side of the room and we were also entertained with a free show brilliant and guess what the entertainment was Dancing girls doing Indian dance they were fantastic.
Should have known its Indian night...lol thoroughly enjoyed the night.
another great place to go if you are interested in having a bit of a gamble.

Returning to our accommodation their was the security guard waiting for our return unlocking the door to let us in making sure we made it to our room o.k

Next morning we packed ready went to the dinning room for our breakfast a yummy poached egg,mushroom,tomatoes on toast and a nice cup of tea to start our day I could tell it was all fresh the
colour of the egg the flavour mmmm....all fed and watered ready for our last look around Colombo before we leave.

I loved Sri Lanka it was beautiful,relaxing,fresh,green,colourful just wasn't long enough in saying that we enjoyed the time spent fantastic experience.

Back to Chennai we go only have an hour and ten min flight back home
Sri Lanka is so close it will most definitely be on the return to list next year.

SRI LANKA

KOSGODA TURTLE HATCHERY

http://www.induruwabeachresort.com/front/content.php?id=1&type=3

Operated by the Wild Life Protection Society of Sri Lanka it has several species of turtles.

Most vulnerable of all are the eggs they are left uncovered on beaches all around the coast
Because of the goodwill of Kosgoda area fisherman who bring these eggs to the hatchery this has enabled their survival chances they have released around 100,000 young turtles in only 2 years since the hatchery opened.
This place was amazing we paid for our tickets and the guide took us through to the hatchery there were pools all in a row the first one was filled with tiny little baby turtles they were just so cute!!

The next pool had an albino turtle all on his own the guide said he is never to be realised due to the fact he would be easy pray for any predator's out at sea.
I put my hand into the water and he came over to me then the guide said to me with horror on his face
"mam no mam he will bit your finger off" woops!!! wasn't I lucky.

Next we went through to where all the eggs were buried inside a large caged area that looked like a cemetery with dates and names of species of turtle eggs that were buried beneith waiting for there day to hatch.
This place is also well worth a visit.

Off we go to our next stop COLOMBO

SRI LANKA

GALLE

We had a 3 night stay here at the Light House Hotel  http://www.jetwinghotels.com/
This is a very beautiful place food was excellent,Service was poor view was brilliant but they did let us down when our air con broke down at 1am and we were informed that the A/C had to be replaced with a new one..hmmm
A hot night for us...I don't think so

We called reception to ask what they were going to do!!!
We had to tell them we wanted a room where the air conditioner worked....Mark ended up asking the room boy to send the manager
We would like a room with air con...after a while we were told they were moving us.. keeping in mind we had to be up at 5:30am the next morning not even an apology.
Then we had to call them back to make up our bed..such a nice place but hmmm...
We arranged the hotel to make a packed brekky for us....cheese sandwiches fruit and a drink.

Next morning we were up at 5:30am ready for our adventure on the high sea's FISHING!!! yay..

Poseidon Diving station in Hikkaduwa
http://www.divingsrilanka.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=7 

Clean rooms friendly people right on the beach,there are lots of little shops for those who like shopping for a special gift restaurants hotels great spot would like to stop here next time.

Off we went out to sea it was beautiful the colour of the sea was a most brilliant blue and calm waters at times it looked like a huge silk blanket fantastic we were out for about 5hours.
Their were two fishing rods on the back of the boat and one either side alas we did not manage to catch a fish!!!
As we were roaming the sea we passed by quite a few fisherman out for their catch they of course had much better luck than we did,as we passed one fishing boat one of the guys held up one of their catches about a 5kilo fish wanting to sell it to us talk about rubbing it in...lol

The two guy's that were with us pulled over to 2 of the fishing boats handing them food and drink they had been out their early morning and it was 10o'clock by this time.
There was another boat near by a fisherman yelling out to us wanting food and drink also and then they would tell us where we might have luck in catching a fish...hmmm...think we should have jumped onto their little boat think we may have caught one!!!
Mark said he might go diving instead at least he will see the fish even if he cant catch one!!..lol

We may not of caught a fish but we enjoyed being out their on that most beautiful ocean and watching the fishermen,the fish jumping out of the water teasing us because we couldn't catch them...
It was time to head back after our adventure we headed back to our hotel.

