The Random Clicker

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2007-05-10T09:19:00.000+05:30

I've been getting around the country quite a bit on my own for the last few months. BUT unfortunately my camera exploded. AND I need to buy a good one this time.. So waiting till I can afford to get a good dslr..

Ocean View Cottage in Hikkaduwa

2006-12-14T11:14:00.000+05:30

Last weekend was spent in a simple yet nice little cottage managed by one man (Who cooks a mean chicken curry!) Rates are generally 4500 for a double but we got it at Rs 2500 for a double since tourism is on the low low (Lord knows why) this month! 20 fully air conditioned rooms, pool and private beach. Amaya and Coral are right next door and this is right along the main road. You'll love it..

But here are the pics! Enjoy!

Lovely pool, private and not easy to die in :) Since there are only 20 rooms at most times you can hav the thing for yourself! Or else...

There's always the beach!! Lovely beache, stretches out left n right to bars n restaurants etc. There is snorkeling, boat rides, surfing, huge a** sea turtles and a crap load of people ready to ri you off :) So be warned!!

Rooms are pretty decent, can't relly complain. But the air con was on high all night and so was I :D Straight out the room is a joining balcony on which u can throw ur own lil party or sit n chillax :)

500m towards Colombo there is a restaurant called SPAGHETTI & CO. Lovely place and amazing Italian dishes. Filled up everyone and ended up being quite a reasonable place to have a ball of time! Not much parking inside although the roads willl suffice. Hope U enjoy the food! Try the salads! Simply Amazing!

That's it for now folks!!

Rebuilding an old Temple..

2006-10-28T10:07:00.000+05:30

There is a town on the way to Kandy called Warakapola. Off this town there is off in a distance a small village. Last week my parents and I together with several people from the village helped re build their small village temple.

The temple had required 28 statues ad his was provided for by everyone. To be honest I don't have much to say about this lil experience cos it was just a different break from the lifestyle we live in this city. Sometimes i wish i could go back to those days. But...

This little village full of people of age and maturity is my mothers home, Where she was born before she was sent off to school as things were those days. Mom went to the same school I did, and I keep thinking this is exactly why I was landed in that crazy school! lol!

I hadn't been to my grand mothers place for almost 2 years, and when ever I do go there I stroll up the hills and thru th jungles and never on the roads where I could meet any human. But that day I got to see over a hundred people and they got to see me. I barely got a moment to take a picture in the midst of talking to everyone who I hadn't seen since I was very young.

But a few things caught my eye..

Lazing in Nainamadama

2006-09-13T11:57:00.000+05:30

Negombo beaches are just amazing, Of cource the timing has to be perfect.. this pic seems a bit gloomy but thats the way i like to tak pictures :P Love making it a bit gloomy :) lol ;) Anyhow last weekend was a no sleeper.. was running about trying to take myself and do things i have to! So anyow here are som pics.. and only pics..

To my knowledge finding cheap places to stay is a big thrill. I am a bit fussy about accomodation and other creatures hibiting in the same area hence this lil resort that we found was quite amazing. Here is a view of the lake alongside. 2 access points to the beach, you get a boat ride to it and then chilling at the beach is decent if you walk straight up instead of the pier or the fishing villages.

As for where we stayed, pretty decent place past Negombo, Wennapuwa in a place called Nainamadama. Lovely place to chill out. Take your office on a trip or whatever.

A decently sized pool is on the side of a rather large open restaurant. Although te food could be better. But then again i don't know about food much :D lol! There's a lot more actually. A large garden, 20 private rooms or rather little huts. Large car park, Air conditioning in the rooms, Comet cable in every room, Large bathrooms. Hell can throw a party in them rooms. Nevertheless it's a good place and good to go for anything actually :) Mail me if you want all the pictures.

The Colombo Zoo

2006-09-11T12:51:00.000+05:30

I don't know what to say, I've alway thought of zoo's as an open yet secured land in which animals get to be themselves and yet be observed. To everyone who visits the colombo zoo you will see some amazing things, yet I ask of you to complain persistntly about the bad conditions for the animals residing in it. It was a sad ight indeed after seeing Zoos in other countries. The colombo zoo has beautiful creatures in it but is a bad excuse to mak money. It does not look as if the money is going to proper use to maintain the zoo.

Sorry the pictures are small, after uploading them I realised and now :) I'm simply lazy! Click n enjoy!

