Sri Lanka – Ziua 1 – Unawatuna

RO: Undeva la sud de India cea controversata, pe care unii o blameaza de nu se poate si-altii o idolatrizeaza excesiv, e o tarisoara nici prea mare, nici prea mica, careia lumea ii spune Perla Oceanului Indian. Un mix de amprente olandeze, portugheze, britanice si evident, indiene – de la cultura, la mancare, la obiceiuri si tot. Nici nu e de mirare, daca stai sa te gandesti ca Sri Lankai i se spune mai in gluma, mai in serios, Lacrima Indiei. Sa fie de bine, sa fie de rau, n-am putea spune, avand in vedere ca n-avem termen de comparatie cu vecina de la nord. Si intre noi fie vorba, sansele sa n-avem niciodata sunt cam mari. Dar nu vorbim despre India, desi recunoastem, balanganitul capului stanga-dreapta, combinat cu “Yes sir”-ul si accentul tipic zonei, ne confuzeaza maxim! Pana la urma, sa fim seriosi, n-o fi fost el Marco Polo complet sarit de pe fix atunci cand a numit Sri Lanka cea mai frumoasa insula din lume! Umbla vorba ca de fapt si de drept l-au fermecat plajele, peisajele si mirodeniile, dar poate avem noroc sa mai punem pe lista un motiv-doua in plus 🙂

EN: Somewhere at the southern tip of the controversial India, which some blame continuously and others idolize it extensively, there is a country, not too big and not too small, which people call it The Pearl of the Indian Ocean. A mix of Dutch, Portuguese, British and obviously Indian footprints – from culture, food, habits and everything. There is no wonder why Sri Lanka is pawkily called India’s Teardrop. Is that OK or not, we cannot confirm, as we have never visited the northern neighbor. And between you and me, chances to never visit India are quite high. But we’re not talking about India now, even though we have to admit it, the head shake combined with “Yes sir” and the typical accent, confuses us completely! In the end, let’s face it, Marco Polo wasn’t crazy when he named Sri Lanka as the most beautiful island in the world! Some might say that he was fascinated by the beaches, the landscapes and the spices, but maybe we’ll find some more extra reasons 🙂
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RO: Asa ca-ncepem aventura. Cu lectiile facute, cu sapte ghiduri turistice in buzunar, cu articole salvate pe Kindle si informatii culese de prin tot internetul. Ba despre razboiul civil care abia s-a terminat in 2009 (dupa 26 de ani de ciondaneli intre singalezi si “tamilii-tigru”), ba despre tsunamiul din 2004 si revenirea fabuloasa, productia de ceai, medicina ayurvedica, hinduismul din nord si budismul din restul tarii, dansurile traditionale, curry-urile delicioase si cusaturile dantelate de la Dickwella. Totul pus la gramada in capul nostru, un talmes-balmes de nu stim sincer cu ce sa incepem intai si intai. Dar sa le luam pe rand, c-abia ce am aterizat in Colombo 🙂

EN: So we’re starting our adventure. With all our lessons done, with seven tourist guides in our pockets, with articles saved on Kindle and information gathered from all over the internet. All about the civil war which recently ended in 2009 (after 26 years of quarrels between the Sinhalese and the Tamil-tigers), the tsunami from 2004 and the fabulous come-back, the tea production, the Ayurveda medicine, the Hinduism in the North and the Buddhism in the rest of the country, the traditional dance, the delicious curry and the laced seaming from Dickwella. Everything heaped in our minds, a total mix-up that we honestly don’t know where to start from. But let’s take them one by one, as we just landed in Colombo 🙂