GALLE FOURT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galle_fort

The day was so very hot and muggy we decided to visit the Galle fort in the evening very interesting and so much history once through the fort gate we drove around first.
A village inside with very interesting building from days gone by restaurants,backpacker's accommodation,hotels,museum,Churches,Gem shops where you could have a raw gem cut,polished and made into jewelry and watch as they did so.

We walked around on the fort walls,seen where once their were cannons sat and could just imagine the days way back in time of those days gone by it was fantastic what more can I say except it is a must see destination.

Time to return to our Hotel freshen up and have some dinner when we went back to our room their was an invitation placed on our bed to join in the celebration of new year and listen to the Raban padha drums
while having our meal the drum's began to play we were told that at this time around the villages one women in her house would start to play a tune on her drum then the lady in the next house would do the same or add to the tune this would go on from house to house until you could hear the drum's been played throughout the village.

Sinhala and Tamil New Year
Celebrated by all Sinhalese and Tamils, the traditional New Year celebrations fall on between 12 to 14 April and is the celebration of Sun God's passage from Pisces to Aries.
It is a harvest thanksgiving and is mainly celebrated by the villagers in true traditional style.
A colourful and extravagant festival, this season is usually a holiday for the whole country. The Aluth Avurudu (New Year) is a time for friendships and family and many traditions are observed according to the litha (A strological time).
New clothes are worn, milk boiled and traditional ricemilk with sweets fill the tables.
The youth spend the day engaged in various traditional games such as climbing a greased poll, pillow fighting, breaking a pot blindfolded and the girls plating swinging. The women also fill the air with Raban padha ( traditional drum instrument) dressed in their new year costume.

Next day we were up again at 5:30 as Mark was going for his dive to see the fish he was unable to hook...lol
I went to one of the little shops near by as I had been their the day before to order 3 tops made using the batik technique
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batik
after my little shopping expedition I went back to the hotel packed then off to pick up Mark after his dive
he enjoyed his dive seen all the fish he couldn't catch..lol
Our next destination visit to the Turtle Hatchery.

SRI LANKA

YALA
NATIONAL PARK

We were on our way to our next destination YALA
Our accommodation was at the Yala National Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yala_National_Park
getting their was a long bumpy dirt road track which I thought was never going to end
their were army personal sprawled out here and their carrying their guns hmmm...interesting
Once we arrived we were greeted and asked not to go anywhere without an escort as their were wild animals wondering everywhere after all we were in their home!!
The main building was 2 storeys high
Ground floor consisted of the Reception,Doctors office,bar,lounge area and swimming pool
1st floor was the dinning area
2nd floor was the roof that was open had a few picnic tables and some stools at a Bar overlooking a lake and enabled you too see over the park it was magnificent.

We were escorted to our cabbin which was on stilts on our walk to our room we seen wild pig and monkeys it was strange to see these animals roaming free around us as the only place I have ever seen monkeys was in a compound at a zoo,so I was impressed by this whole experience.
our room was quite big with a on suite bar fridge and A/C which was very much appreciated and of course a phone to enable us to call the reception to organise an escort....

We were up bright and early next morning 5:30am ready for our safari we were provided with a packed breakfast and driver for the jeep along with about 7 other jeeps going out for that morning it was very amusing it was like the great race all the drivers waiting for the o.k to start moveing as soon as the o.k was given they all ran to their jeeps with their passangers behind them surquring us into our jeeps once everyone was on bourd off we went who is going to go first lol..next stop to a building for them to register it was so funny eveyone hurrying to find a park then the driver would jump out as fast as he could some running to go into the building we were waiting about 10min or so and then the made rush of drivers came runing out of the building with their peices of paper smiles on their faces dust beeing kicked up in the air as they hurryed to the next stop tickets for entry into the Park this was just a little brick building once again drivers jumping out of the jeeps running into get their tickets next entry into the Park which was a army gard who once sighting us lifted the gate for us to enter.