White belied eagles.. Great place to take some pictures. No I wasn't inside the cage but this took tremendous effort and fear of having my finger ripped apart. None of that happened and hence more pics follow :D

On my other blog i got a pic of some parrots 'hanging out' But these guys are gorgeous to watch. Flying round in real life is much nicer. Although when i was young i was attacked by a wild maccaw, birds do not scare me. Their beaks do.. then again thats the case ith most women too :D lol :)

Oh.. these 3 morons should go on display.. they were throwing chewing gum at the oranguatan.. I mean if you're an idiot then i think you should be shot n left to die. You have no excuse for publicly displaying your ignorance and finding it cool and funny.

Animal doctors amaze me, for the simple reson that they chose to go a different way.. Why? Their love for anyals or impatience with humans? What ever said and done someones doing this work and it's amazing..

This as the rest of the people i was with said.. was ME.. stting in front of the TV waiting for fod to come to my hand. This guys was just sitting there and extending his hand out for food.. If it missed him and fell a few feet off.. He'd extend his hand once again.. NOW I DON'T DO THAT!!

Behind bars and still having the luxury of sleeping.. I assume this lion has never stepped out of cage.. or it has com to terms that it may bever get back to its real world.. There are some local polititians that should b in here! lol!

Lovely creatures.. I could watch them for ever in the wild.. or untill i get spotted that is :d Then i'd be one of them! :o

These guys must be Sri Lankn :) No offence of cource.. wait.. hell no.. wth all the offene available at hand :) Lazy buggers..

This bird depicts my love for long legged and long necked birds :) of cource i love a good posture as wel.. and don't like feathers :)

Blue Hyacinth.. hope i got the spelling right.. this lil birdie when i saw it first at the zoo was ages ago.. a large cage ith all forms of wild parots in th cage.. they loved it.. from the looks of it atleast and many years later. The guy is alone.. scrawny birds in the cage.. and it looked pathetic and depressing.. This bird is $20,000/- in the market. Would love to see hundreds of them living their life..

These guys were enjoying the luxury of the shade while most in the open pits were enjoying the scorching sun!

Oh well that's that.. this weekend i was out of town. Got some good pictures and good info on a nice litle resort to stay at. Shall bog it somewhere this week!

A private beach in Mount called Paradise.

2006-08-16T11:31:00.000+05:30

Mount is a stretch of beach thats pretty decent enough to get into. This time of year the sea is rough enough to take some of your thrills out. The beach down the college lane, passing the railway crossing and golden mile is quite nice. But for those of you who don't like the crowds and wish for some privacy? There is always a private stretch of beach at Mount Lavinia called Paradise.

It was kinda gloomy when i went last weekend. But nevertheless good enough for a good stretching! lol! This statue at the entrance always makes me wonder what life those days may have been like. There is a deep history behind this hotel,rather when it was a mansion. You should visit it and find out for yourself! The staff is quite nice to sit down n have a chat with about the history of the hotel.

Got there at about 10 and noticed the flag being tugged by the wind. Kinda hard to take a pic of a flag actually?!? Anyone got good ideas or tactics?! lol! Lemme know! I was in too much of a rush to just laze around.. how ironic! lol! but eventually had a pretty decent day all in all!

Spent a good hour enjoying the view and of cource.. as always finding the perfect way to keep my feet when lazing around! [One day i will be enlightened and i will share the pleasure with you all!]

Seafood Cove is a restaurant by the beach known for it's fresh seafood selection. Best time to go there is during the nights. The service is excellent and the food is amazing. Nothing like some sea food and bottle of cheap red wine! ha ha ha! They are open at other times as well, though for seafood and ambience night time is the best!

Good place for a romantic night out. Good seating, lighting, environment and sound effects! They go as far as setting you up half way on the lifeguard post as well! Few of my friends have had wonderful nights here! Their reviews only say that it must be kept a secret! For how long? As long as romance exists! lol!

There is a price you have to pay of cource! Pool n Beach is Rs. 400/- and food is off the menu or buffet. Which ever you chose. Basic pricing is on the board in this pic. Anyhow choldren are half price and if they're tiny then you don't even have to pay! lol! In fact if only a few people are going to use the pool n beach the others don't even have to pay!

The full view of Mount Lavinia Hotel is quite a sight. Though you can't see the beach restaurant in this pic. But the sand is clean and the beach is beautiful. The waves are a bit rough at this time of the year (Monsoon) but the beach is shallow enough to walk out quite far.