Now in the park the roads forked off into all directions and we all spit up now to find the animals we seen peacocks roamimg around everywhere Wild Boars,Water buffalo,Monkeys,deers and crocodies we even spoted a bear he crossed the road in front of us it was quick but we did see him the quest was to find the lepods as they apparently are in different spot  around the park but alas we were not fortunate enough to find them on that day.
We did have the good fortune of comeing accross a Mother Elephant and her two babies in the lake eating and drinking water it was amazing the driver stoped the jeep and we stayed to watch for quite a while.

Along the road as we aprouched anouther jeep the drivers would converse with each othe to find out what they had spotted on their travels and pointed us into the direction of any animals of interest also to check if anyone had sited the Leopards but no siteing.
On our way out of the Park there was a black face Monkey sitting in the middle of the road with her young so we stoped and watched these cheeky little monkeys their was a tree near by the road full of Monkeys they were fun to watch then after a while the monkey on the road moved over onto the tree and off we went again leaving the park we had spent 5hours watching animals and it was fantastic.
Back to our cabbin for a rest.

We decided to take a walk along the beach to a sand hill we passed through a small fishing village which consisted of about 6 or 7 shacks their was a fisherman by his boat organising himself and fixing his fishing net it was very hot and muggy what posesed us on going for a walk along the beach I dont know as even the people in the village were in under cover from the hot sun they were very freindly gave us a wave I think they must of thought we were mad walking around outside in the sun.
We managed to climb the sand hill it was a very nice veiw from the top and the water was so blue.

We did plan to go on anouther safari in the evening the day before but had decided against it as we were too tired from the morning saffari we found out the following morning that the Leopards had been found and sited by the safari that night bummer..

Next morning I was woken up by what sounded like people jumping of our roof so I decided I would go take a look as I opened the door there on our verander banister were about 20 odd Monkeys stairing back at me not sure if I should venture out or not, I decided to step out from the doorway and the Monkey's ran off jumping into the trees and back up onto the roof screeching,one cheeky Monkey sat on the corner with her baby staring at me they were very cute but there was no way I was about to get any closer to them!!

breakfast and then off we go again to GALLE

SRI LANKA

Nuwara Eliya/Horton Plains
Blue Field Tea Garden
http://www.bluefieldteagardens.com/aboutus.html

Here we were greeted as we stepped out of the car and then escorted around the tea plantation as soon as we entered you could smell the tea after the tour we were taken to the main building and given a nice cup of their tea also indulged in a nice piece of cake to have with out tea,then on into the gift shop for a few kilo bags of Sri Lankin tea.

Next we were of through the beautiful mountains lots of winding roads and tea plantations to
Nuwara Eliya the heart of Sri Lankas tea country producing a significant share of the worlds best tea

Sri Lankas highest mountain Pidurutalagala ( 8281 feet ) above sea level
our accommodation for the night at Tea Factory hotel  http://www.heritancehotels.com/teafactory/
this hotel was just beautiful inside and out we arrived at our room with a lovely greeting from the staff and Flowers on our bed.

After a bit of a relax we went for dinner in the Railway carriage
 http://www.heritancehotels.com/teafactory/dining/railway_carriage.html 
this was a very unique dinning experience indeed as we approached the doorway to outside we were greeted by a conductor with white gloves blowing on his silver whistle welcoming us and asking us to climb on board  it was amusing he was very funny entertaining us all night making us lough.
The food was mouthwatering.

This was a 6 course meal
My menu
Norwegian smoked Salmon served with crunchy Vegetables
Grilled Prawn with Tomato
Pepper corn crusted Roast Australian Beef served with red wine sauce,Rosti Potatoes,Bouquet of garlic Vegetables
I could only eat 3 of the 6 courses

Mark's Menu
Carpaccio of  Beef & Red merlin fish served with Balsamic Reduction & Roasted Almond Flakes
Cappuccino of Cauliflower with Almond flakes
Pan Fried Fish with Olive Salsa
lime & Orange Liqueur Fantasy in Chilled Strawberry Puree
Pepper corn crusted Roast Australian Beef served with red wine sauce,Rosti potatoes,Bouquet of garlic vegetables
Baked Cheese Cake
and all of this was washed down with a fantastic Australian red
We were both in heaven!!

When we returned to our room our bed had been turned down and there was a card on our bed which said "Good Night your Room Boy Chinthaka"
How nice was that.

Next morning we went for a walk around the tea plantation along small dirt tracks down the hillside it was amazing to see,the only way I can describe this is to say it was just like looking at a giant patch work quilt sprawled across the land.

Amongst the tea every spare space is used there are vegetables planted all neat and tidy like stairs going up the hillside in between each row of veges there is space to walk and water channels you could see people close by and  in the distance working in their Fields in all their colour small cottages painted in beautiful rich colours all colours of the rainbow even the house block was filled with vegetables it was like a child's storybook.
This image will stay with me forever and I hope one day I get the opportunity to visit once more.

Sri Lanka

KANDY

From Chennai to Colombo first then picked up by our driver Gregorio and taken to Kandy a 4 and a half hour drive up in the hills lots of  monkey's on the side of the road and in the trees we stayed at a place called Kandy cottage  http://kandycottage.com/
 its location was very interesting went up on a hill through back roads took a while to find, the driver had to stop a few times to ask locals for directions..lol, even then we were not able to find the cottage so we called the manager and he directed us via mobile.
finely found the right road' which incidentally we had passed a few times...lol and it was a rough dirt road with the vegetation over growing onto the road, the driver Mark and I just found it most amusing.
It was dark so made it even more interesting the landlord was standing waiting at the driveway flagging us down with his hand to come this way...got to the gate and had to drive up a very steep driveway into the carport...hmmm interesting.
We were greeted and directed to go up this narrow footpath once at the top finely seen the B&B very nice old cottage very small like a minors cottage,walk into the entry then past a dinning area that was very small only room for one small square dinning table for two,at the time a couple were having their evening meal,it was a bit of a tight squeeze.
As the door to our room was right behind where they were sitting we managed to get by them without any difficulty..so much for their intimate dinning that just went right out the window.
We couldn't go past without saying hello they were very quite it would have been a very nice romantic place to stay if there was only one couple staying there hmmm... interesting..what is next!!

Before we can enter our room Mark is handed a Key for the padlock on the door.. that was amusing as it didn't make any deference just had to give it a bit of a push and the door opened anyway.

The bedroom and bathroom were very clean and comfortable their was a little door on the other side of the room that went into a small veranda with fly wire on all the windows two wicker chairs and a small coffee table very sweet and it was private.

Mark had researched before we left and found a place called "The Pub" http://wikitravel.org/en/Kandy  right up on a hill overlooking Kandy lake built by the last Sinhala King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandy


The Pub very nice place we had decided to go here for our dinner,there was a big screen T.V on the balcony wall we found a nice spot to sit and waited for the cricket to start between Sri Lanka & India a very nice place the food was o.k.

In the morning we sat at the little table for breakfast we were amused that there was a pendulum light hanging from the ceiling which obstructed my view across the table all I could see was marks torso so he had a light shade for a head giggling I suggested to the manager maybe he could raise the light fitting up just a little..lol
Off we go to our next destonation to visit a tea Plantation and then onto Nuwara Eliya Sri Lankas most popular hill resort.