The sea spray kinda captured my eye though i don't have a good camera atm. Soon soon!! This my friends is all i have cos the rest of the day i spent floating in salt water n trying to adoiv dworning! lol! Enjoyed myself a bit too much that i missed out on lunch! If you want more pictures of this place just send me a mailer, I was too lazy to post anything more up here! lol!

Ahhhhh.. Hikkaduwa!

2006-08-07T14:39:00.000+05:30

One thing i can say is that if you're leaving to hix on a friday night. Go reaaally early or really late. The travell stress ain't worth it. They're widening the roads, soon it'll be a breeze getting there! I think hix should be done atleast twice a year. For simple people that is :D

It's high tide this time of the year. The roaring sounds of the wind moving across the water can be heard in the background of waves crashing on the shore. Pleasant if you like that kind of thing of cource. For me.. I love the r n' r..

Location for the weekend "Ranmal Rest" reasonable prices.. good food.. great service.. and lovely stretch of beach! Bbq on the beach with a crackling fire, n wooden poles in the surrounding set up with lanterns. In house security kept watch. Pretty decent set up was prepared by the friendly staff. Of cource we took our own grill n food n stuff for the bbq. Lovely night lovely people :)

If you want to relax at any time of the day in the sun or not, i think the chill out scene is best when you're out of colombo. Its a bit of a hectic effort trying to not socialize and enjoy it as well. In the city.. a phone call can move you.. here.. a phone call is.. well a phone call.. but everyone who calls me were pretty much there!

What ever your thing is.. surfing.. tannin.. body boardin.. sleepin in the shade.. what ever.. sometimes i think everyone deserves a time out to do what ever they like to. And what can i say.. if you don't make the effort to then you won't really get what you want :)

As for me you see.. I spent a whole morning trying to find the best way to keep my feet when lazin around at the beach :D Then spent the whole evening trying to hand on to 2 women who were getting town in by the water.. lol :)

Water was quite strong yet the water was shallow about a good 50 feet out still.. Jumpin the waves n trying to get a board up n up on the board can be an effort :D lol! But from what i saw.. worth the effort! There are more water sports oriented centres close by if you like. They're much more experienced and have good equipment as well. So if you wanna go. spend a few bucks and enjoy things the good way :)

Oh.. As for the results of a good boarding session by someone.. broken boards n only an expectations of a good sunset to start off the night :D Oh yeah.. the sunset is off to an angle :D lol :) this is not the west coast as you may know.. But it's worth the wait. I was too busy trying to drown someone.. couldn't take any pics :D lol!

It's getting close to poya but strangely the tide never seemed to rise during the night.. In fact it seemed to subside.. So somehow almost involuntarily.. i end up running back into the water during the sunset. At most the waves perhaps rose a good 3 feet and it's not my thing to post other peoples pics! So this is as close as it gets to the sun set with me :D ha ha ha :)

As for the bbq? Well.. only one sane picture can be shown to you.. you can imagine what 17 cmb regulars at a beach would have been like:) So for privacy sake.. This is just 3 ppl who decided to have a chat by the fire..

The drive back.. well.. sunday any time is good.. traffic gets worse in the night.. so leaving after lunch is the best thing to do. You'll be in the city in about 2 hours. Someting to see on the way? Well the sight of the kaluthata temple. Always take this pic :D It's gorgeous no matter what time of day it is.. Sad part is that i've never gotten opportunities to take pics inside this place. It's quite nice :)

Hix.. you should go there.. no.. i believe.. you will go there..

Someone help me buy a camera!!

2006-07-18T12:52:00.000+05:30

Why my silence for a long long time? Well.. my camera exploded.. yes thats right... it EXPLODED! Well the flasher atleast.. Since my little addiction to clicking like a maniac began i was using a Sony T-11. Pretty decent camera and i got used to it. Well.. with all the problems i had with it i have spent a hmmm.. good 20000 bucks repairing it every time something happened. So i thought i'm going to throw this one away and get a new one. Except.. i am good with my electronics.. yet i'd love some advice from you brilliant clickers! God i've seen the stuff you guys take and it's just amazing! Sooooooo.... Yep.. gimme some models and review on it and tell me why you love it? [like a grade 3 essay request :D] but do help me out here when you have time! Adios! As for my next little trip.. a small week or so cruise thru Sing / Malaysia / Thailand in august.. lets hope i get a new camera by then!

Minneriya / Giritale

2006-05-28T11:49:00.000+05:30

These are three brilliant pictures in the middle of Minneriya. A great couple of weeks during the dry season. Travelling during the dry season is a nice scene.. as towards the evening we had parket the jeeps inside the water way and waited for elephants to come to the water hole.. I couldnt keep count.. but perhaps several hundrteds would flock to the only bit of existing waters to bathe and drink! I got videos.. but unfortunately it's not worth hosting streamable low quality videos as such.. You have to see the real thing!! Any way we stayed at Deer Park for a while and then moved to Girithale rest.. which is at a much higher elevation and the view is amazing! There is a rock outside the hotel.. and only on this rock do mobile phones work! lol :) But what the hell.. you don't go on wild life excursions to hang opn the phone! This tusker was a bit of a rare sighting.. as usual seen alone doing their thang :) It's best not to get into their space and mess with them.. Landrovers or not.. they pack a powerful punch!

There are many things you can end up doing in the lake area, but what ever said and done you have to be extremely quiet. It feels a bit like you're being watched by hundreds of elephants instead of the other way around. All the while fully satisfying though!

Travelling in the night is not at all a good idea but after staying till the elephants come to the waterhole.. you realize that there is no way out! and by the time we managed to find random openings and sneak past hundreds of elephants without making much of a noise it was way past dark! There were times when just to get past the elephants without scaring them we had to get off the jeeps and push them past without starting up the engines. Now that was a sight!! This picture was taken raw, i'd love to give you the 100MB version but you'd never get to see it! lol! And trust me it's worth taking high powered lights along with you. Never ever stick your head out to manouver the lights! You never know whats around you! lol! (SERIUOSLY!!) Reminds me of the time we decided to drive to Habaran to see the elephants cross the roads! All i remember was driving there.. turning around and coming back in pitch black cos even the lights wouldnt help! I doubt it's a safe area to drive these days but its a road worth driving thru!

Next trip! Beruwela on 3rd! Lets hope there are sights worth capturing!

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

2006-05-23T08:47:00.000+05:30

This ladies and gentlemen is our own little version of Jurassic Park! Only thing is that there is no eating of humans! But it's a nice place to visit atleast once in your life time.. The orphanage is on the other side of the road to this bathing spot in the river. The elephants are taken to the river for a bath during the day. About a hundred elephants leave the orphanage across the main road and down a road into the river.. funny thing is that during this time of the day all the shops close their road side displays!

See the guy standing alone?? Well him and his friends scrubbed down almost all those elephants and later went around carrying a bucket and splashing water all over.. i'm assuming the elephants loved it! lol! :)

Tuskers get special treatment! The more rare and unique you are, the better you are treated.. There is a nice little restaurant on the left hand side of the river and you can sit have lunch while watching the elephants being bathed. Quite a nice view..

Just look at this guy here, Whats it thinking?? "WHY AM I TIED UP!!" Surely.. an open coconut field.. Lots of chicks around.. and he's tied up to a massive tree with food all around him.. Torture?? I wouldnt know.. and i sure don't want to ask any questions!

But i have to tell you they are amazing! It's absolutelly amazing to stand next to one of these creatures adn just wonder.. I Shall update you on some pictures taken at Girithale / Minneriya later on..

As for the itty bitty elephant babies that are almost my size.. lol :) They get bathed on the right hand side od the river bank entry.. You can go upto them and pet them from up on a rock, but unfortunately due to a frightening situation of having to have to look after 2 babies!! I couldnt let them go or go myself :( That was what ever i could show you.. There's a lot more but perhaps some other time! But Coming up.. Minneriya park in Girithale..

On flying to Mumbai..

2006-05-21T12:20:00.000+05:30

Clouds clouds and more clouds.. but fortunately enough.. an hour or so to Madras and then about 90 minutes to Mumbai.. Not the route i wanted to take but satisfied with it :) What can i say this little city has lots of places to see but i didn't have much time to do any roaming around :( so here's what i got.. Clouds.. clouds and more clouds !! oh.. and a few islands too! I'm too lazy to blog right now.. but i'll just end it with this.

This piece of construction is a nice mosque in the middle of the ocean.. nice place to walk up.. sit.. and chill.. this is actually when the temperature is not 42 to 45 C.. and people complain Sri Lanka is hot!!

This guy was at the corner of the road.. every single day of the 2 weeks i was working.. every day i'd see him during lunch time. Poverty is all over the place and there seems to be a population who is only for themselves. Perhaps incidents of such paramount are never taken notice of unless they're a personal itch. Think what you like.. i will what i should.. Free will they call it..

Then there is the harbour.. it's some piece of work.. looks more like our own terminal with an extension out to sea :D lol!! Perhaps labour is so cheap this is why there are so many worker strikes in Indian ports.. Ain't the way forward i got to tell ya!

There's no feeling like coming back home.. seeing your countries islands pass by and being in a constant state of awe thinking how beautiful Sri Lanka is.. On the top left you can see Delft islands where you can reach by a simple and nice ferry ride and causeways

connecting all the islands exist as well.. In the middle looking like an arrow pointing left is Punkadutivu and on the bottom right side is the ever famous island of Kayts.. And right after all that in a few minutes you can see Mannar. Anyhow all i can say is that home is a beautiful place no matter how boring it gets during sundays!

The Road to Sigiriya..

2006-04-28T17:34:00.000+05:30

Dambulla to Habarana is a wonderful drive. Day time is great for clickin away.. And the light is just great but the only down side is the climate.. too hot to walk around unless you like working a sweat :)

Litle roads that are good for cycling and strolling are all over the place.. definitely in the scenic route :) few bugs will circle you but towards the evening.. lovely.. just lovely :)

Friendly? i dunno.. too far to tell but definitely looks good on the pictures! lol :) We all have house pets.. but just imagine what it'd be like to have one of these guys running around in your back yard!

The view of this rock "Sigiriya" a.k.a the Kings Pad from the path to it is astounding.. makes you wonder if someone just saw the rock there and said, "i'm gonna call it Sigiriya and put ponds on it! Lets see which market i can hit!"

The climb up there is tiring, thats no doubt. The scenic as it is there is a warm breeze all the while you walk up there and once up, there is a stronger warm breeze! It's simply amazing how it feels when you stand up there for the first time! And the view.. well i'll let the pictures speak for itself..
Got to say that green gets me like pink gets girls! lol! It's too peaceful!

The walk way upto the rock is visible from up there and it's a sight to see! Makes you wonder if you actually walked that way? lol! For one.. it looks different and two.. you notice the birds circling around the top once you get there! lol! Well, thats Sigiriya for you! Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Loafing in Bkk!!

2006-04-25T15:59:00.000+05:30

There were all sorts of animals all over the Paragon Basement, but what took my attention were these crabs. Which seafood joint would serve these guys huh? Definitely more than expected in one serving of baked crab for me! Anyhow u can see these guys at Siam Ocean World at the Siam Paragon Mall in Bkk. [No.. They are not on any menu yet (",)] So roaming around this Siam building i came to discover some marvelous things, like a 2 or 3 floor marine world under ground.. similar to the Underwater World in Singapore.

Lets see something else that took my smile away was this little baby :) Boys.. now u know what i want for my birthday this year!

Among other things that made me wonder was an advert which like most adverts in bkk sized complete buildings. Except this made me wonder about that policy in Sri Lanka on alcohol advertising. "Drink, Don't Drive!" Yep, thats what the building says on 20 floors, all 4 sides mind you! What can i say, innovative and nice as well! Cheers 2 adverti'n opportunitists! he he he :D (I'm not discriminating in any way!!)

Leave aside all that stuff in bkk, i got 2 actually have some fun while working my butt off as well. This lil tiger is named Max, 4 months, absolutely cute, playful & was like a larger version of a baby kitten! Apparently in 4 months he will be rippin heads off livin things. So i think 2 myself, babies are the same although they take about 4 years to become absolute terrorists!

Balancing a ball on the nose while jumping thru a hoop! I saw this done at browns once by one of my office dudes, he was wearing bright red trunks and had a bottle of something in his hand! Although the seal did end up applauding himself! How vain! [Unlike our lankan locos ;)]

Well that was what i managed to get thru my lense in Thailand, or what I can actually post :D But loved the place and didn't have enough time to see the place properly! I hate travelling on work :(

2006-04-25T09:35:00.000+05:30

Thai New Year !

New Years eve in Thailand is celebrated during the same time as the Sinhalese & Tamil New Year in Sri Lanka. Festivities are quite different though! 4 or 5 days of water festivities, where anyone and everyone will hook up any where and everywhere to splash, douse, squirt, flood, drown.. etc anyone! Was a good thing spending 2 days carrying compressed water guns! Although it was only us lankan locos who thought it to be an inconvenience getting wet!